#GoldenFrames: Feroz Khan, the evergreen style icon of Bollywood

Born as Zulfiqar Ali Shah Khan in Bengaluru, Karnataka, India on September 25, 1939, to Sadiq Ali Khan Tanoli, an Afghan Pashtun Tanoli from Ghazni, Afghanistan his mother Fatima, with a Persian ancestry from Iran, the actor had the features from best of both worlds. Feroz Khan brought the wild west with his leather boots, hats and cigars in his movies. In fact, he was once called the ‘The Clint Eastwood of the East’ in Bollywood. He revolutionised the style of the conventional hero of Bollywood with his swag. Feroz Khan was a style icon who never fell for the rat race—he was choosy about his roles. The yesteryear heartthrob worked in over sixty movies during his 45-year-long career.

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Feroz Khan did his schooling at Bishop Cotton Boys' School and St. Germain High School, Bengaluru. He grew up with siblings Shah Abbas Khan (Sanjay Khan), Shahrukh Shah Ali Khan, Sameer Khan, Akbar Khan, Khurshid Shahnavar and Dilshad Begum Sheikh. After schooling in Bengaluru, he travelled to Mumbai, where he debuted as the second lead in 'Didi' (1960).

In This Pic : goldenframes, feroz khan

Feroz Khan made low-budget thrillers opposite starlets in the early 1960s and 1970s. He appeared in an English-language movie 'Tarzan Goes to India' (1962) opposite Simi Garewal. His first big hit was with Phani Majumdar's 'Oonche Log' (1965), followed by more small budget hit movies like 'Samson' (1964), 'Char Darvesh' (1964), 'Ek Sapera Ek Lootera' (1965) and 'Arzoo' (1965). With the movie 'Aadmi Aur Insaan' (1969), Khan won his first Filmfare award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role.

(Photo: Dharmendra, Mumtaz and Feroz Khan in a still from the movie 'Aadmi Aur Insaan')

In This Pic : mumtaz, feroz khan, dharmendra

His other hit movies were 'Khotey Sikkey' (1974), 'Geeta Mera Naam' (1974), 'Pyasi Sham' (1969), 'Shankar Shambhu' (1976) and 'Safar' (1970). Feroz Khan appeared alongside his real-life brother Sanjay Khan in the hit movies such as 'Upaasna' (1967), 'Mela' (1971) and 'Nagin' (1976).

(Photo: Still from the movie 'Khotey Sikkey')

In This Pic : GoldenFrames, Feroz Khan

Feroz Khan was branded as a womaniser from his bachelorhood days. It all changed when Feroz met Sundari, and it was love at first sight for these two. The couple dated for around five years before tying the knot. In 1965, Feroz Khan married Sundari Khan, and together they have two children, Laila Khan, born in 1970 and Fardeen Khan, born in 1974.

In This Pic : Sundari, goldenframes, feroz khan