221.125.232.182 at 04:16, 10 August 2021

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{{For|the Pakistani singer of the same birth name|Hamid Ali Khan}}
{{short description|Indian actor}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2020}}
{{Use Indian English|date=February 2016}}
{{more citations needed|date=December 2012}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Ajit Khan
| image = Ajit Khan.jpg
| image_size = 225px
| caption = Ajit in ''Aan Baan'' (1956)
| birth_name = Hamid Ali Khan
| birth_date ={{birth date|df=yes|1922|1|27}}
| birth_place=[[Golconda]], [[Hyderabad State]], [[British India]]
| death_date ={{death date and age|df=yes|1998|10|22|1922|1|27}}
| death_place =[[Hyderabad]], [[Andhra Pradesh]], [[India]]
| occupation = [[Actor]]
| children = [[Shehzad Khan]]
| website =
}}

'''Hamid Ali Khan''' (27 January 1922 – 22 October 1998), better known by his [[stage name]] '''Ajit''', was an Indian actor active in [[Hindi]] films. He acted in over two hundred movies over almost four decades.<ref>{{cite news |title=Obituary: Ajit |author=Kuldip Singh |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/obituary-ajit-1183238.html |newspaper=[[The Independent]] |date=17 November 1998 |access-date=13 May 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131216212329/http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/obituary-ajit-1183238.html |archive-date=16 December 2013 |url-status=live }}</ref> Ajit is also credited for starring as a lead actor in popular Bollywood movies such as ''[[Beqasoor]]'', ''[[Nastik (1954 film)|Nastik]]'', ''Bada Bhai'', ''Milan'', ''Bara Dari'', and later as a second lead in ''[[Mughal-e-Azam]]'' and ''[[Naya Daur (1957 film)|Naya Daur]]''.

==Biography==

===Early life===

Ajit was born as Hamid Ali Khan into a [[Dakhini Muslims|Deccani Muslim]] family of [[Hyderabad state]] near the historic fort of [[Golconda]] outside [[Hyderabad, India|Hyderabad city]]. His father, Bashir Ali Khan, who was in the [[Nizam of Hyderabad|Nizam]]'s army, and his mother, Sultan Jehan Begum, was a devoted wife and mother. Hamid was one of four children; he had a younger brother, Wahid Ali Khan, and two sisters. The language at home was [[Urdu]], but with [[Dakhini|the Deccani dialect and accent]], which was different from that spoken elsewhere and used in the Hindi film industry. In addition to Urdu, Hamid also spoke [[Telugu language|Telugu]], which is the language of that region.

Ajit had his early education in [[Warangal]] and studied in Govt. Junior College, [[Hanamkonda]] in [[Warangal]] district of [[Telangana]]. Even as a school boy, his handsome features and good build were noticed by his peers, who often told him that he should try and become a film hero, and he began to think of this. He was anyway not much interested in studies, and after finishing school, he sold his junior college textbooks to pay for the journey to Mumbai, the center of the Hindi film industry, and went away without informing his parents.

==Career==
He struggled to meet people and be accepted in any project, and in order to feed himself, he worked as an "extra" in several films.

Finally, he managed to land a leading role, and in the first couple of films, he is credited in his real name, Hamid Khan. He did not meet with much success, and on the advise of [[Nanabhai Bhatt|Nana Bhai Bhat]], he took the name "Ajit" meaning "indomitable" as his screen-name, but his luck did not greatly improve. Although he did several films as a protagonist and became known to the public, and although his distinctive baritone voice and impressive personality brought him a fan following, his luck at the box office was not good at all. Film director [[K. Amarnath]], who directed him in ''[[Beqasoor]]'', suggested that the actor change his long name of Hamid Ali Khan to something shorter, and Hamid zeroed in on "Ajit". ''Beqasoor'', in which he acted with [[Madhubala]], was one of the biggest hits of 1950. Ajit's films as hero include ''Nastik'' (1953), ''Bada Bhai'', ''Milan'', ''Baradari'' and ''Dholak,'' and in all of them, he did credible work as actor. In Nastik (1953), the song ''"Dekh tere sansar ki haalat kya ho gayi Bhagwan"'' is picturised on him. He moved quite soon to second-lead roles, which he accepted because he had no other source of income. These movies include ''[[Naya Daur (1957 film)|Naya Daur]]'' and ''[[Mughal-e-Azam]].''

