Veteran actor Ajit’s son Shehzad Khan poured his heart out in a recent interview and spoke about the many difficulties his father had to face throughout his career. Ajit is now remembered as one of the most famous villains of the 1960s and 1970s but when he started his career, he appeared in many supporting roles. One of his most acclaimed roles was in the Dilip Kumar and Vyjayanthimala film Naya Daur where he played a supporting role and won a Filmfare Award for the same.
Shehzad said that it was after this film that his father witnessed a downfall in his career as he did not get any work for 4-5 years. “His bad time started after Naya Daur. He didn’t have any work for 4-5 years,” he shared in a chat with Siddharth Kannan. When asked why, Shehzad said that leading heroes were “insecure” and felt that Ajit would steal their limelight. He said, “Heroes were insecure that if we work with him, he’ll take the awards and we won’t get recognised.”
He recalled another anecdote from his father’s struggle days as a newcomer in Mumbai and said that Ajit had to sleep in gutter for many days. “He showed me a gutter near Mohammed Ali Road and said that when he came to Mumbai from Hyderabad, he would sleep in those gutters,” he shared. Shehzad said that his father actually sold his college textbooks so he could collect enough money to come to Mumbai
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Ajit passed away in 1998 but a couple of years after that, Shehzad’s mother Sara was diagnosed with cancer. Shehzad said that his brothers refused to help in sharing the expenditure even though they were doing well financially. He shared that the money left by his father was taken by their relatives and his brother, which is why it became difficult for him to get his mother treated. “My brother refused to pay the hospital bill of Rs 5000 when my mother died. He had enough properties and he took her jewellery too but refused to pay at the hospital,” he said.
Shehzad is famous for playing Bhalla in the popular comedy film Andaz Apna Apna.
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