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Sajid Khan

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This article is about the actor. For the director, see Sajid Khan (director). For the cricketer, see Sajid Khan (cricketer).

Sajid Khan
Sajid Khan in Maya TV series (1967)
Born
Sajid Khan

1951 (age 72–73)
Bombay, Bombay State, India
Other namesSajid Mehboob
Years active1957–2001

Sajid Khan (born 1951) is an Indian actor and singer. Born into poverty in the Bombay slums,[1] he became the adopted son of Bollywood filmmaker Mehboob Khan, founder of Mehboob Studios.[2] He worked in a handful of Indian films, debuting in his father's Academy Award-nominated Mother India (1957) and its sequel Son of India (1962). He later found more success overseas, working in international productions, including films and television shows in North America, such as Maya (1966) and its television adaptation, as well as the Philippines and United Kingdom. He was a teen idol in North America and the Philippines from the late 1960s to early 1970s.

Early life and debut

Sajid was a poor child from the slums of Bombay (now Mumbai), in India's then Bombay State (now Maharashtra), before he was discovered by Bollywood filmmaker Mehboob Khan. Sajid started acting as a child appearing as the younger version of Sunil Dutt's character Birju in Mehboob Khan's Academy Award-nominated Hindi film Mother India (1957). Sajid was unknown at the time.[1] His salary in the film was ₹750 (equivalent to ₹75,000 or US$900 in 2023).[3] He was later adopted by Mehboob Khan and his wife Sardar Akhtar, who named him Sajid Khan.[4]

Career

After his debut in Mother India in 1957, he played the title role in his adopted father's next and last film Son of India in 1962. According to Rauf Ahmed, though the film was not a success at the box-office, Sajid's performance was praised by the critics.[5] After his father's death in 1964, Sajid was sent to the United States by his mother Sardar.

He went on to achieve fame in the United States with a co-starring role alongside Jay North in the 1966 film Maya.[6] The film's success led to a television series of the same name airing on NBC from September 1967 to February 1968 and lasting 18 episodes. The show led to Sajid becoming a "teen idol" for a short time appearing on the cover of popular magazines worldwide.[7] He also had a short-lived singing career but was not successful. In 1968, he guest starred in an episode of the television series The Big Valley, and appeared in the music variety show It's Happening as a guest judge.

He also found success in the Philippines in the early 1970s, starring as the male lead in a number of romantic comedy films opposite leading Philippine actresses Nora Aunor and Vilma Santos.[8] He tried to get back into Hindi films, but none of his Hindi films from 1972 to 1983 worked financially. His career's peak period was in 1966–1974 and he was more successful in English films. He made his last film appearance in the Merchant-Ivory film Heat and Dust in 1983 which was successful.

Current activities

It is reported[according to whom?] that Sajid had a factory in India which made costume jewellery. 'Artistic' was the name of the retail store. Actress Rekha fell in love with him in the period 1970–72 but Sajid met his future wife and broke off with Rekha. He later divorced his wife in 1990 and has a son, Sameer. He acted in films from 1957 to 2001.

Filmography

Khan as "Raji" in Maya, circa 1967.

Films

Television

  • Maya (1967–1968, 18 episodes) .... Raji
  • It's Happening - (1968, 2 episodes) .... Himself
  • The Big Valley - (1969, 1 episode, "The Royal Road") .... Ranjit Singh
  • 1857 Kranti (TV series) (2000)[9]

Discography

Singles

(Numbers in parentheses indicate Billboard Singles Chart peak positions)

  • "Getting To Know You" (#108) / "Ha Ram"—Colgems 1026 (1968)
  • "Dream" (#119) / "Someday"—Colgems 1034 (1969)

Albums

  • Sajid—Colgems COS-114

References

  1. ^ a b Chatterjee, Gayatri (2002). Mother India. British Film Institute. p. 45. ISBN 978-0-85170-917-8.
  2. ^ SIDHARTH BHATIA. India Psychedelic. HarperCollins India. pp. 89–. ISBN 978-93-5029-838-1. Retrieved 24 January 2015.
  3. ^ Salam, Ziya Us (8 January 2010). "Mother India (1957)". The Hindu. (Chennai, India). Retrieved 28 March 2015.
  4. ^ Raheja, Dinesh (2002). "Mother Earth Reincarnated: Mother India". Rediff.com. Archived from the original on 25 October 2012. Retrieved 23 February 2011.
  5. ^ Ahmed, Rauf (2008). Mehboob Khan (1 ed.). Delhi, India: Wisdom Tree. p. 96. ISBN 9788183281065.
  6. ^ James Michael Hunter (5 December 2012). Mormons and Popular Culture [2 Volumes]: The Global Influence of an American Phenomenon. ABC-CLIO. pp. 244–. ISBN 978-0-313-39167-5. Retrieved 24 January 2015.
  7. ^ David Mansour (1 June 2011). From Abba to Zoom: A Pop Culture Encyclopedia of the Late 20th Century. Andrews McMeel Publishing. pp. 307–. ISBN 978-0-7407-9307-3. Retrieved 24 January 2015.
  8. ^ Abad, Gémino H. (2008). The flip reader: being a greatest hits anthology from flip : the official guide to world domination. Anvil Publishing. p. 218. ISBN 9789712721144.
  9. ^ a b "Sajid Khan". IMDB.
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