Ajit, who ran away from home to Mumbai after selling his college books, started his career in films in the 1940s. Luck did not favour him in the beginning. He began with the 1946 movie ''Shahe Misra'', acting opposite Geeta Bose, and also did films such as ''Sikander'' (with Van Mala), ''Hatimtai'' (1947), ''Aap Beeti'' (with Khursheed), ''Sone Ki Chidiya'' (with Leela Kumari), ''Dholak'' (with Meena Shori) and ''Chanda Ki Chandni'' (with Monica Desai) as leading hero, but flopped. He did the most films (15) with Nalini Jaywant. Ajit switched over to play the villain. His first movie as a villain was ''[[Suraj (1966 film)|Suraj]]'', followed by films such as ''[[Zanjeer (1973 film)|Zanjeer]]'' and ''[[Yaadon Ki Baaraat]]''.

His famous dialogues included the "Mona darling" bit in ''Yaadon Ki Baraat'', "Lily don't be silly" in ''Zanjeer'' and the one about a "Lion" in Kallicharan. Ajit's other well known films were ''Naya Daur'', ''Nastik'' and ''Shikari'' to name only a few. In his four decades of film career, Ajit had acted along with the legendary Prithviraj Kapoor, Sohrab Modi, Amitabh Bachchan, I S Johar, Dilip Kumar, Dev Anand, Shammi Kapoor, Dharmendra and many actresses, both young and old.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.rediff.com/news/1998/oct/22ajit.htm |title=Archived copy |access-date=5 December 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140812105427/http://www.rediff.com/news/1998/oct/22ajit.htm |archive-date=12 August 2014 |url-status=live }}</ref>

In the mid-seventies he had acted in over 57 films, mostly as a villain. His dialogue delivery remains popular even to this date. His colleagues in the film industry — leading personalities who have acted with him, grown up seeing him in Mumbai — expressed deep sorrow over his death.

Writer [[Javed Akhtar]], who scripted ''[[Zanjeer (1973 film)|Zanjeer]]'', said: "Like Bachchan, Ajit found a new image as villain after Zanjeer. He started a new innings in his career though he was an established hero in the fifties. His villainy started a new trend. Here was a new villain who was soft-spoken yet forceful. We wanted to give a different image to villainy which matched the hero."

===Acting style===
Ajit almost always portrayed the sophisticated, educated, well groomed evil mastermind, albeit heartless villain. Ajit was presented in striking western attire, the "bold" checked suits, matching overcoats, white leather shoes, wide sunglasses, jewellery accessories etc. Given his stature as a senior artist, Ajit was usually the gang leader to second tier villains (such as [[Jeevan (actor)]], [[Prem Chopra]], [[Ranjeet]], [[Kader Khan]] and [[Sujit Kumar]]). He was rarely portrayed (in movie roles) doing any "dirty work" himself, rather relying on his army of henchmen for the task, with zero tolerance for any failures. He always had a savvy female accomplice, usually named "Mona." Acting in over 200 films, he specialized in playing suave villains with memorable catch-phrases delivered in now iconic Ajit-style nasal drawls such as "Mona, darling". Ajit also brought to fame the [[Smuggling|smuggler]] as the villain. In his movies, he is generally seen smuggling ''gold biscuits'' in or out of the country. It has also been noted that most of his gang members had Christian names like Robert, Michael and Peter. He pronounced "Robert" as "Rabbert." This also has been used for comic purposes in [[parody|parodies]]. His favourite dialogue is- "Very smart"

It was the menacing voice he was most famous for. He is still remembered for bringing the most famous villains in the history of Indian cinema to life. His contemporaries include veteran actors like [[Amrish Puri]], [[Pran (actor)|Pran]], [[Prem Chopra]] and [[Amjad Khan (actor)|Amjad Khan]]. Some of his popularity in the present time is due to the innumerable jokes and parodies made on his famous lines by comedians.

