"If you are an actor, the day nobody surrounds you, you will feel like killing yourself, take it from me.”

Jyothi Venkatesh

I still remember the words of Amjad Khan. “If you are an actor, you will feel like killing yourself the day nobody surrounds you.” It is a strange irony that besides Feroz Khan and Vinod Khanna, Amjad Khan who was also a part and parcel of Feroz Khan’s film Qurbani died on the same day though in different years. To commemorate his 27th death anniversary today, we reproduce this rare in depth interview with AMJAD KHAN by JYOTHI VENKATESH which was taken way back exactly 40 years ago in 1979.

When I rang up Amjad Khan in the good old days when there was no mobile phone and only landlines functioned, to fix up an appointment for this interview, the voice at the other end informed me that Amjad was convalescing at his father in law’s place right across the Bandstand. Determined to pursue Amjad, I dialed the number given to me. To my surprise, Amjad himself came on line and asked me to come over to his hide- out the very next day.What I like about Amjad is his attitude towards the media. He continues to remain the same Amjad Khan he was before Sholay was released. In spite of the fact that he was convalescing after his recent car mishap, Amjad sportingly sat down for the interview when I reached the venue the next day, sipping endless cups of tea, which he confessed was his favorite poison and not alcohol.

Amjad Khan

To set the ball rolling, I asked Amjad whether he had resolved to never again drive his car, Amjad guffawed and said, “What are two accidents in a span of 36 years in the life of a Pathan? If I am scared of a couple of accidents like these, I wouldn’t be a Pathan. Accidents can happen anywhere and everywhere. Tomorrow if I go to the loo, the ceiling can crash down and kill me. That doesn’t mean that I should stop going to the loo.”

Even when Amjad was lying on his bed, he had insisted on reporting for his dubbing sessions though his doctors had advised him against it. Amjad’s contention is that he is well aware of the difficulties his producers may have to face in case their films are not completed on schedule. By the time this interview appears in print, Amjad would have started his work on the sets too. Amjad has already attended three mahurats of his films namely Kalu Ustad starring him with Vinod Mehra and Bindiya, Humse Badkar Kaun with Mithun Chakraborty and Vijayendra and Bombay Ka Bahadur.

Amjad Khan

I asked Amjad whether it was true that after the stupendous success of his Dada, he has started insisting on signing only for leading roles. Amjad retorted that at no stage of his career, had he ever thought of switching over from character roles to leading roles. “If today you find producers approaching me with offers for leading roles, the only reason is that the distributors want me to be cast as the leading man. Personally I do not think Dada clicked only because of me. Filmmaking is a team work. Vinod Mehra, Bindiya, Usha Khanna, Jugal Kishore etc are equally responsible for the success of the film.”

Amjad expressed his displeasure at being written off as a good for nothing commercial artiste by some of the so called art film directors. “Most of the art film directors are mortally scared of casting me, because they know that they cannot confuse me with their philosophies. I am clever enough to know from where they flick their ideas. If Shatranj Ke Khilari for Satyajit Ray and Meera for Gulzar are the only two art films that I have done, the reason is I haven’t been approached by most of them other so called art filmmakers”

Amjad Khan

With Adhura Aadmi, Amjad has taken to direction too. What made him take up direction? I asked him. “I started my career in films as an assistant director to K. Asif. I had assisted him in the making of Love And God. Later on I had even assisted Chetan Anand. Direction isn’t something which I have taken up just because I fancied it. The guy who was supposed to direct the film left the film after a couple of reels had been canned. Mind you, Adhura Aadmi isn’t my own film. It is that of producer Kumar Mohan. I am only helping a friend of mine who had launched this film with me in the leading role opposite Vidya Sinha relying on the same director who deserted him later on.”

However Amjad is determined not to take up any other assignment for direction, though proposal after proposal keeps coming. “At this stage of my career when I have several acting assignments, it is simply next to impossible to concentrate on direction. To direct a film isn’t a joke. My tragedy is that the director Amjad of Adhura Aadmi isn’t successful in managing the dates of the star Amjad Khan for Adhura Aadmi because he has already allotted my dates to other filmmakers”

Amjad Khan

The photographer who had tagged along with me  for the interview requested Amjad if he could click him when the interview was on since  he wanted some candid shots of Amjad with the bandage on the foot. In spite of the fact that Amjad was totally unprepared for a photo session, and had applied no makeup at all, he agreed to let the snap- shooter go ahead with his job while he talked.The talk veered around star adulation. “The artistes are wary of crowds only because sometimes the crowd does provoke them needlessly. Basically I do not deny at all that actors are show pieces and exhibitionists and need the audience as much as the audiences need them. I manage to handle my fans when they manage to act crazy while I am shooting outdoors. I treat them with respect. If you are an actor, the day nobody surrounds you, you will feel like killing yourself, take it from me.” Amjad detests typecasting. “I am glad I didn’t get typed to a point of no return after Sholay though many producers rushed to me with offers akin to Sholay’s Gabbar Singh. I turned down every one of those roles. Thankfully my gamble paid off and today a stage has come when producers themselves are approaching me with positive roles. Yet there are quite a few directors who feel that their films will sell only if I hold a gun in my hand. In Hamare Tumhare I was signed to play the heroine’s father. I was startled when I was given a gun in my hand and asked by the director to start threatening each and every one around. But I did as I was told by the director because I do not want to be dubbed an uncooperative and unreasonable artiste.”

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