Feroz Khan : Abhee hum zinda hain
In his last film “Welcome” Feroz Khan was found repeatedly saying,”Abhee hum zinda hain“.
Though actor, director and producer Feroz Khan will remain alive in the memory of audiences but the man Feroz Khan has died today.
May his soul rest in peace.
Jahan rasta nahin koi wahan mein banaunga,
meri zindagi se milein jinhe huaslon ki talash ho
was so aptly suiting the man and actor Firoz Khan in the early 70s.
Feroz Khan had a charming personality and a good voice but inspite of having a dashing personality required to play the leading man’s roles, hindi filmmakers did not offer him big films as a solo hero and he decided to pave the way himself and became the director and the producer with a crime thriller Apradh. Feroz Khan along with Dev Anand took a charge to make fast paced crime thrillers in 70s.
Before taking the decision to become a director he had appeared in some good films but he was contributing there as one of the multiple heros. He was very well appreciated as romantic lover and husband of Sharmila Tagore in Safar. He excelled in the role of a sensitive lover and a jealous husband and the song
“Jo tum ko ho pasand” looked perfectly befitting on him.
He had proved that he could share the ground with Dharmendra like dashing, he man and sensitive actor in Yash Chopra“s “Admi aur Insaan“.
It is clear from his filmography that he also could be termed as a handsome, he man and to some extent a senstive actor.
He had already proved his worth as an actor much before in a good film based on a very interesting story.
Film was Oonche Log and this film should defintely be watched for three reasons, a different story, a wonderful clash between
blind father(played by Ashok Kumar) and his police officer son (played by Raaj Kumar) because of the younger son (played by Feroz Khan) and good performances given by all the three actors Ashok Kumar, Raaj Kumar and Feroz Khan.
Oonche Log can be said as one of the top five performances of Feroz Khan as an actor.
Few actors have been there in the hindi cinema who excel very well when pitted against other actors. When they play the solo hero then people may find them playing their characters in their usual styles but their real worth comes on surface when they
compete with other actors, who are famous for their acting, on screen.
Raaj Kumar, Feroz Khan and Shatrughan Sinha etc can be said as the elite members of this prestegious club.
They shine more in a competitive environment.
Feroz Khan’s performances in Oonche Log, Safar, Admi aur Insan, Mela, Geeta Mera Naam and many western kind of films and Qurbani are live examples of this hypothesis because he was appreciated in the presence of actors known for their acting skills or who were famous stars in their respective eras.
Feroz Khan is known more for appearing in those western like flicks and crime thrillers but he was able to join unusual projects also.
When he had earned the fame of being a successful actor and director he had done a solo hero
film Anjaan Rahen. Plot was based on the importance of sex education for the school students so that they do not make any mistake
under the ignorance.
Feroz Khan played deftly the role of an ideal school teacher.
Feroz Khan, like many good filmmakers of Hindi cinema had very good musical sense.
Before Prem Agan and Jaanasheen happened to Feroz Khan, his filmmaking and films both were associated with Paisa vasool stylish and entertaining films. Never a dull moment can be found in any of his directed films which he made before Premagan. Man used just right doses of sex in his crime thrillers he directed in 70s and early 80s.
It was not the case that he knew only how to present his heroines in a sensual manner but he knew also how to present the sensuality of the men of his films.
As a director he knew very well how to present his attractive actors, Feroz Khan, Vinod Khanna and Sanjay Dutt. This blast of male or female sensuality did not look forced in his good and early films. Today’s heroines come in bikini and a debate starts whether they looked good or not and whether they should have appeared in bikini or not as scenes/roles did not demand it but Mumtaz in Apradh and Zeenat Aman in Qurbani made sensational news as they were doing it for a director who knew how to use such scenes in a convincing manner. This is a success of a director where his show becomes convincing and does not raise any if and but.
He had the talent to keep a balance in such scenes. His films of 70s and 80s were attractive enough to allure the audiences to go to cinema halls to enjoy the films on big screen of the cinema halls.
As a director Feroz Khan had the eyes to recognise Amjad Khan’s talent in the role of a shrewd police inspector who w’d do his works under the disguise of his comic acts and sense of humour.
Qurbani remains the most illustrious film of Feroz Khan.
There is an interesting story how he had casted Shakti Kapoor in Qurbani.Qurbani brought much fame to Shakti Kapoor in early years of his film career. Firoz Khan used very well Aruna Irani in the role of a vamp in Qurbani.
He was able to create attractive scenes and lovers of Qurbani may recall the scene of dead Amrish Puri’s body lying inside the aquarium. His big eyes were enough to create a terror on screen and here he was lying dead inside the water with opened eyes and long swimming hair.