==Personal life==
Ajit married three times. His first wife, whom he married after a brief love affair, was an [[Anglo-Indian]] and a Christian. The marriage was very short-lived and fell apart due to huge cultural differences and there were no children. Ajit married Shahida, a young lady of his own community and similar social background, in a match arranged by their parents in the usual Indian way. The marriage, which lasted till her death, was harmonious and was blessed with three sons. Ajit then married a third time, this time again for love, and the name of his third wife was Sara/Sarah. The actor [[Jayant (actor)|Jayant]] (better known as the father of actor [[Amjad Khan (actor)|Amjad Khan]]) took the initiative to facilitate this marriage. Ajit has a further two sons by his third wife name [[Shehzad Khan|Shezad Khan]] and [[Arbaaz Ali Khan|Arbaaz Khan]].

Ajit had a strong friendship with actor [[Rajendra Kumar]]. Apart from friendship, Ajit also credited Rajendra Kumar with advising and helping him to become a "leading villain" rather than a second-lead hero. Rajendra Kumar was instrumental in getting Ajit his first role as villain in the film ''[[Suraj (1966 film)|Suraj]]''.

===Death===
Ajit died of a sudden heart attack. The film industry was taken aback by the sudden death and lavished many tributes.

Fellow "villain" [[Amrish Puri]] said Ajit's death is a sad loss to films. "Ajit developed his own style of acting and delivery of dialogue. We still remember his style of acting which is guidance to the new generation of actors." Another fellow villain, [[Prem Chopra]], who starred with Ajit in many films including ''Jugnu'', ''Chupa Rustom'' and ''Ram Balram'' as a father and son team, said Ajit was devoted in his work. "He had a subtle sense of humour. He was a cultured man. We had a common interest - reciting Urdu poetry."

New-generation villain [[Kiran Kumar]] was shocked to hear that "his Ajit uncle" had died. "Our relationship was more personal than professional. I must have been hardly eight or ten years when my father ([[Jeevan (actor)|Jeevan]]) used to take me to Paradise Bakery opposite which was Ajit's residence. Father would call him by his first name Hamid, and would call him down. Ajit would come down, wearing lungi and jaali banian to chat with my father."

