Nasir Khan, the younger brother of actor Dilip Kumar and a decent actor. known for his films like “Shehnai (1947),” “Nagina (1951),” “Khazana (1951),” “Char Minar (1956),” and Ganga Jamuna (1961), Tasweermahal is paying its humble tribute on his death anniversary and bringing his life sketch for our readers.
Early Life and Debut
Nasir Khan was born on 11 January 1924, in Peshawar, he was the younger brother of the legendary actor Dilip Kumar. His father, Lala Ghulam Sarwar Ali Khan, was a landlord and fruit merchant who owned orchards in Peshawar and Deolali.
After Dilip Kumar made his debut in 1944 with Bombay Talkies, his brother caught the attention of filmmaker Nitin Bose. Bose cast him in the film Mazdoor in 1945. He then starrer in PL Santoshi’s 1947 hit Shehnai with Rehana, which has C Ramchndra’s evergreen classics like “Maar Katari Mar Jaana,” “Jawani Ki Rail Chali Jaye Re” and “Aana Meri Jaan Meri Jaan Sunday Ke Sunday”
Nasir Khan as a Leading Man
After partition, He choose remain at his ancestral home and tried to make a career in Pakistan. Nasir Khan starred in the first ever Pakistani film “Teri Yaad” opposite “Asha Posley” and directed by Daud Chand and Ram Lal in 1948. He acted in another Pakistani film, Shahida opposite Shamim Bano in 1949.
Nasir left his home and relatives and come back to Bomaby to be with his brother. He resumed his acting career with movie Nagina (1951) opposite Nutan. The film’s song “Roun me sagar ke kinare” in the voice of C.H. Atma is still remembered fondly. With the success of Nagina, the two of them formed a memorable pair. They the starred in Aagosh (1953) and Sheesham (1952). In M. Sadiq’s Khazana (1951) & N. K. Ziree’d’s Nazneen (1951) he paired with Madhubala. He starred opposite Suraiya in “Khoobsurat (1952),” “Lal Kunwar (1952)” and “Inaam (1955).”
Moderate Success
He also done Kamal Amrohi directorial Daera (1953) with Meena kumari, which was far ahead of its time and was dealing with the theme of marital incompatibility and young love.
He also apeared in films like Saudagar (1951) witrh Rehana, Nakhare(1951) with Geeta Bali, Shrimati Ji (1952) and Aasmaan (1952) with Shyama, Angarey (1954) with Nargis, Society (1955) with Nimmi, Lutera (1955) with Begum Para, Jawab (1955) with Geeta Bali, Jallad (1956) with Munawar Sultana, Samundari Daku (1956), Kar Bhala (1956) with Shashikala, Char Minar (1956) with Jabeen Jalil, and Saaya (1961) with Nigar Sultana.
Ganga Jamuna
Despite these films with top actresses and A class directors, Nasir Khan never had a big success. In 1961, Dilip Kumar gave him a role of his lifetime in Ganga Jamuna. Nasir Khan played the righteous brother of Dilip Kumar, who becomes a Daku due to adverse circumstances. Ganga Jamuna goes on to become a huge block buster and a path breaking film but Nasir Khan was completely over shadowed by the brilliance of Dilip Kumar, Vyjyantimala, Kanhya Lal and Anwar Hussain. After a hiatus of 11 years he make a comeback in Yaadon ki Barat (1972) in a cameo and does a few more films as character actor. His final film Bairaag (1976) was released after his death.
Personal Life of Nasir Khan
Nasir Khan’s first marriage was to Suraiya Nazir, daughter of the renowned filmmaker Nazir Ahmed Khan. From this union, he had a daughter named Naheed Khan. His second marriage was to the actress Begum Para, a prominent figure in the Indian film industry herself. Their son, Ayub Khan, followed in his father’s footsteps and became an actor, continuing the family’s cinematic legacy.
Nasir Khan faced professional ups and downs all his life, and he also faced many health issue. His health deteriorated further in his later years, which led to Nasir Khan’s death on 3 May 1974 at the age of 50.
Nasir Khan on IMDB
