Mazhar Khan (actor, born 1905)

rdf:langString Mazhar Khan (actor, born 1905)

rdf:langString Mazhar Khan

rdf:langString Mazhar Khan

rdf:langString Mazhar Khan in and as Professor Waman Msc.

rdf:langString Actor, producer, director

rdf:langString Mazhar Khan (18 October 1905 – 24 September 1950) was an actor-producer-director in Indian Cinema. He was widely known for his natural performances. He started his career as a police officer, which he left to study law for a short period. Abandoning his studies he came to Bombay and started his career in cinema with the silent film Fatal Garland opposite the top actress of the time, Ermeline. He became a popular actor, gaining success in several silent films. During his stint in silent films he worked with well-established directors like Bhagwati Mishra, Ezra Mir, Moti P. Bhagnani, R. S. Chowdhary, and M. D. Bhavnani. The magazines of those days, circa 1940s, compared Mazhar to Hollywood actors like Paul Muni, Bela Lugosi and Boris Karloff. Mazhar Khan made a successful transition to Talkies with the end of the Silent Era. Nurjehan (1931), directed by Ezra Mir, was his first Talkie picture. It received a positive response from the audiences establishing Mazhar as a profitable and dependable actor. He went on to work with the East India Film Company in Calcutta and Sagar Movietone, making films like Sultana, Night Bird, Salima and Sonhera Sansar. He then moved back to Bombay and worked under Ranjit Movietone. Having established himself in the different roles, he became renowned for his character depictions while also being respected in the film industry. He formed his own production company, Asiatic Pictures under the banner of which he first made Yaad (1942) and then Pehli Nazar (1945), the latter film referred to as his best directorial triumph in his obituary. He introduced actress Veena in Yaad and Munawwar Sultana as a lead heroine in . His last role was in Usha Kiran.