Film personalities recall the complete artiste that was Kader Khan as the actor-writer leaves behind a vast volume of work spanning over four decades

An actor-writer-comedian and Quranic scholar, the multi-talented Kader Khan, who died early on Tuesday (IST) in Toronto aged 81, has left behind a vast volume of work from a career spanning over four decades and will be remembered as much for his contribution to Hindu filmdom as for deciphering Islam for the laity across the religious spectrum.

He had spent nearly four months in hospital, for various old-age related ailments, including breathing issues, and finally succumbed on December 31 evening (Toronto time).

It was during his college days that he developed a passion for theatre, acting and penning stories and dialogues. He penned a drama, Local Train which bagged the first prize at the National Jagruti Drama Competition in the early 1970s.

It was Narendra Singh Bedi, son of the legendary Rajinder Singh Bedi who gave Kader Khan the first break for writing the superhit musical Jawani Diwani (1972) starring Randhir Kapoor-Jaya Bhaduri, and since then he never looked back.

Bollywood thespian Dilip Kumar, who happened to watch one of his plays during a college day function, offered Kader Khan a role and an assignment for writing dialogues. But he was already busy with scripting the Rajesh Khanna-starrer Roti (1974), so later, he wrote the film Bairaag (1976), a mega-hit musical featuring Dilip Kumar and his wife Saira Banu in the lead roles, with Kader Khan in a character role.

Starting with his first film as an actor in the late Yash Chopra’s directorial debut, the super-hit musical Daag (1973), over the next 40 years he went on to act in over 300 films in memorable roles, and also wrote the story or dialogues for more than 250 films in Hindi and Urdu.

With his rich experience on stage, Kader Khan effortlessly managed to enact all types of negative-positive character roles, besides as a villain, comedian, and double-roles, though competing with some of the biggest names of his era.

The sad news of Kader Khan’s passing shocked the Bollywood fraternity. Actress Raveena Tandon, who has had the privilege of working with him in several films like Dulhe Raja, Aatish: Feel the Fire and Main Khiladi Tu Anari, says she was always bowled over by his comic timing. “He was a scholar and an entertainer, a rare combination in the entertainment industry. Waking up to such a sad news was really disheartening for me. Whatever parts he played he would add a different charm to it. Someone who can portray a comedian and a villain at same time with such ease is rare,” she sighed.

The demise has left filmmaker David Dhawan bereft. He said, “Bhaijaan, that’s what I called him, was the backbone of my cinema. After we worked together for the first time in Bol Radha Bol, I couldn’t think of directing a film without Bhaijaan. I wanted him to write and act in every film that I made, and I made sure it happened. But he was so busy. There was a time when every big commercial film had Bhaijaan’s contribution, not just as an actor or writer. He was all there for every film that he did.”

Speaking of Kader Khan’s improvisational powers, Dhawan said, “He would rewrite a scene and the dialogue on the spot during shooting. He took every shot to another level. As a writer, he made every hero sound credible and spectacular. Just look at Bhaijaan’s contribution to Amitji (Amitabh Bachchan’s) on-screen persona. In Amar Akbar Anthony, Bhaijaan showed Amitji how to speak in that Bombaiyya-Catholic style. The result as always was amazing.”

“Now in his death, our film industry has lost a prominent voice. The movies will never be the same. Yes, I work with other writers. But I only think of Bhaijaan as my writer, collaborator, friend and mentor. He was in a lot of pain in his final years. I would still like to be selfish and want him back,” Dhawan added.

Amitabh Bachchan wrote on social media, “Kader Khan passes away. Sad, depressing news. My prayers an condolences. A brilliant stage artiste, most compassionate and accomplished talent on film. A writer of eminence... in most of my very successful films. A delightful company and a mathematician. It was a joy and a learning experience to be on the sets with him. His improvisational skills were phenomenal. His humour was eternal and original. He was a wonderful writer. We will miss him and his brilliance.”

Shatrughan Sinha, who worked with Kader in several films, also expressed his grief and recollected his memories with him.

He said, “Kader Khan was one of the pillars of Bollywood. He was not just an excellent actor who fitted into any role, but also an outstanding writer. Both Amitabh and I were very closely associated with him. I knew him from the time he wrote Manmohan Desai’s Naseeb and Prakash Mehra’s Jwalamukhi, both of which I starred in. Whenever I met him he regaled me with his intellectual mind and deep study of commercial Indian cinema. I don’t think there can be another Kader Khan ever.”