Apradh, Dharmatma and Qurbani remain three shining films of Feroz Khan as a director.
As a director Feroz Khan paved a certain path in the 70s on which Directors like Mukul Anand walked in the 80s.
Feroz Khan was not gutsy on the screen only but he was equally brave in real life also. He had the guts to call spade a spade and he showed his brave nature in Paksitan when said the bitter truth in a straight forward manner on the faces of pseudo intellectuals trying to paint India in a bad manner.
In the last 15 years he did not work much but whenever he made appreances in award ceremonies or in public gatherings he appeared as a highly confident man and people got to see him more in this era of satellite TV and youtube.
Feroz Khan receiving perhaps his last award can be seen here .
He earned name,fame and money etc because of filmworld and he gave back some good films to Hindi cinema and he contributed in his own way in the area of filmmaking.
This stylish actor and filmmaker will be remembered at times and perhaps worth of his directed films will be assessed properly now when he is away from any kind of criticism and praise.
Tags: Admi aur Insaan, Anjaan Rahen, Apradh, Ashok Kumar, dharmendra, Firoz Khan, Hema Malini, Janasheen, Mumtaz, Oonche Log, Prem Agan, Qurbani, Raaj Kumar, Rajesh Khanna, Safar, Sanjay Dutt, Sharmila Tagore, vinod khanna, Yash Chopra, Zeenat Aman
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Very well written.
fine tribute to the man…
i was writing one myself but you have done a great job…thanx
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a little trivia about qurbani. when qurbani was being made, FK ran out of money. he actually gambled and won, thats how the production could go on, else it would have been shelved
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also, at the time when only bigB movies used to earn 1 crore at BO, qurbani became the first non-bigB movie to earn more than a crore
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FK was a very stylish film-maker and a talented one too. much before indians got crazy about F1 races, he based his movie ‘apradh’ on F1 driver. much before people discovered godfather in india, he made ‘dharmatma’.
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he had a gr8 sense of music. his movies qurbani, dharmatma etc had good music
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his acting capabilities cannot be doubted at all. he played the perfect foil for rajesh khanna in safar, rajender kumar in arzoo, dharam paaji in aadmi aur insaan, sunil dutt and many-many actors
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he won a filmfare for best supporting actor in aadmi aur insaan, and was nominated for best supporting actor for ‘international crook’
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he was a fine human being, always jovial. he was a gem of a person, feroz by name and deeds. may his soul rest in peace and may his legacy and legends live on!
He was a good actor, liked his performances in Safar, Arzoo, Geeta Mera Naam, Aadmi Aur Insaan.
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I think he was nominated twice for Filmfare Best Supporting Actor Award, one for Aadmi Aur Insaan, and another for Safar. Though Safar was an out and out Rajesh Khanna movie, he made his impact playing Sharmila Tagore’s jealous and possesive lover. I think the Mukesh song “Jo Tumko Ho pasand” aptly describes the state of mind.
Even in Aadmi aur Insaan, he did pretty well in a somewhat negative role.
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Apradh, Qurbani, Dharmatma, Jaanbaz all had good music, he had a great combination with Kalyanji Anandji. Also many of them were pretty stylish and quite Westernized. And its to his credit that he could pull them off with the aam junta.
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Also liked most of his curry Westerns, Khote Sikkey, Kala Sona, Chandi Sona all of them quite entertaining.
I think he won the best supporting actor for Safar also.He was also the “cowboy” of the film industry with robinhood ish films like Khota Sikka etc.He picturised his songs very well.The song “har kisi ko nahi milta” with Sridevi holding the mike amidst clouds with remain forever etched in my memory as they used to play it on Chitrahaar every week.Hema Malini had never looked more beautiful than Dharmatma and Vinod Khanna became the most sought after star after Qurbani.Also he adapted Godfather well.
RIP Feroz.
RIP Feroz Khan.
@Ratnakar, Anindya: no, he did not win an award for ’safar’. plz see my comment#2, i have already said that he won for best supporting actor for ‘aadmi aur insaan’ and was nominated in same category for ‘international crook’
. feroz then had to let go-off bob :D
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hey ratnakar…i thought i was the only one to have seen ‘geeta mera naam’ with sadhna in another double role
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‘mela’ was another okie movie; feroz and sanjay khan were seen together on-screen
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he bought the rights of ‘nayakan’ and remade it as ‘dayavan’ thereby enabling one of the best on-screen kisses between vinod khanna and madhuri dixit
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and one last trivia, bob christo was his bodyguard. FK brought bob to india as a bodyguard; but due to his physique and foreign origins he started receiving a lot of film offers
@crazyrals,
Geeta Mera Naam was an effort to resurrect the career of Sadhna who had lost some years because of an accident. She herself had produced the film and I think she directed also this film.
