The ‘Loin’ of Bollywood, Ajit, enthralled Hindi cinema fans with his baritone, oversized sunglasses, stylish clothes, and his many catchphrases — “Sara shehr mujhe Loin ke naam se jaanta hai”, and “Mona Darling” — as his characters executed their sinister plans. His son, Shehzad Khan, aka Bhalla of Andaz Apna Apna, also established himself as a notable screen villain. But never in his career did he get the support of his father. Instead, his life was made “tough and hard” by Ajit, who, according to Shehzad, had a similar persona off-screen as he was on-screen.
In a recent interaction with Siddharth Kannan, Shehzad revisited his first conversation with his father about wanting to become an actor. He shared, “When I first told my father I wanted to be an actor, he gave me his peculiar look and said, ‘Miyan, main tumhaare liye koi film nahi banaunga. Main tumhe launch nahi karunga (I won’t make any film for you. I won’t launch you). You go and struggle and try not to use my name. Also, don’t make me talk to someone on the phone.”
That day, Shehzad decided never to take money from his father, and took help from his friends instead. “My friends helped me in getting my photo session done,” he shared.
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Asked why his father didn’t help him bag roles in films or promote him in the film circle, Shehzad answered, “My father saw the debacle of the son of one of the superstars of the time, Rajinder Kumar’s son Kumar Gaurav. His first film was a superhit, but then his career graph went down. So, he thought, ‘Jab hero ke bete ka ye haal ho sakta hai, toh main toh character actor hun (If this can be the fate of a hero’s son, I am just a character actor). He was maybe right in his way.”
Ajit was a ‘strict’ father
However, Ajit was a hard taskmaster and stopped giving his son pocket money after he took his 10th standard exams. “He was very strict. Mere saath jitna zulm ho sakta tha unhone kiya (He tortured in whatever way he could). I tolerated it all. After my 10th exams, he told me, ‘We cannot give you pocket money, we will only provide you food. This is my friend’s office, go and work there. Whatever you will earn, would be yours,'” shared Shehzad.
Actors Ajit, Bindu and Amitabh Bachchan. (Express archive photo)
Shehzad Khan, who had never travelled in a bus or a train before, found it a challenge to commute between Bandstand and Colaba daily. He said, “I never travelled in a bus or a train and I started travelling from Badstand to Colaba. I fractured my leg since I didn’t know how to get on and off the train. After one month of pain, he (Ajit) told me to get back to work.
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“My father gave me a hard and tough life. Though I am thankful for it now, then I used to cry throughout the night wondering, ‘What wrong did I do to be treated this way?'”
Shehzad Khan started his journey in Hindi cinema with Mansoor Khan’s Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak. He starred in several films but gained popularity for playing Bhalla, Teja’s aide, in Andaz Apna Apna. The actor was last seen in Taarak Mehta Ka Ooltah Chashmah, where he essayed the role of Danger Mani Bhai.
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