Sheikh Mukhtar

Sheikh Mukhtar Biography

Sheikh Mukhtar is credited as the first antihero of Hindi silver screen, who excelled in playing toughie and dada roles on silver screen. His height of six feet two inches, along with a rugged body of hefty proportions with roughness on his face attributed a lot to his villain’s appearance. He made his debut in Ek Hi Rasta in 1939 and went on to carve out a niche of his own. His screen presence with comedian Mukri was also a huge hit in those days. Babar and Changez Khan are the memorable historic characters played by him.

He was born in Karachi to Mohammad Shafi Khan, a police inspector. His father got transferred to Delhi in his younger days and thus Mukhtar’s childhood days were spent in Delhi. He spent his childhood in Gali choodi waalan near Jama Mosque, Delhi and studied at Anglo Arabic School, Ajmeri Gate. His father wanted him to become a police inspector. But young Mukhtar was interested in theater and acting. When one of his neighbours started a theater company in Kolkata, he too moved to Kolkata to work as a stage actor.

Ek Hi Rasta in 1939 marked his Bollywood debut. As an anti-hero he mostly played dada roles. In a career that lasted for 4 decades, he acted in more than 70 movies and also produced eight movies. His pairing with actress Begum Para was quite loved by audience in those days. Noor Jahan was his dream project – the movie that he produced with all his savings. However the movie flopped at Indian box office. He died on the same day of its Pakistani release, suffering from a heart attack. The movie was a huge hit in Pakistan. Unfortunately he couldn’t witness the success of his movie.

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Updated: May 20, 2014