Remembering Film maker Mehboob Khan

Born: 9 September 1907, Bilimora
Died: 28 May 1964, Mumbai

From the time he was a little boy, Mehboob was fascinated by Hindi movies. His early exposure to cinema was through touring cinemas that visited his village. The films he saw instilled in Mehboob an intense desire to be a part of the tinsel town. He was convinced that he had it in him to be a hero one day. To fulfill his dream, he ran away from home at the age of 16 and landed in Bombay (now Mumbai), the City of Dreams. In Bombay, Mehboob’s routine was to hang around the gates of the Imperial Film Company
Mehboob’s maiden assignment was in a film titled Ali Baba aur Chalis Chor, directed by B.P Mishra for Imperial Film Company. He was one of the 40 thieves. Mehboob continued to be invisible in his early films! Interestingly, Mehboob’s fellow-‘extras’ those days were the Billimoria brothers, Eddie and Dinshaw, and Prithviraj Kapoor — all of whom were to become major stars later.
Mehboob made several attempts to make it as a hero between 1931 and 1935 but luck kept eluding him. The pragmatist that he was, he was quick to see the writing on the all. He realised that his childhood dream of making it as a hero might remain a dream forever. His foray into acting, which had begun in anonymity inside a closed cask, might not go beyond playing character roles. Without wasting any more time, he decided to move behind the camera.
He started as an assistant before directing his first film, Al Hilal a.k.a. Judgement of Allah (1935), when he started directing films for the Sagar Film Company. Notable films he directed included Deccan Queen (1936), Ek Hi Raasta (1939) and Alibaba (1940). Directorial features like Aurat (1940) followed, with the studios Sagar Movietone and National Studios.
In 1945, Khan set up his own production house, Mehboob Productions. In 1946 he directed the musical hit Anmol Ghadi which featured singing stars Surendra, Noorjehan and Suraiya in leading roles.

In the year 1942 he made Roti with Saroja Devi and Akhtaribai.

Sitara Devi's dance in Roti,1942

Khan went on to produce and directed many blockbuster films, the most notable being the romantic drama Andaz (1949), the swashbuckling musical Aan (1951), melodrama Amar (1954) and the social epic Mother India (1957), the latter of which was nominated for an Academy Award in 1957 and was a remake of his own 1940 film Aurat.

Andaz

Aan

Amar

Aurat

His last film as a director was the 1962 film Son of India. He died in 1964 at the age of 57, and was buried at Badakabarastan in Marine Lines, Mumbai.
Khan introduced and helped establish the careers of many actors and actresses who went on to become big stars in the 1940s, 1950s and 1960s such as Surendra, Arun Kumar Ahuja, Dilip Kumar, Raj Kapoor, Sunil Dutt, Rajendra Kumar, Raaj Kumar, Nargis, Nimmi and Nadira. In 1961, he was a member of the jury at the 2nd Moscow International Film Festival. He remained the President of the Film Federation of India.
Khan was known for having been influenced by Hollywood films and his films often featured lavish sets in the style of the Hollywood era at that time. The oppression of the poor, class warfare and rural life are recurring themes in his work. Mehboob Khan was awarded the title of Hidayat Kar-e-Azam by the Indian government.

Mother India