Sajid Khan (28 December 1951 – 22 December 2023) was an Indian actor and singer. Born into poverty in the

Bombay Mumbai ( ; ), also known as Bombay ( ; its official name until 1995), is the capital city of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of Maharashtra. Mumbai is the financial centre, financial capital and the list of cities i ...

slums, he became the adopted son of

Bollywood Hindi cinema, popularly known as Bollywood and formerly as Bombay cinema, is primarily produced in Mumbai. The popular term Bollywood is a portmanteau of "Bombay" (former name of Mumbai) and "Cinema of the United States, Hollywood". The in ...

filmmaker

Mehboob Khan Mehboob Khan Ramzan Khan (9 September 1907
at filmreference.com. – 28 May 1964) was a pr ...

, founder of Mehboob Studios. He worked in a handful of

Indian films The cinema of India, consisting of motion pictures made by the Indian film industry, has had a large effect on world cinema since the second half of the 20th century. Indian cinema is made up of various film industries, each focused on pr ...

, debuting in his father's

Academy Award The Academy Awards, commonly known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit in film. They are presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) in the United States in recognition of excellence ...

-nominated ''

Mother India ''Mother India'' is a 1957 Indian epic drama film, directed by Mehboob Khan and starring Nargis, Sunil Dutt, Rajendra Kumar and Raaj Kumar. A remake of Khan's earlier film '' Aurat'' (1940), it is the story of a poverty-stricken village wo ...

'' (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 North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere, Northern and Western Hemisphere, Western hemispheres. North America is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South Ameri ...

, such as ''

Maya Maya may refer to: Ethnic groups * Maya peoples, of southern Mexico and northern Central America ** Maya civilization, the historical civilization of the Maya peoples ** Mayan languages, the languages of the Maya peoples * Maya (East Africa), a p ...

'' (1966) and its

television adaptation An adaptation is a transfer of a work of art from one style, culture or medium to another. Some common examples are: * Film adaptation, a story from another work, adapted into a film (it may be a novel, non-fiction like journalism, autobiography, ...

, as well as the

Philippines The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...

and

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

. He was a

teen idol A teen idol is a celebrity with a large teenage fan base. Teen idols are generally young but are not necessarily teenagers themselves. An idol's popularity may be limited to teens, or may extend to all age groups. By region Asia Ea ...

in North America and the Philippines from the late 1960s to early 1970s.

Early life and debut

Sajid was a poor child from the

slum A slum is a highly populated Urban area, urban residential area consisting of densely packed housing units of weak build quality and often associated with poverty. The infrastructure in slums is often deteriorated or incomplete, and they are p ...

s of

(now Mumbai), in India's then

Bombay State Bombay State was a large Indian state created in 1950 from the erstwhile Bombay Province, with other regions being added to it in the succeeding years. Bombay Province (in British India roughly equating to the present-day Indian state of Mah ...

(now

Maharashtra Maharashtra () is a state in the western peninsular region of India occupying a substantial portion of the Deccan Plateau. It is bordered by the Arabian Sea to the west, the Indian states of Karnataka and Goa to the south, Telangana to th ...

), before he was discovered by

filmmaker

Mehboob Khan Mehboob Khan Ramzan Khan (9 September 1907
at filmreference.com. – 28 May 1964) was a pr ...

. Sajid started acting as a child appearing as the younger version of

Sunil Dutt Sunil Dutt (born Balraj Raghunath Dutt; 6 June 1929 – 25 May 2005) was an Indian actor, film producer, director, and politician known for his work in Hindi Cinema. He acted in more than 80 films over a career spanning five decades and was t ...

's character Birju in Mehboob Khan's

-nominated Hindi film ''

'' (1957). Sajid was unknown at the time. His salary in the film was . He was later adopted by Mehboob Khan and his wife Sardar Akhtar, who named him Sajid Khan.

Career

After his debut in ''

'' 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. After his father's death in 1964, Sajid moved to the United States where he did his further education. Khan went on to achieve fame in the United States with a co-starring role alongside

Jay North Jay Waverly North Jr. (August 3, 1951 – April 6, 2025) was an American actor. His career as a child actor began in the late 1950s, and he went on to appear in eight TV series, two variety shows and three feature films. At age 7, he became a h ...

in the 1966 film ''

''. The film's success led to a television series of the same name airing on

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. It is one of NBCUniversal's ...

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. He also had a short-lived singing career, releasing a self titled album. In 1968, he guest-starred in an episode of the television series ''

The Big Valley ''The Big Valley'' is an American Western television series that originally aired from September 15, 1965, to May 19, 1969 on ABC. The series is set on the fictional Barkley Ranch in Stockton, California, from 1884 to 1888. The one-hour epis ...