Sunil Dutt’s hot wax pond and that chair which slides a man into the molten wax was used in a modified version first in Shaan and later in Mr India.
Feroz Khan would always be remembered for the way he used style in his movies & made a statement.as a director & actor I liked his Apradh,Qurbani,Dharmatma & Janbaaz.I also liked him in some of the Indian western movies that he did- Kala Sona being the best of them.Also liked him in a couple of his recent films as an actor- Welcome, Ek Khiladi Ek Haseena.May his soul RIP.
Rals- well life is a circle. Bob Christo is now working in Sanjay Khan’s Golden Palms resort in B’lore
Khan Saab…Salaam!
His Khote Sikkey is a cracker jack of a movie. Seen it so many times and every time I see it, I still enjoy it as much.
He had a great sense of style. Jaanbaaz was designed way ahead of its time. His extended family is also one of the most secular and broad-minded ones in Bollywood.
May his soul rest in peace.
Sad news I heard about Feroz Khan. Qurbani and Apradh will always be in my memory and keep reminding of him.
May his soul R.I.P
@RK- Why is he spelt as firoz repeatedly? It’s Feroz yeah? Wrong spellings are such a putoff. Pardon me if i’m wrong.
@Jehan(14),
I have no final idea about Roman script because there is no standard way in it.
It depends on an individual how he thinks while writing a hindi, urdu, Indian, parsian, arabic name in roman.
I follow a simple rule (self chosen), if its Chhotee “E” kee maatraa then I use “i” and for badee “e” kee maatraa, I use “ee”.
…..
Your own name can be read differently. In Hindi it will be called as “Jehaan” but you write in roman script “Jehan”
and this “Jehan” can be read as used in following example.
“Uske jehan mein ye baat ayee hee naheen”.
and there can be another conflict between the use of “j” and “z” specially when urdu words are written in roman.
Unless there is any standard and international way to write in Roman script, one has to take things lightly as nothing is perfectly wrong (or right). In original script, things can matter as meaning is changed there with a little change.
How one will differentiate between Rama (as Rama bua in Delhi 6) and Rama the king, while writing and reading in roman? One has to understand its proper meaning by the use of it in a sentence.
he had the guts to pull off lines like ‘mujhe tumhari moonche pasand nahi hai’ in an action sequence, the indian john wayne
@RK(17)
Pardon me as I didnt know the way you write. I assumed you use the normal Times Roman font, but I guess theres something different to it, so yeah my bad.
I just thought you unknowingly wrote it as Firoz, cause then it shows ignorance, but I’m sure you didnt mean it that way.
Thanks alot for explaining it
@Jehan (19),
Sorry I am unable to get how “Times Roman font” has anything to do with writing words of Indian languages in Roman script? If someone uses Arial font, will the meaning be changed?
For me personally It does not matter whether it is written as Firoz or Feroz as long as we do not know on a certain basis how Mr Khan spelled his name in roman and there will be men in the world who will have this name and who will be using both kind of spellings.
….
People are not responsible if Sunil/ Suneel starts writing Suneil because normal way is to write Sunil or Suneel, depending on what kind of Matraa standard one is following in his mind while writing in roman script.
People write Chota (small) and they may use same method while writing chot (wound) or chor (thief) so there should be a method to distinguish between the sound of ch (as in chaar-four) and ch (as in chat-roof) and therefore many people use Chh ( in chhota, chhat) instead of Ch.
and how to write D ( as in bada din – big day), should it be Barha. What to do in case of bad (barh) ke ped/perh? as dh will make gadha (donkey).
There are more puzzles in the world of roman. When you will learn German then will get to know how nouns are also changed phonetically.
Those who are not familiar with your surname may call it Handa ( they may understand it synonym of Ghada or earthen pot as in rural Hindi belt, this Handa is used for that purpose) and they may prefer to write your surname as Haandaa as that brings in the sound of AA instead of A.
World of roman script is crazy.
