Khalil (actor)

Khalil was an Indian cinema actor of silent and talkie films. He achieved stardom with silent films like Gul-E-Bakavali (1924), Kulin Kanta (1925), and Lanka Ni Laadi (1925) which was a major success commercially. His other successes included Cinema Queen (1925) with Sulochana, Draupadi (1931), and Daily Mail (1930). Khalil is referred to as the "macho hero".[1]

This article is about the Indian actor. For the Bangladeshi actor, see Khalil Ullah Khan.

Khalil
Born
Khalil Ahmed

1903
Died28 October 1941 (aged 37–38)
Calcutta
OccupationActor
Years active1920–1941

Khalil worked from 1920 to 1941, making a transition to Talkies in 1931 with Draupadi directed by B. P. Mishra, and Daulat Ka Nasha directed by Pesi Karani. Both films were produced by Kohinoor and Imperial Films. He shifted to Calcutta from Bombay in 1934, and immediately "made his mark" with the East India Film Company production Quismat Ki Kasauti (1934), directed by Pesi Karani.[1] He also wrote lyrics for films like Dard-e-Dil (1934).

Career

Silent Films

Khalil's first film was Krishna Sudama (1920), a silent film co-produced by Kohinoor Film Company and Imperial Film Company.[2] He joined the Kohinoor Film Company in 1925, along with other known actors of that time like Raja Sandow, Zubeida and Tara.[3] Some of his notable silent films were Sati Parvati (1920), Mahasati Ansuya (1921), Rukmani Haran (1921), Malti Madhav (1922), Surya Kumari (1922) and Manorama (1924).

In 1924, he acted as a "lecherous Maharaja" in Kulin Kanta. The film was based on a true incident cited as the Bawla murder case, and depicted the story of the Maharaja Tukoji Rao Holkar III of Indore and a dancing girl who wanted to escape from the harem.[4]

In 1925, Khalil acted as a shepherd in love with a princess he saves, in Kohinoor Film Company's fantasy production called Lanka Ni Laadi, also known as Fairy Of Ceylon. The film was directed by Homi Master with story by Mohanlal G. Dave. It co-starred Gohar and Jamna. The film became Gohar's first "major" hit and "grossed more than any other film in 1925".[5]

Talkies

Khalil joined Indian Talkies 1931, and worked in the two films produced by them, Draupadi and Daulat Ka Nasha.[1] Draupadi, also called The Daughter Of King Drupad, was the story of Draupadi from the epic Mahabharata. It was produced by the Imperial Film Company and directed by Bhagwati Prasad Mishra. Khalil played Lord Krishna with actress Ermiline playing Draupadi. Daulat Ka Nasha was directed by Pesi Karani.

He continued to make his mark with films like Bharat Mata (1932), directed by Pesi Karani, Niti Vijay (1932), directed by Moti Gidwani, Do Rangi Duniya, directed by Pesi Karani and Saubhagya Sundari, directed by Homi Master. All films were produced by Imperial Film Company.[6]

In 1934, Khalil acted in Mazdoor, also known as The Mill, which was directed by Mohan Dayaram Bhavnani for Ajanta Cinetone. Written by Munshi Premchand, it was one of the first talkies to be banned by British censors in India.

Khalil shifted from Bombay to Calcutta, where he achieved success working again with Karani in East India Films' Kismet Ki Kasauti (1934). With Madan Theatres Ltd. he worked in Miss Manorama (1935) and Bulbul-e-Iran (1936), directed by Faredoon Irani, and in Miss Parivartan, directed by Ezra Mir.[1]

In 1937, Khalil acted in Whose Darling?, also called Kiski Pyari?. He played the second lead to Jal Merchant and Zubeida. The film was written and directed by Akhtar Nawaz. The advertisement in filmindia called it a "Heart-throbbing Rajput story of love, romance and chivalry". The film was produced by Sunrise Film Co. from The Tollywood Studios.

Personal Life And Death

A Muslim by birth, he performed varied roles in films. His initial acting phase had him playing Hindu Gods in mythology films. He portrayed Krishna and Rama several times.[7] Disenchanted by the communalism arising in the film industry, he made a speech against it at the Indian Motion Pictures Congress on 4 May 1939. A section was quoted in his obituary in the cine-mag Filmindia in 1941:

"I have played all the Gods from Hindu mythology from Lord Krishna to Prabhu Ramchandra. I have worked all my life under Hindu employers. And now when I hear of communalism in our film industry my heart bleeds. I have been liked and loved by Hindus and Muslims alike. We are all devotees of art and art is above any community".

