Sanjay Khan

Sanjay Khan was born on 3 January 1940^[4][5] as Shah Abbas Ali Khan in Bangalore,^[6] Kingdom of Mysore, British India (now in Karnataka, India) into a Muslim family. Born to an immigrant Afghan father, Sadiq Ali Khan from Ghazni and a mother of Persian ancestry, Bibi Fatima Begum.

He had five brothers and two sisters, Dilshad and Khurshid.^{[7][8][9][10]} His elder brother Feroz Khan was a well-known actor and produced successful films like Dharmatma and Qurbani. His younger brothers Sameer and Shahrukh are businessmen, while Akbar Khan has made magnum opus Taj Mahal: An Eternal Love Story.^{[11][12][13][14]}

At the age of 12, Khan was taken to a theatre to see Raj Kapoor's Awaara and was mesmerised by the film. Following the film, he decided to visit with the actors. The manager of the theatre took Khan into the projection room and explained to him how the film is made. To Khan, that was a moment of epiphany and he decided to pursue an acting career. He obtained Senior Cambridge through Cambridge School in Daryaganj, New Delhi.^[15]

Deciding not to pursue further education, Khan moved to Mumbai where, before joining Hindi Cinema, he assisted John Guillermin, Hollywood film director for the MGM Production of Tarzan Goes to India (1962) which starred his brother Feroz in a supporting role and Sanjay also appeared in a small role as a pilot.^[15]

Khan made his debut in Chetan Anand's 1964 war film Haqeeqat in a small role as a soldier. Later that year, he played a pivotal supporting role in the big blockbuster film Dosti. He went on to star in hit films like Dus Lakh (1966), Ek Phool Do Mali (1969), Intaqam (1969), Shart (1969), Mela (1971), Upaasna (1971), Dhund (1973) and Nagin (1976). In 1977, he made his directorial debut with Chandi Sona starring himself, Parveen Babi and Raj Kapoor. In 1980, he directed and starred in Abdullah alongside Raj Kapoor and Zeenat Aman. He made his last film appearance in the 1986 film Kala Dhanda Goray Log, which was his third and last film as a director.

He shifted his focus on television in the late 1980s, directing and starring in the big-budget historical television drama series The Sword of Tipu Sultan. During the making of the series in 1989, a fire broke out on the sets and killed more than 40 crew members and Khan suffered 65% burns to his body.^[16] He recovered after 72 surgeries and production on the series resumed later that year with him and his brother Akbar Khan jointly directing episodes of the series. The series first aired on DD National from 1990 to 1991 and lasted 60 episodes. This would be his final acting role but he went on to produce and direct several other popular television series like The Great Maratha, Jai Hanuman and 1857 Kranti.

• Uttar Pradesh Film journalists Association Award (1981)
• Andhra Pradesh journalist award (1986)
• The Gem of India Award for Excellence (1993)
• The Rajiv Gandhi Excellence Award (1993)
• The Udyog Ratna Gold Medal Award (1994)
• The Aashirwad Award (1994).
• The Arch of Excellence Award (1994)
• National Citizen's Award (1994)
• The Glory of India Award (1995)
• The Super Achiever of India Award (1995)
• Hind Gaurav Award (1997)
• Kashi Pandit Sansad Award (1997)
• Business Initiation Development Award (1997)
• Honour of Lifetime Achiever Award (1997)
• Achiever of Millennium Award (1999)
• The Millennium Achievers (2000)
• American Federation of Muslims of Indian Origin (2006)
• The Lifetime Achievement Award by Screen Star (2009)
• Biographer of the year award from Power Brands at BFJA (Bollywood Film Journalist's Awards) (2019)^[17]

In 1997, he launched his dream project – the five-star deluxe Golden Palms Hotel and Spa in Bangalore. He completed this 150-room hotel with built up area of approximately 300,000 sq ft, with the largest swimming pool ever built in India containing 300,000 litres of water. Golden Palms Hotel and Spa was conceived, designed, constructed was owned by him till 2010; his wife Zarine Khan designed the interiors.^[18]

He was married to Zarine Katrak, they had three daughters and a son. Their eldest daughter Farah Khan Ali was formerly married to DJ Aqeel for 24 years,^[19][20] their second daughter Simone Arora married Ajay Arora and they own D'decor, while their youngest daughter is Sussanne Khan was formerly married to actor Hrithik Roshan for 14 years and son is former actor Zayed Khan married to Malaika Parekh.^[21] Sanjay Khan is an ardent follower of Lord Hanuman.^[22]