@Rk: sadhna only directed the movie, it was produced by atma prakash, her last effort to make a comeback. she did a lot of exposure in the movie, never seen before from her. i was pleasantly surprised, to say the least
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regarding the spelling of the name…i dont think we should be changing the spelling according to our pronunciation and convenience. we can just start calling raj kapoor as raaj kapur because of the ‘maatras’ and how we pronounce it. a proper noun should be respected, IMO
@crazyrals,
Who is Atma Prakash? You must be quoting it via IMDB etc. Geeta Mera Naam was the home production of Sadhna and her husband RK Nayyar. Who else would give Sadhna a chance to direct a film in early 70s other than her own family? and that too in her last phase of film career as an actress? Only family can think to take such a daring step. On what basis an outsider may ask Sadhna, an actress to direct a multistarrer?
….
if one is relying on the sound of the name, how would you decide ? Is there any standard procedure here?
Try to write Vasistha in roman and I know people who write their surname as Vasishtha and Vashishtha. Though all three are valid and devoted to the name of the sage Vasishtha. People as their own preference have selected one among three possible options. same is true with Kapoor/kapur.
How an outsider will differentiate between Rishikesh and Hrishikesh (Mukharjee) on the basis of sound of proper noun?
Simla = Shimla? Which one is wrong use of proper noun?
leave alone roman how many people can write properly Feroz and Nelofar etc in devnagri with all the proper sheen kaf etc used in urdu?
In Hindi what you say that you write and there is no difference and there are no silent alphabets but this is not the case in english and other languages.
Point is if we try to be systematic then present roman style has lots of mistakes, shortcomings etc as one name follows a rule and second name in same category may defy same rule. As mentioned in case of name and surname of Jehan Handa.
People may pick and choose to write Ashwarya or Aishwarya in Roman and both the styles are in fashion. Unless we see how Mrs Abhishek Bachchan writes her name, we can write in both the ways. When we know on certain basis then we try to follow the pattern which is followed by the person whose name we are discussing. But this proper noun etc can not be brought in to discussion while we discuss a vast and loose field like roman script where there is no standard procedure.
When I write in devnagri script then I know how to spell a name because there is a standard procedure and we have matras there.
and to add one more information,
Feroz/Firoz Khan’s name in old films used to appear sometimes as Feroze Khan while writing in Roman.
So which proper noun has to be respected here?
We should spell how his name is spelled n the credits.
Thats how the man wanted things to be. As far as names are concerned if we know how the person spells his/her own name then there is should be no more waste of time & energy arguing how to spell it.
Everybody deserves to own the rights to how to spell their name. Thats the least we human beings can do. lol
@Mainak,
True. Such things happen with few names only. Credit in films do not always give only one version and different films may mention name of person differently. Net may give various options and it is possible that none of them is authentic or person himself has changed the way of writing his name over the years.
Only thing remains credit given in home production and for that one needs DVD at the time of writing. or in some cases one has letter head or business card of the person to know personal take of the person himself, if one is not maintaining a blog.
@crazyrals and Rk sir,
Geeta Mera Naam was indeed produced by someone called Atam (not Atma) Prakash. You can see his name here in the poster of the movie. In fact here he is credited as Attam Prakash (Ah! These proper nouns in Roman :-D).
http://i40.tinypic.com/2141qxf.jpg
@Jahanpanah,
There will be name of RK Nayyar also, may be as the presenter. This nomination is a technical thing. Like in Dharmendra’s productions one may find Dharmendra presents and producer’s name may be his father’s name. But we know it is their home production. Betaab, Ghayal etc.
same should be case with GMN.
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Roman is too tricky thing. It is common thing in Hindi films to write wrong titles with wrong matras. Manoj Kumar’s Kranti’s posters were criticised because inspite of being a writer himself title of his film was wrongly mentioned on posters and during the casting also in the film.
@Rk, all: come on … lets not trivialize this. i did not want to get into devanagri script etc…
i just wanted to make the point that if FK’s name ever appeared on-screen as firoz/feroze/feroz then we can use any of the spellings. if not, then we should stick to feroz, the most accepted format..thats all…
lets not discuss names anymore, lets talk achievements. FK deserves better :(
@crazyrals,
He deserves much more discussion. Technical departments of his films need proper discussion by specialist people.
His stylish shot taking ability needs expert discussion. Arial shots in Dharmatma, while horses are running at the land of Afganistan were so fascinating and the light and colour combination of his films were quite attractive.
Inspite of having an image of a masculine hero he used Mukesh’s poetic and sensitive voice for so many of his songs. There is a contrast here and they are special type of songs in specific situations.
RIP ….feroze khan…
one of the most stylish actors of Hindi cinema
Great Post,very well written and informative i’ll definitely be checking out his less known movies mentioned by you in this post. God bless and may he rest in Peace
The most flamboyant, stylish, maverick personality Hindi film ever had.
Thanks RK for your homage.
RIP desi cowboy.