Khalil died on 28 October 1941, in Calcutta, after a short illness. He was thirty-seven years old and left behind "a widow" and "five children".[8]

Filmography

Lists:[6]

Silent films
Year Film
1920Krishna Sudama
1921Sati Parvati
1921Mahasati Ansuya
1921Rukmini Haran
1922Malti Madhav
1922Suryakumari
1924Gul Bakavali
1924Manorama
1924Minal Devi
1925Kulin Kanta
1925Child Widow
1925Dream Of Life
1925Lanka Ni Laadi
1925Veer Bala
1926Lakho Vanjaro
1926Sati Jasama
1926Shirin Farhad
1926Thief Of Delhi
1926Wandering Phantom
1927Return Of Kala Naag
1927The Mission Girl
1927Why Sons Go Astray
1928Bhai Ki Kasai
1928Gul Sanobar
1928Rajnibala
1928Veerangana
1929The Lovers
1930A Woman's Vengeance
1930Daily Mail
1931Cavalier Of Love

Talkies

A partial list:

Year Film Director Studio/Producer
1931DraupadiB. P. MishraImperial Film Company
1931Daulat Ka NashaPesi KaraniImperial Film Company
1932Bharati MataPesi KaraniImperial Film Company
1932Niti VijayMoti GidwaniImperial Film Company
1933Dorangi DuniyaPesi KaraniImperial Film Company
1933Saubhagya SundariHomi MasterImperial Film Company
1934Kismet Ki KasautiPesi KaraniEast India Film Company
1934Mazdoor a.k.a. MillM. BhavnaniAjanta Cinetone
1935Gaibi GolaVithaldas PanchotiaTollywood Studio (Madan Theatres)
1935Miss ManoramaFaredoon IraniTollywood Studio (Madan Theatres)
1936ParivartanEzra MirMadan Theatres
1936Shaitan Ka PashEzra MirMadan Theatres
1937AflatoonPesi KaraniTollywood Studio (Madan Theatres)
1937Kiski Pyari a.k.a. Whose LoveAkhtar NawazSunrise Pictures
1938Karma VeerVithaldas PanchotiaSitaram Cine
1940Hamara DeshA. M. KhanMohan Pictures
1941Abla Ki ShantiMunshi DilRadha Films
1941Merchant Of VeniceJ. J. MadanRadha Films
gollark: Like showing ads to bricks.
gollark: Yes.
gollark: Humans typically have greater depth than bricks. But I don't have a brick on hand or a ruler to verify.
gollark: You're paying for things *with shifts in your attitudes and perceptions*.
gollark: The fearsome thing about this "attention economy" thing is that you aren't just paying for things by looking at them a bit.

References
  1. Ashok Raj (1 November 2009). "Khalil, The First Star, and Raja Sandow". Hero Vol.1. Hay House, Inc. pp. 38–. ISBN 978-93-81398-02-9. Retrieved 17 July 2015.
  2. Ahmed, Rauf. "Khalil". cineplot.com. Cineplot. Retrieved 24 October 2016.
  3. Ashish Rajadhyaksha; Paul Willemen (10 July 2014). "Kohinoor Film Company". Encyclopedia of Indian Cinema. Routledge. p. 126. ISBN 978-1-135-94318-9. Retrieved 25 October 2016.
  4. Phil Hardy (1997). "Indian Crime Films". The BFI Companion to Crime. A&C Black. pp. 180–. ISBN 978-0-304-33215-1. Retrieved 26 October 2016.
  5. "Lanka Ni Laadi". indiancine.ma. indiancine.ma. Retrieved 25 October 2016.
  6. "Khalil-Filmography". cineplot.com. Retrieved 25 October 2016.
  7. Abbas, K. A. (February 1940). "Communalists, Keep Out!". Filmindia. 6 (2): 31. Retrieved 12 November 2016.
  8. Patel, Baburao (December 1941). "Bombay Calling-Khalil Ahmed". Filmindia. 7 (11): 7. Retrieved 12 November 2016.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.