This actor, born in Egypt, played the same villainous character in 2 Amitabh Bachchan films; his son was the first choice for Maine Pyar Kiya

Yusuf Khan made his debut as a lead actor in the film General Ki Hasina in 1969. But the movie bombed at the box office, also making it the last film he appeared in as the lead. After changing his name, Yusuf appeared in multiple Hindi and regional films like Kaalam Vellum (1970). For instance, he essayed a wrestler travelling to Goa and a fellow bus passenger of the lead actor, Amitabh Bachchan’s character, in S Ramanathan’s 1972 road comedy Bombay To Goa.

Actor Yusuf Khan in Mere Desh Ki Dharti. (Express archive photo)

After Amitabh Bachchan was catapulted to superstardom as the “Angry Young Man” with Prakash Mehra’s Zanjeer (1973), Yusuf appeared in many of his films as a supporting villain. These included Parvarish (1977), Don (1978), Muqaddar Ka Sikandar (1978), Khud-Daar (1982), and Nastik (1982). His most notable role was Zebisko, the evil bodyguard of Parveen Babi’s character, in Manmohan Desai’s 1977 blockbuster Amar Akbar Anthony.

Yusuf became synonymous with Zebisko after that film, so much so that he even reprised that role in another Amitabh Bachchan-Manmohan Desai film, Naseeb, in 1981. He was supposed to play Zebisko yet again in another film of the same director-actor combo, Mard (1985), but he died of a brain haemorrhage at 45 while shooting in Hyderabad the same year.

Yusuf Khan’s son Faraaz Khan was luckier

While Yusuf died before he could play the lead role again, his son Faraaz Khan turned out to be luckier. His film journey didn’t start off well as he was diagnosed with jaundice right before he was scheduled to start filming for his grand debut, Sooraj Barjatya’s 1989 hit directorial debut Maine Pyar Kiya. He was consequently replaced by Salman Khan, who broke through in Bollywood with that cult romantic drama.

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Faraaz eventually made his debut with Vikram Bhatt’s 1996 psychological thriller Fareb. He also played the lead role in Mehndi (1998) opposite Rani Mukerji. However, his last film was the 2005 thriller, Chand Bujh Gaya. His last appearance on the small screen was the 2008 supernatural show Neeli Aankhen on Sahara One. Like his father, Faraaz died an early death in 2020 when he was just 50.