@Rk: yaar…tu bura maan gaya. why direct his achievments only at me
i m a big fan of his and have observed these things already
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anyways, there was a fantastic shot in the climax of qurbaani where a crane is supposed to pull up the car. just before the shot, FK wanted to do a trial before the final take. he got out of the car, the trial started and the crane lever suddenly went out-of-control and just smashed into the car. his intuition/6th sense saved him
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qurbaani was an expensive movie. in the beginning too, FK bets on driving a merc and totally smashes the car in the basement parking, lossing the bet :D
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he had a penchant for horses. after all, he grew up in the race courses of bangalore and even took the horse into the classroom once
@crazyrals
Hope observations come in abundance. This seems to be the right time for such things.
Thanks for anecdotes. They are interesting.
Well written sir.We should really admire people like Feroze khan..the way he lived his life..is really a great example..eventhough he was ill still,he used to bring smile on his face..thats called courage..Salute to ‘Great human being’ Feroze khan..
the least u cud have done was spelt the name correctly. very sad. now here’s a befitting tribute. http://specials.rediff.com/movies/2009/apr/27pic1-the-man-that-was-feroz-khan.htm
Raja Sen did the needful.
@Alas,
Thanks for the link.
Least is understood but what can be the maximum which could be done?
Franchising Raja Sen’s official and paid works on every possible post available on net?
Hey Let’s not talk about spelling mistakes yaar..we are here to salute Feroze/Feroz..khan’s contribution to indian cinema…Let’s not forget that..
RK, Why would you say that to Alas? If he thinks that’s a more befitting post, what’s wrong with it. Whatever script you use, you could have simply admitted your mistake, and cut the long explaination.
@Jehan Handa,
Please read again and then again (37) till you get the connection between the things covered there.
Where, what is befitting and what is not, has been touched there?
Other threads on same topic may help you.
Understanding can not always be given on loan. Self service is helpful.
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Do you have anything to share about Mr Khan’s contribution to the hindi cinema?
as comment on the SUBJECT is always the befitting contribution to any thread and rest is simply wastage of time and space.
I can appreciate the contribution of Feroze Khan to Hindi cinema as an actor and director..Buy why did he let loose his untalented son on audience who has to tolerate a horrible actor film after film..
@sharath,
Without following deification, due credit can be given to a person. Like any father he also might have tried to help his son in a career of his liking. Son, like his illustrious father, can make a place for him in the competitive world of hindi cinema or not is a different matter.
Feroz Khan might not have forced audiences to watch films of his son. There are many other weak actors who are supported by different filmmakers for different reasons. so called indie cinema and its flag bearers are also not devoid of this tendency so why people should pick and choose Feroz Khan and his son only?
If one can act a little and if he is curious to learn then life brings so many situations and phases before a person and they can help him becoming a little better actor.
If someone is not learning, audience will not see him and his films.
@Rk
I agree with you. Look at Sunjay Dutt. We had to tolerate him for a long time before Mahesh Bhatt’s Naam happenned.
Feroz Khan was the best bollywood’s style icon during 80’s. His most successful movie Qurbani created box office history all over. Bollywood really missed him. May his soul rest in peace..
I have been a great Feroz Khan fan since my early childhood. I used the tune he whistled in “Safar” as an introduction every week for my radio music and talk show, “The Sanjay Kumar Show”. Feroz struggled more than his brother but he proved that with hard work you can accomplish anything. When I was a boy, Qurbani was the biggest hit of that year. I even bought the same type of Mercedes that was smashed up by Feroz in the film. I greatly admired his excellent directorial talents and not to mention his extraordinary style. His way of speaking and acting was definitely his own. In Safar,even though it is considered primarily a Rajesh Khanna film, I personally feel that Feroz stole the scenes. I felt more sympathy for him when he took the potassium cyanide. His love for ‘Neela’ (Sharmila Tagore) was very deep and she did not return the feelings. It was similar to “Gone With the Wind”.
Feroz Khan will always live forever in my heart as my all time favorite actor, and my dream to meet him with my son, Sanjay Arman Kumar Jr., will unfortunately not happen in this lifetime. We can remember his words at the beginning of the Qurbani credits that he dedicated to Sanjay Gandhi who passed away just before the film’s release- “Life is a bubble, and every day a bonus.”
I saw a songs aired on Television years ago featured on Feroz Khan. Neither I remember the song nor the name of the movie. It was from a Black & white movie. Feroz Khan is singing a sing seating in front of a aquarium and suddenly he start seeing a girl inside the aquarium. If anybody could tell me the name of the movie and the first line of the song i will be grateful to him.