Bollywood actor Feroz Khan, once dubbed “the Clint Eastwood of the East” because of his maverick roles and manly swagger, died Monday after a long fight against cancer, his publicist said. He was 69. “Feroz Khan passed away post-midnight at the Feroz Khan ranch in (the southern city of) Bangalore,” the publicist said. Khan was diagnosed with cancer last year and was being treated at a private hospital in Mumbai but discharged himself earlier this month. His family was at his bedside when he died, she added. He was to be laid to rest at Bengaluru's Johnson Market graveyard on Monday at 5.30 P.M., his brother Sanjay Khan said. The actor was born to a father with Afghan roots and a mother of Iranian origin and brought up in Bangalore. He found fame in “Oonche Log” (High Society) and in the saccharine-sweet musical “Arzoo” (Wish), both in 1965. Khan was known to push boundaries. As a producer and director, he made “Dharmatma”, the first Hindi-language movie made on location in Afghanistan and inspired by the Oscar-winning Hollywood epic “The Godfather”. But it was with the 1980 Hindi/Urdu gangster film “Qurbani” (Sacrifice) that he scored his biggest hit as an actor, producer and director, introducing foreign locations to Bollywood that are now the norm. He repeated his success with films like “Janbaaz” (Braveheart) starring a young Anil Kapoor and “Dayavaan” (Kindhearted) in the 1980s. Personal life One of Khan's two children, Fardeen, followed him into Bollywood but has yet to make as big an impact as his father. Fardeen is married to Natasha Madhwani, daughter of actress Mumtaz, who was Feroz's heroine in quite a few films in the 1970s. Laila is married to tennis player Rohit Rajpal. Feroz had divorced wife Sundari 24 years ago. He has three brothers - Sanjay, Akbar and Sameer. Both Sanjay and Akbar are actor-filmmakers in their own right. Sameer is a filmmaker and has also been assisting Sanjay Khan in his Golden Spa farmhouse in Bengaluru. Career Born in Bangalore in 1939, Feroz did his schooling in the city. He later moved to Mumbai to make a career in the Hindi film industry. He got his big break in the film, “Didi” (1960), and went on to act in many films like “Arzoo”, “Aadmi Aur Insaan” and “Safar”. He won his first Filmfare award for Best Actor in Supporting role for “Aadmi Aur Insaan” (1969). He started his own production house and made “Apradh” (1972). He went on to make many more hits like “Qurbani” and “Dharmatma”. After “Yaalgaar” (1992), Khan took a break from films. For six years, he did not act or produce films. In 1998, he launched his son Fardeen in “Prem Aggan”. The film flopped and Khan went back into a shell. He made an acting comeback in “Jaanasheen” in 2003. His last film was Anees Bazme's superhit “Welcome”. Hrithik Roshan and his father Rakesh Roshan are expected to arrive in Bangalore to pay their last respects.
