Art & Entertainment

Amjad Khan Didn't Have Rs 400 To Get His Wife Discharged From Hospital After Delivery, Son Shadaab Khan Reveals

On the same day that his son Shadaab Khan was born, actor Amjad Khan signed 'Sholay'. He didn't have enough money to pay for his wife Shaila Khan's hospital discharge. He received Rs 400 from filmmaker Chetan Anand.

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Amjad Khan As Gabbar Singh
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Shadaab Khan, the son of late actor Amjad Khan, answered a question about whether he may be considered his father's lucky mascot. According to a report on Times of India. Amjad Khan signed 'Sholay' the same day Shadaab Khan was born. Shadaab said in a new interview that Amjad Khan didn't have enough money to pay for his wife Shaila Khan's hospital release. He further said that film producer Chetan Anand lent him Rs 400. 

Shadaab Khan remarked in an interview with the Times of India, "Yes (laughs), but he couldn't afford to pay for my mother's (Shehla Khan's) discharge from the hospital where I was born. She began to weep. My father refused to go to the hospital because he was embarrassed to show his face. Chetan Anand, who was working on 'Hindustan Ki Kasam’ at the time, happened to notice my father in a corner, holding his head. My mother and I received 400 bucks from Chetan Anand saab so that we may return home.”

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"When the ‘Sholay’ character of Gabbar Singh came to my father, Salim Khan saab (writer of 'Sholay' alongside Javed Akhtar) recommended his name to Ramesh Sippy (director of 'Sholay')," Shadaab Khan recalled the incident.

The flight to Bangalore, whose outskirts Ramgarh (about 70 km from Bangalore airport), was the place where 'Sholay' was supposed to be shot at, took off, but there was so much turbulence that day that it had to land back 7 times. After that when it came to a halt on the runway, most people dropped out of the flight in fright but my dad did not. He was scared that if he didn't do the film, they would go back to Danny saab (Danny Denzongpa). So, after a few minutes, he took off in that same plane” he added.

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‘Sholay' (1975) was directed by filmmaker Ramesh Sippy and written by writers Salim–Javed. Amjad Khan rose to fame after playing the brutal dacoit Gabbar Singh in the film. Actors Dharmendra, Amitabh Bachchan, Sanjeev Kumar, Hema Malini, and Jaya Bachchan also acted in the film. ‘Sholay’ is regarded as a masterpiece and one of India's greatest films.

Gabbar Singh, Amjad Khan's character in 'Sholay', became his most remembered portrayal. At the age of 51, the actor died of a heart attack in July 1992. Shaila, his wife, and he have three children: Shadaab Khan, Ahlam Khan, and Seemaab Khan.

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