Mehboob Khan

Khan was born Ramzan Khan in Bilimora in Gandevi Taluka of Navsari district (now Gujarat) on 9 September 1907.

He was brought to Bombay from his home town in Gujarat by Noor Muhammad Ali Muhammed Shipra Baddhiyawala (producer and horse supplier in Indian cinema) to work as a horseshoe repairer in a stable (owned by Noor Muhammad Ali Muhammed Shipra Baddhiyawala). One day at the shooting of South Indian director Chandrashekhar, Mehboob showed interest in working with Chandrashekhar. After seeing his great interest and skills, Chandrashekhar asked Noor Muhammad Ali Muhammed Shipra Baddhiyawala to allow him to take Mehboob with him to work at small jobs in the film studios of Bombay.

At first, Mehboob Khan made several attempts to appear as a hero in films but lost out to bigger names of the time like Master Vithal for the first Indian talkie Alam Ara (1931 film). He started as an assistant director in the Silent Film era and as an extra in the studios of the Imperial Film Company of Ardeshir Irani, before directing his first film Al Hilal a.k.a. Judgement of Allah (1935), when he started directing films for the Sagar Film Company. His close friend, cinematographer Faredoon Irani, helped convince the film producer to give him his first chance to direct a film. Notable films he directed for Sagar Movietone and National Studios included Deccan Queen (1936), Ek Hi Raasta (1939), Alibaba (1940), Aurat (1940) and Bahen (1941).

In 1945, Khan set up his own production house – Mehboob Productions. In 1946, he directed the musical hit Anmol Ghadi, which featured singing stars Surendra, Noor Jehan and Suraiya in leading roles. Khan went on to produce and direct many blockbuster films, the most notable being the romantic drama Andaz (1949), the swashbuckling musical Aan (1951), the melodrama Amar (1954), and the social epic Mother India (1957). The latter was a remake of his 1940 film Aurat and was nominated for an Academy Award in 1957. His earlier works were in Urdu, but his later material, including Mother India, were in Hindustani, a friendlier and softer spoken version of Hindi and Urdu. Several of his films, especially his earlier work on Humayun (1945), the story of a Mogul emperor who ruled India, Anmol Ghadi (1946), and Taqdeer (in which he introduced Nargis, who later married Sunil Dutt), were written by Aghajani Kashmeri. Kashmeri was responsible for picking and training Nargis in Hindustani and Urdu dialogue delivery. His last film as a director was 1962's Son of India.

He died of a heart attack in 1964 at the age of 56 and was buried at Badakabarastan in Marine Lines, Mumbai. His death occurred the day after the death of Jawaharlal Nehru, the Prime Minister of India.

Mehboob Khan married twice. With his first wife Fatima, he had three sons: Ayub, Iqbal and Shaukat. After separation from his first wife, he married the famous Indian film actress Sardar Akhtar (1915–1986) in 1942. He adopted Sajid Khan (born 28 December 1951), who has starred in Indian and foreign English films.