Happy Birthday, Gabbar: From Ajit's Henchman To Mafia Don, Tracing Amjad Khan's Life

On November 12, Amjad Khan entered the world, born prematurely at seven months. It’s been 32 years since he exited it, again prematurely. Yet, he remains unforgettable, thanks primarily to his portrayal of the dacoit, Gabbar Singh. However, before Ramesh Sippy’s Sholay, the actor was signed for another action thriller, Ramanand Sagar’s Charas. There is an interesting story behind the casting of this film.

As we learn from senior journalist and author Roshmila Bhattacharya’s book, Bad Men: Bollywood’s Iconic Villains, the producer-director had entrusted his son with the job of raising funds for needy workers and Shanti Sagar came up with the idea of a talent hunt contest. The winner was promised a role in his father’s next film.

Amjad was still studying then, but a regular at inter-collegiate competitions with his brother Imtiaz, making an impact on stage with his brilliant performances. He won the Wadala Junior Chamber’s talent hunt contest and was sent to the darkroom above the Sagar office at Natraj Studio for a screen-test. “We gave Amjad a black suit and a wig to wear. I put a gun in his hand and a huge burn mark on his cheek which I created from potato peels and make-up. After seeing these photographs, papaji (Ramanand Sagar) signed him for Charas as one of Ajit sahab’s henchmen, Robert,” Prem Sagar, who had photographed Amjad, shares in the book. Released this July by Rupa Publications, it chronicles the journeys of 13 iconic Bollywood villains, including Pran, Ajit, Danny, Amrish Puri, Sadashiv Amrapurkar, Gulshan Grover and Shakti Kapoor.

Charas released on May 24, 1976, almost a year after Sholay which opened on August 15, 1975. By then Amjad was a sensation and the distributors wanted Ramanand Sagar to give him as much footage as the film’s hero, Dharmendra. “So, the screenplay was hurriedly reworked and the last five reels reshot. From being one of the goons, Robert turns into a mafia don, lording in Europe, while Ajit sahab’s Kalicharan commands the underworld in India,” informs Prem Sagar who cast Amjad three years later in his 1979 directorial, Hum Tere Aashiq Hain. He remembers the actor as a perfect gentleman, who despite his phenomenal success, never negotiated his price or even discussed his role before signing the film.