'', and appeared in the music variety show ''

It's Happening ''Happening '68'' was a rock-and-roll variety show produced by Dick Clark Productions, which aired on the American Broadcasting Company (ABC) network. The show followed ''American Bandstand'' on Saturday afternoons. ''Happening '68'' premiered on ...

'' as a guest judge. Khan also found success in the

in the early 1970s, starring as the male lead in a number of

romantic comedy Romantic comedy (also known as romcom or rom-com) is a sub-genre of comedy and Romance novel, romance fiction, focusing on lighthearted, humorous plot lines centered on romantic ideas, such as how true love is able to surmount all obstacles. Ro ...

films opposite leading Philippine actresses

Nora Aunor Nora Cabaltera Villamayor (May 21, 1953 – April 16, 2025), known professionally as Nora Aunor (), was a Filipino actress, producer and singer. Known for her leading roles with patriotic, feminist and Political sociology, socio-political th ...

and

Vilma Santos Rosa Vilma Tuazon Santos-Recto (born November 3, 1953) is a Filipino actress and politician. In a career spanning over seven decades, she is recognized for her versatility in acting across various genres of film and television in the Philippine ...

. He tried to get back into

Hindi films Hindi cinema, popularly known as Bollywood and formerly as Bombay cinema, is primarily produced in Mumbai. The popular term Bollywood is a portmanteau of "Bombay" (former name of Mumbai) and "Hollywood". The industry, producing films in th ...

, 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. His last film appearance was in the

Merchant Ivory A merchant is a person who trades in goods produced by other people, especially one who trades with foreign countries. Merchants have been known for as long as humans have engaged in trade and commerce. Merchants and merchant networks operated i ...

film '' Heat and Dust'' in 1983, where he played the role of "dacoit chief," seen fleetingly in only one scene with no spoken dialogue whatsoever.

Personal life

Khan was married to a woman whose name is unknown. They had two sons, Stephanos, who lives in the UK, and Sameer. Khan and his wife divorced in 1990. By the early 1970s, Khan's career was more or less over. It is reported that, around this time, Khan opened a retail store with a small workshop in the back which made costume jewellery. 'Artistic' was the name of the retail store, located in India. Khan died on 22 December 2023, at the age of 71 after suffering a long battle with cancer.

Filmography

Films

* ''

'' (1957) .... Young Birju (child artist) * '' Son of India'' (1962) * ''

'' (1966) ... Raji * ''

The Prince and I ''The'' is a grammatical Article (grammar), article in English language, English, denoting nouns that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the ...

'' (1971-Philippines) from Tower Productions, leading lady: Maritess Revilla * '' My Funny Girl'' (1971-Philippines) from Tower Productions, leading lady: Tina Revilla * '' The Singing Filipina'' (1971-Philippines) from Tower Productions, leading lady:

* '' Savera'' (1972) * '' Do Number Ke Ameer (1974 film) * '' Mahatma and the Mad Boy'' (1974) Short drama (27 min) directed by

Ismail Merchant Ismail Merchant (born Ismail Noor Muhammad Abdul Rahman; 25 December 1936 – 24 May 2005) was an Indian film producer. He worked for many years in collaboration with Merchant Ivory Productions which included film director (and Merchant's longt ...

boxed as ''Merchant Ivory in India'' with ''Heat and Dust'' etc.: The Mad Boy * '' Zindagi Aur Toofan'' (1975) * ''

Jai Mata Di ''Jai Mata Di'' is a 1977 Punjabi devotional film. It was directed by Daljit . Cast *Dara Singh as Balbir *Narendra Chanchal *Sajid Khan *Babu Sonu * Sardar Akhter *Satyajeet Puri *Master Vishal * Mumtaz Begum *Madhumati * Kamini *Tun Tun ...

'' (1977) Punjabi Movie * ''

Mandir Masjid A Hindu temple, also known as Mandir, Devasthanam, Pura, or Kovil, is a sacred place where Hindus worship and show their devotion to deities through worship, sacrifice, and prayers. It is considered the house of the god to whom it is dedicat ...

'' (1977) *'' Daku Aur Jawan'' (1978) * '' Dahshat'' (1981) * '' Heat and Dust'' (1983)

Television

* ''

'' (1967–1968, 18 episodes) .... Raji * ''

'' – (1968, 2 episodes) .... Himself * ''

'' – (1969, 1 episode, "The Royal Road") .... Prince Ranjit Singh / Jahan * ''1857 Kranti'' (TV series) (2000)

Discography

Singles

Albums

''Sajid'' (1969) (Colgems COS-114)

# A Song Inside # Everything is You # Moon River # I Love How You Love Me # This Guy's in Love With You # Dream # Smile # A Closed Heart Gathers No Love # Someday # Ha Ram (Of Love And Peace) # Getting to Know You

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Khan, Sajid 1951 births 2023 deaths Colgems Records artists Indian male child actors Indian male film actors Indian male television actors Indian Muslims Male actors from Mumbai