==Filmography==
{| class="wikitable"
|+ Acting Filmography
|-
! Year !! Film !! Role
|-
|1995
| ''[[Criminal (1994 film)|Criminal]]'' || Jagdish Prasad
|-
|1994
| ''[[Gangster (1994 film)|Gangster]]'' || Chandulal Seth
|-
| 1994
| ''[[Aa Gale Lag Jaa (1994 film)|Aa Gale Lag Jaa]]''|| Kalka Singh
|-
|1994
| ''[[Betaaj Badshah]]'' || Khan Chacha
|-
|1994
| ''[[Aatish: Feel the Fire|Aatish]]'' || Uncle (Underworld Don)
|-
|1993
| ''[[Shaktiman (1993 film)|Shaktiman]]'' || Shamsher Singh / Tiger
|-
|1993
| ''[[Aadmi (1993 film)|Aadmi]]'' || Trikaal
|-
|1992
| ''[[Jigar]]''|| Baba Thakur (Karate Instructor)
|-
|1992
| ''[[Police Officer (film)|Police Officer]]'' || Dindayal "D. D."
|-
|1985
| ''[[Phaansi Ke Baad]]'' || D.I.G. Surendranath
|-
|1984
| ''[[Raaj Tilak (1984 film)|Raaj Tilak]]''|| Bhavani Singh
|-
|1984
| ''[[Raja Aur Rana]]''|| Teja / Heeralal
|-
|1983
| ''[[Daulat Ke Dushman]]'' || Jagga Thakur
|-
|1983
| ''[[Razia Sultan (film)|Razia Sultan]]'' || Amil Balban
|-
|1983
| ''[[Mangal Pandey (1983 film)|Mangal Pandey]]'' || Lal Singh / Jaganlal
|-
|1982
| ''[[Chorni]]''|| Shambhu Dada
|-
|1981
| ''[[Khoon Aur Paani]]'' || Thakur Vikram Singh
|-
|1981
| ''[[Aakhri Mujra]]'' ||
|-
|1981
| ''[[Jyoti (1981 film)|Jyoti]]'' || Amirchand
|-
|1981
| ''[[Khuda Kasam (1981 film)|Khuda Kasam]]'' || Raizada Hukamchand
|-
|1980
| ''[[Choron Ki Baaraat]]'' || Dhanraj
|-
|1980
| ''[[Ram Balram]]''|| Jaggu / Chowdhary Jagatpal
|-
|1979
| ''[[Heera-Moti]]''|| Pratap Singh
|-
|1979
| ''[[Mr. Natwarlal]]''|| Inspector Girdharilal
|-
|1978
| ''[[Aahuti (1978 film)|Aahuti]]''|| C.B.I. Officer Harnam Prasad
|-
|1978
| ''[[Azaad (1978 film)|Azaad]]''|| Seema's Uncle
|-
|1978
| ''[[Des Pardes (1978 film)|Des Pardes]]''|| Gurnam
|-
|1978
| ''[[Heeralaal Pannalaal (1978 film)|Heeralaal Pannalaal]]''|| Kalicharan
|-
|1978
| ''[[Karmayogi (1978 film)|Karmayogi]]''|| Keshavlal
|-
|1978
| ''[[Ram Kasam]]''|| Inspector Ajit Singh
|-
|1977
| ''[[Aakhri Goli]]''||
|-
|1977
| ''[[Chalta Purza]]''||Captain Rajendra Behl
|-
|1977
| ''[[Ankh Ka Tara]]''|| Ramlal
|-
|1977
| ''[[Hum Kisise Kum Naheen]]''|| Sunita's Father (Guest Appearance)
|-
|1976
| ''[[Jaaneman (1976 film)|Jaaneman]]''|| Raja Sahib / Gulbahar Singh
|-
|1976
| ''[[Charas (1976 film)|Charas]]''|| Kalicharan
|-
|1976
| ''[[Kalicharan]]''|| Dindayal / Lion
|-
|1976
| ''[[Sangram (1976 film)|Sangram]]''|| Durjan
|-
|1975
| ''[[Do Jhoot]]''|| Nathulal
|-
|1975
| ''[[Pratigya (1975 film)|Pratiggya]]''|| Bharat Daku
|-
|1975
| ''[[Warrant (1975 film)|Warrant]]'' || Master
|-
|1974
| ''[[Badla (1974 film)|Badla]]'' || Pratap / Randhir
|-
|1974
| ''[[Khote Sikkay]]''|| Jangha
|-
|1974
| ''[[Paap Aur Punya]]''|| Balvir Singh
|-
|1974
| ''[[Patthar Aur Payal]]''|| Ajit Singh
|-
|1973
| ''[[Bandhe Haath|Bandhe Hath]]'' || Inspector Kumar / Pakkad Singh
|-
|1973
| ''[[Chhupa Rustam]]'' || Vikram Singh
|-
|1973
| ''[[Dharma (1973 film)|Dharma]]'' || IG Ajit Singh
|-
|1973
| ''[[Jugnu]]'' || Boss
|-
|1973
| ''[[Kahani Kismat Ki]]''|| Premchand
|-
|1973
| ''[[Shareef Budmaash]]''|| Ranjit
|-
|1973
| ''[[Yaadon Ki Baaraat]]''|| Shakaal
