Sajid Khan (Actor) Wiki, Age, Death, Wife, Family, Biography & More

Sajid Khan (1951-2023) was an Indian actor and singer. He was adopted by Bollywood filmmaker Mehboob Khan, who founded Mehboob Studios. Sajid became a popular celebrity in North America and the Philippines during the late 1960s and early 1970s.

Wiki/Biography

Sajid Mehboob was born on Friday, 28 December 1951 (age 71 years; at the time of death) in Bombay, Bombay State, India. His zodiac sign is Capricorn. Sajid was raised in the poor slums of Bombay, India (now Mumbai). Mehboob Khan found him while he was searching for a naughty young actor to play Chhote Birju in his 1957 film “Mother India.” Chimankant Gandhi, his assistant, could not succeed in finding a suitable youngster. Then a martial master named ‘Douglas’ recommended Sajid for the role. Chimankant visited Sajid’s home, where he was struck by how wise and fearless the young Sajid was. Mehboob Khan, who was not sure at first, ended up choosing Sajid for the Chhote Birju part after being attracted by his mischievous behaviour and stories.

Physical Appearance

Hair Colour: Black

Eye Colour: Amber

Family

Parents & Siblings

Mehboob Khan, an Indian producer and director, was his foster father. Sardar Akhtar, an Indian actress, was his foster mother.

Wife & Children

Sajid Khan divorced his first wife in 1990 and got married for the second time. He has a son named Sameer.

Relationships/Affairs

Sajid Khan was in a relationship with veteran Indian actress Rekha in the late 1960s.

Career

Films

Sajid started performing in films while he was young. He appeared in Mehboob Khan’s Academy Award-nominated 1957 Hindi film “Mother India” as a younger version of Sunil Dutt‘s character Birju. Thereafter, Mehboob Khan and his wife, Sardar Akhtar, raised him and gave him the name Sajid Khan.

In 1962, he was cast in the film, “Son of India,” which was his father’s final project. The film flopped at the box office; however, critics complimented Sajid’s performance. After his father passed away in 1964, Sajid moved to the US to finish his higher studies.

Sajid Khan and Jay North became well-known in the US after their roles in the 1966 film “Maya” Due to the film’s popularity, NBC soon produced a television series of the same name that ran for eighteen episodes from September 1967 to February 1968.

During the early 1970s, Sajid Khan achieved success in the Philippines by starring in romantic comedy films alongside popular actresses Nora Aunor and Vilma Santos. Some of the films he appeared in during this time were “The Singing Filipina,” “My Funny Girl,” and “The Prince and I” with Nora Aunor.

However, Khan’s career began to decline in the early 1970s, and he reportedly opened a retail store called ‘Artistic’ in India, which had a small workshop where costume jewellery was made.

Despite several attempts to re-enter the Hindi film industry, none of his Hindi films from 1972 to 1983 were financially successful. During this period, he appeared in many films such as Mahatma and the Mad Boy (1974), Zindagi Aur Toofan (1975), Mandir Masjid (1977), and Dahshat (1981). Although he had more success in English films, his career’s peak was between 1966 and 1974.

He last appeared in the film “Heat and Dust” by Merchant Ivory in 1983, playing a brief, silent role as a “dacoit chief.”

Singer

Sajid Khan was not only an actor but also a singer. In 1969, he released an album of the same name and briefly pursued a career as a singer. The record featured tracks including “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),” as well as “Getting to Know You.”

Sajid’s songs gained popularity in Japan, where his American records were released. Further, he recorded a single for RCA Records in Japanese. “Sinpi No Hosei” and “Teniha Gitter Wo,” which was translated to “Mysterious Star” and “A Guitar In One’s Hands,” were the names of the single.

Television

In 1968, Sajid Khan appeared as a guest in an episode of the TV series “The Big Valley” and served as a guest judge on the music show “It’s Happening.”

In 2000, he was featured in the television series “1857 Kranti.”

Award

In 1969, during the 9th Annual Teena Awards, he was honoured with the Best Actor award.

Death

On 22 December 2023, he died in Kerala, India. He was suffering from cancer. After Sajid Khan’s death, his only son, Sameer, revealed that his father had settled in Kerala with his second wife and was buried at the Kayamkulam Town Juma Masjid in the Alappuzha district of Kerala. Sameer said,

My father was adopted by Rajkumar Pitamber Rana and Sunita Pitamber and fostered by filmmaker Mehboob Khan. He was not active in films for a while and was mostly involved in philanthropy. He used to come to Kerala quite often and he liked it here, remarried, and settled here.”

Sajid Khan

Facts/Trivia

• In the 1960s, Sajid briefly gained fame as a “teen idol” after “Maya” made him the subject of covers and articles in prominent magazines from the US, France, Japan, Mexico, Germany, and Thailand.

  Sajid Khan on the cover of a Mexican magazine

• Later, actress Rekha reportedly faced difficulties in the Indian film industry in the late 1960s since she was a South Indian with strong English language skills but no Hindi proficiency. Thereafter, she noticed changes in English-language TV series and films with Indian themes, such as “Jungle Book” and “Maya.” She requested Sajid Khan, who was producing “Maya,” and requested parts in international motion pictures. He tried, but he was unable to get her a little role. However, in 1970, Rekha made her Bollywood film debut with Sawan Bhadon, which went on to become a hit and launch her career in Bollywood.

• In 1969, US Bub. (Billboard) put his singles “Getting to Know You” at number eight and “Dream” at number nineteen.

  Sajid Khan while singing during a live show