The Sultan of Style

The cowboy of Hindi cinema evoked much awe in the way he led his life on screen and off it

I was also instantly flooded with memories of all the Feroz Khan films I have seen (since he has acted in barely 60 films in his 50-year-long career, I have seen most of them). My mind flew back, not just to his grandstanding successes like the quintessentially Feroz Qurbani (fast and furious) or cowboy adventures like Khottey Sikkey and Kaala Sona; but also his early films. I remembered Samson, in which Feroz played second lead to wrestler Dara Singh, and Bahurani, where he played the nasty villain who mercilessly whips Guru Dutt.

At 20, Feroz made his first screen appearance in the Sunil Dutt starrer Didi (1959); he got fifth billing as Firoz.

His very first scene proved prophetic Lalita Pawar sagely tells him, 'Kamyabi na-kamyabi, tumhare bas ki baat nahee. Tum apne maqsad ke saath sachhe raho.' Feroz did just that; he had to struggle for the next decade-and-a-half before making it big.

Actress Zaheeda, Nargis's niece, knew Feroz Khan much before he became a marquee name. She recalls, "Feroz was my neighbour at Marine Drive he lived in a guest house. A very handsome youngster, he would wear red polo-neck shirts and swagger; making girls swoon over him. He was always a colourful person and had an Anglo-Indian girlfriend in those days. My father, Akhtar Hussain, was producing Raat Aur Din and cast him in a flamboyant second role opposite Nargisji. It was a big honour for him."

Raat Aur Din took a while in the making and Feroz got a first whiff of big-budget success when he played Rajendra Kumar's friend and unrequited lover of Sadhana in Ramanand Sagar's Arzoo (1965). In the same year, Khan impressed in the taut drama Oonche Log, in which he was an unrepentant playboy who impregnates his girlfriend but refuses to marry her.

Feroz bagged leads in B-grade films but supporting roles in the bigger ventures. His terse performance as the construction magnate with malleable morals who locks horns with his righteous friend (Dharmendra) in Aadmi Aur Insaan won him Filmfare's Best Supporting Actor Award. Feroz also stood out as Sharmila Tagore's envious husband in Safar. Mukesh's masculine voice fitted Khan's tender-tough personality like a glove. Safar's romantic solo 'Jo tumko ho pasand' (with a musical car horn accompanying Mukesh's voice) resonates in my head each time my car struggles to climb the ghats.

Feroz's younger brother, Sanjay's chocolate good-looks may have got him big-banner films earlier than Feroz, but I always rooted for the underdog. When Sanjay and Feroz starred together in Mela and Upaasna, Sanjay got the heroine (Mumtaz) but Feroz, in my opinion, stole the thunder. I felt he deserved more.

Eventually, Feroz, a horse breeder, proved me right and turned out to be the lambi race ka ghoda. He became a filmmaker, and a star, with Apradh stylish, ambitious hokum about international intrigue and race cars.

Sadhana, his Geeta Mera Naam heroine, says, "Feroz was very stylish. As a producer, he spent twice the money other producers did."

I recall, after my college exams, I had made a beeline for Feroz's much-buzzed-about second venture, Dharmatma; and had thoroughly enjoyed the desi Godfather till interval. But imprinted on my memory chip are the Afghan locales, Hema Malini, aptly described as 'Kya khoob lagti ho, badi sundar lagti ho' and Feroz-Danny's dexterously shot Bushkushi (a game where horse riders compete for a goat carcass) sequence.

Next, Feroz's definitive blockbuster Qurbani brought in the 1980s with its snazzy action sequences and its disco-era soundtrack ('Aap jaisa koi') flavoured by Nazia Hassan's bubblegum pop.u00a0u00a0

Feroz actively cultivated his image of a whacky man with flamboyance to spare. In Khote Sikkey (a hit bonsai version of Sholay), he wore a poncho with panache. He was the indigenous cowboy the Sultan of Style he loved high boots, designer Stetsons and was one of the first to wear tight-fitting jeans. In real life, he sported a young girlfriend on his arm and, later, a shiny bald pate.

He projected his heroines as veritable glamour queens, perennially sporting bikinis whether it was Mumtaz in Apradh, Zeenat in Qurbani, Nagma in Yalgaar, Celina Jaitley in Janasheen.

Unfortunately, after the 90s, Khan wooed women more successfully than he wooed Dame Fortune at the box-office (Yalgaar, Prem Aggan, Janasheen).

But his legacy has survived; and not just through actor son Fardeen. The recent Mumbai Se Aaya Mera Dost paid liberal homage to the Khan by showing villagers repeatedly watching his horseback antics. Feroz's last role, Welcome, too paid winking tribute to his larger-than-life persona.

It brings to mind Movie magazine's Black & White theme party at the Sea Rock poolside in 1990. I was the Editor then and Feroz magnanimously complimented me in his Western twang: "the whiskey is genu(w)ine." The pronunciation was suspect; but the expansive warmth and charm was overwhelming.

The Clint Eastwood of the East has now galloped away to a faraway land. Hey Mili, can you play your ringtone again, please?

"Exciting news! Mid-day is now on WhatsApp Channels