|-
|1973
| ''[[Zanjeer (1973 film)|Zanjeer]]''|| Dharam Dayal Teja
|-
|1972
| ''[[Dil Ka Raja|Dil Ka Raaja]]''|| Thakur Gajendra Singh
|-
|1972
| ''[[Sultana Daku (1972 film)|Sultana Daku]]'' ||
|-
|1971
| ''[[Andaz (1971 film)|Andaz]]'' || Raju's Father
|-
|1971
| ''[[Lal Patthar]]''|| Raja Raghav Shankar Rai
|-
|1971
| ''[[Paraya Dhan]]''|| Heeralal Daku
|-
|1971
| ''[[Patanga]]''|| Kunwar Amar Singh
|-
|1970
| ''[[Heer Raanjha]]''|| Heer's husband
|-
|1970
| ''[[Dharti (1970 film)|Dharti]]''|| Diwan
|-
|1970
| ''[[Jeevan Mrityu]]''|| Harishchandra "Harish"
|-
|1969
| ''[[Aadmi Aur Insaan]]''|| Kundanlal / Sher Singh
|-
|1969
| ''[[Prince (1969 film)|Prince]]''|| Shamsher's Mamaji
|-
|1968
| ''[[Raja Aur Runk]]''|| Hariya
|-
|1967
| ''[[Baghdad Ki Raatein]]''||
|-
|1966
| ''[[Suraj (1966 film)|Suraj]]'' || Rajkumar Pratap Singh
|-
|1965
| ''[[Main Hoon Aladdin]]'' || Aladdin
|-
|1965
| ''[[Namaste Ji]]''||
|-
|1963
| ''[[Shikari (1963 film)|Shikari]]'' ||
|-
|1963
| ''[[Kabli Khan]]''|| Kabli Khan
|-
|1962
| ''[[Burmah Road]]''||
|-
|1962
| ''[[Tower House]]''|| Suresh Kumar
|-
|1962
| ''[[Girls' Hostel]]'' ||
|-
|1961
| ''[[Opera House (1961 film)|Opera House]]''|| Ajit Rai
|-
|1960
| ''[[Mughal-e-Azam]]''|| Durjan Singh
|-
|1960
| ''[[Baraat]]''|| Shyamu
|-
|1959
| ''[[Char Dil Char Rahen (1959)|Char Dil Char Rahen]]'' || Dilawar
|-
|1959
| ''[[Guest House (1959 film)|Guest House]]'' || Amar
|-
|1958
| ''[[Mehndi (1958 film)|Mehndi]]''||
|-
|1957
| ''[[Miss Bombay]]''||
|-
|1957
| ''[[Bada Bhai]]'' ||
|-
|1957
| ''[[Kitna Badal Gaya Insaan]]''||
|-
|1957
| ''[[Naya Daur (1957 film)|Naya Daur]]''|| Krishna
|-
|1956
| ''26 January''||
|-
|1956
| ''Aan Baan''||
|-
|1956
| ''[[Durgesh Nandini]]'' ||
|-
|1956
| ''[[Halaku (film)|Halaku]]''|| Parvez
|-
|1955
| ''[[Aaj Ki Baat]]''||
|-
|1955
| ''[[Bara Dari (film)|Bara Dari]]''|| Ajit Singh
|-
|1955
| ''[[Marine Drive (film)|Marine Drive]]'' || Ajit
|-
|1955
| ''[[Naqab (1955 film)|Naqab]]''||
|-
|1955
| ''[[Shahzada (1955 film)|Shahzada]]''||
|-
|1955
| ''[[Teerandaz (1955 film)|Teerandaz]]'' ||
|-
|1954
| ''[[Maan (film)|Maan]]'' ||
|-
|1954
| ''[[Nastik (1954 film)|Nastik]]''|| Anil Kapoor / Babaji
|-
|1954
| ''[[Samrat (1954 film)|Samrat]]''||
|-
|1952
| ''[[Anand Math]]''||
|-
|1952
| ''[[Moti Mahal (film)|Moti Mahal]]''||
|-
|1952
| ''Tarang''||
|-
|1952
| ''[[Vasna (1952 film)|Vasna]]'' ||
|-
|1951
| ''Daman''||
|-
|1951
| ''Dholak'' ||
|-
|1951
| ''[[Saiyan (film)|Saiyan]]''|| Vijay
|-
|1951
| ''[[Sarkar (1951 film)|Sarkar]]''||
|-
|1950
| ''[[Beqasoor]]''|| Brij
|-
|1949
| ''Jeevan Saathi''||
|-
|1949
| ''[[Patanga (1949 film)|Patanga]]''||
|-
|1945
| ''[[Kurukshetra (1945 film)|Kurukshetra]]''||
|-
|}

==References==
{{reflist}}

{{authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ajit}}
[[Category:1922 births]]
[[Category:1998 deaths]]
[[Category:Male actors from Telangana]]
[[Category:Indian male film actors]]
[[Category:Male actors in Hindi cinema]]
[[Category:20th-century Indian male actors]]

Ajit Khan - Revision history

221.125.232.182 at 04:16, 10 August 2021