Yakub Khan (3 April 1903 – 24 August 1958), popularly known as Yakub,Stars of The Indian Screen-by Sushila Rani Baburao Patel Parker and Sons 1952 was an Indian actor born into a Pathan family in Jabalpur, Madhya Pradesh.Encyclopedia of Hindi Cinema, edited by Gulazara, Govind Nihalani, Saibal Chatterjee. Yakub pg.638 Popular Prakashan 2003 He is best known for his comic and comic villainous roles.Eena Meena Deeka: The Story of Hindi Film Comedy by Sanjit Narwekar 2005 Rupa
He began his career with roles as an extra, but eventually was cast in more important roles, frequently playing the parts of heroes and villains. He became one of the most renowned screen villains, while achieving equal success in comedy and character roles.Encyclopedia of Hindi Cinema, edited by Gulzar, Govind Nihalani, Saibal Chatterjee. Yakub pg.638 Yakub appeared in over 100 films.
Early life Yakub ran away from home at an early age, and performed odd jobs, such as a motor mechanic and table waiter, before joining the crew of the ship S.S. Madura as a kitchen worker. He left the ship after travelling to various places, like London, Brussels and Paris, then returned to Calcutta, where he worked as a tourist guide, among other jobs. Around 1924, he moved to Bombay (now Mumbai) and joined the Sharda Film Company.
Career During his travels, Yakub watched American films, and became greatly influenced by Eddie Polo, Douglas Fairbanks Sr., Wallace Beery and later by Humphrey Bogart. Yakub's first film was the silent film Bajirao Mastani (1925), which starred Master Vithal. While his first talkie was Meri Jaan (1931), where he played the title role of the Prince. This film has also been credited as Romantic Prince. His portrayal of Birju in Aurat (1940) was well received and his acting in this film is considered one of the finest performances in Indian cinema. Yakub's popularity in those days can be gauged by the credit roll of films such as the S K Ojha directed Hulchul (1951), which had a star cast of Dilip Kumar, Nargis and Sitara Devi, where his name was credited as '...and your favourite, Yakub'.
Yakub was an "acknowledged master of comedy" along with other actors such as Johnny Walker, Gope and Agha, according to the B. K. Karanjia co-edited book Genres of Indian Cinema.Genres of Indian Cinema edited by B. K. Karanjia, pg 82. Digitized 26 April 2008. Original from The University of California His comic pairing with Gope and Agha was so well liked by the audiences, that they all appeared in multiple films together. For example, Sagai (1951), Patanga (1949) and Beqasoor (1950) .Eena Meena Deeka: The Story of Hindi Film Comedy by Sanjit Narwekar 2005 Yakub was one of the highest paid actors from 1930 to early 1950.Other Side of the Coin: An Intimate Study of Indian Film Industry by Madan Gaur pg. 29 Trimurti Prakashan retrieved 14 April 2014
Director Yakub directed three films; Sagar Ka Sher and Uski Tamanna in the 1930s, and Aiye in 1949. Sagar Ka Sher, or Lion of Sagar, was the first film he directed in 1937 under the Sagar Movietone banner. His co-stars in this film were Bibbo, Pesi Patel, Sankatha Prasad, Raja Mehdi and David. Uski Tamanna, also known as Her Last Desire, was made in 1939 under Sagar and directed by Yakub. The film starred Yakub, Maya, Bhudo Advani, Kaushalya, Sankatha Prasad, Satish and Putli. He directed his third and last movie, Aiye, in 1949 under the Indian Production banner. It had Sulochana Chatterjee, Masud, Jankidas, Sheela Naik, and Ashraf Khan along with Yakub. The music in this film was composed by Nashad (Shaukat Dehlvi) and was Mubarak Begum's first film as a playback singer. Yakub's second cousin Allaudin was the song recordist for this film. However, he lost money on this film and called it the biggest mistake of his life.
When Mehmood was a struggling artist, he would hang around Bombay Talkies waiting for Yakub to arrive. Yakub, knowing his financial state, would give him one or two rupees in the form of loose change.Mehmood, A Man of Many Moods by Hanif Zaveri pg. 43 Retrieved 8 April 2014 Popular Prakashan 2005
Yakub was a deeply religious person and was called 'Maulana' by his friends.
Death Yakub died in Bombay, Maharashtra, India, on 24 August 1958, at the age of 54 years.Yakub profile (1904–1958) on Encyclopaedia of Hindi Cinema via Google Books website
Filmography Yakub acted in over 100 films in a career covering 34 years. A brief filmography is listed. Year Film Director 1925Bajirao Mastani Bhal G. Pendharkar1927Gulzar Nanubhai Desai1928Chandravali Begum Fatima1930Nai Roshni Bhagwati Mishra1931Meri Jaan (Romantic Prince)Prafulla Ghosh1932Bulbul-E-Baghdad Nanubhai Vakil1933Miss 1933 Chandulal Shah 1935Al Hilal (Judgement of Allah)Mehboob Khan1936Do Diwane Chimanlal Luhar1936Grama Kanya (Village Girl) Sarvottam Badami1936Manmohan Mehboob Khan1937Sagar Ka Sher (Lion of Sagar) Yakub1937Milap A. R. Kardar1938Teen Sau Din Ke Baad (300 Days and After)Sarvottam Badami1938Watan Mehboob Khan1939Uski Tamanna (Her Last Desire) Yakub1940Aurat Mehboob Khan1943Aabroo Nazir1943Najma Mehboob Khan1944Lal Haveli K. B. Lall1945Zeenat Shaukat Hussain Rizvi1946 Nek Pervin S. M. Yusuf1946 Devar S. M. Yusuf1947Samaj Ko Badal Dalo Vijay Bhatt1949Aiye Yakub1949Patanga H. S. Rawail1949SipahiyaAspi Irani1950Beqasoor K. Amarnath1951Hulchul Shubh Karan Ojha1951 Deedar Nitin Bose1954Waris Nitin Bose1957Ab Dilli Dur Nahin Amar Kumar1957Paying Guest Subodh Mukherjee1958Adalat Kalidas1958Ten O'Clock Jugal Kishore
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