Personal details
- Birth Date: 1937-12-11
- Height: 5′ 8″ (1.73 m)
- Birth Location: Kabul, Afghanistan
- Children: (his death, 2 children) Sarfaraz Khan
- Professions: Actor, Writer, Producer
Kader Khan, honestly, was a total legend in Bollywood. Born in Afghanistan, his family packed up and moved to Mumbai back in ‘42, landing smack in the middle of Kamathipura. He didn’t exactly get handed things on a silver platter, but he nailed his studies—ended up with a Master’s in Civil Engineering from Ismail Yusuf College. Not that he stuck around bridges and blueprints for long; the pull of movies was way too strong. He kicked off as a writer with Jawani Diwani in ’72, and then, boom, jumped into acting with Daag in ‘73 alongside Rajesh Khanna. The guy was basically the dialogue king in the ‘70s and ‘80s, penning lines for classics like Sholay, Amar Akbar Anthony, and Coolie. Seriously, if a film had witty one-liners or hard-hitting drama, chances are Kader Khan had his fingerprints all over it. As an actor, he was everywhere. Over 300 films, and that’s not even an exaggeration. Comedy, villain, strict dad—he could do it all. Main Khiladi Tu Anari, Coolie No. 1, Taqdeerwala, Judwaa… dude was unstoppable. He even popped up on TV, just to keep things interesting. Awards? He bagged them left and right—Filmfare for dialogues, best comedian, and even the Padma Shri (got that one after he passed, which is bittersweet). Kader Khan’s last movie was Rangeela Raja in 2019, but his legacy? Still going strong. Bollywood honestly wouldn’t be the same without him.
Wild, but as of 2016, this guy never actually shared screen space or any real interaction with Shah Rukh Khan. Yeah, sure, he popped up for a blink-and-miss cameo in Oh Darling Yeh Hai India back in ‘95, just hanging around as one of the bidders. But don’t get your hopes up—there were no lines exchanged, no dramatic face-off, nothing juicy like that. They were just two dudes occupying the same set, probably breathing the same air, but not actually connecting or doing anything together on camera. It’s kind of weird, considering both were in Bollywood at the same time and you’d expect at least one crossover moment. Nope, Bollywood’s weird like that sometimes. So if you’re waiting for some legendary collab or even a fleeting interaction between the two, the answer is a hard no. They just never got their cinematic paths to cross in any meaningful way.
Roti was a special project for Rajesh Khanna—his own home production, yeah, but he wasn’t just wearing the producer hat. The guy actually valued my work, you know? He shelled out a cool One Lakh Twenty Five Thousand just for my dialogues (which, let’s be honest, was a pretty sweet deal back then). Manmohan Desai was steering the ship as director, and Rajesh kept dragging me along for the ride even after Roti. He’d call me up for films like Bhola Bhala and Chailla Babu, asking for that same flavor in the writing. Not just that, he’d squeeze me into little parts in Mahachor, Nasihat, and Maqsad. Sometimes, he’d even toss me a bigger slice—like in Fiffty Fiffty and Naya Kadam. That’s loyalty, man. Rajesh wasn’t just a superstar; he actually looked out for the folks in his corner.
December 11, 1937
5′ 8″ (1.73 m)
Konidela Ram Charan
Kabul, Afghanistan
Yes, Sarfaraz Khan
87 years old