Iftekhar | |
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| Born | Iftekhar Ahmed Sharif (1920-02-22)22 February 1920 |
| Died | 4 March 1995(1995-03-04) (aged 75) |
| Other names | Iftikhar |
| Occupation | Film actor |
| Years active | 1937–1994 |
Iftekhar Ahmed Sharif (22 February 1920 – 4 March 1995), oftenmononymously credited asIftekhar orIftikhar, was an Indian actor who mainly worked inHindi cinema. He is known for his film roles as a police officer.[1]
Iftekhar was born inJalandhar and was the eldest among four brothers and a sister. After completing his matriculation, Iftekhar did a diploma course in painting fromLucknow College Of Arts. Iftekhar had a passion for singing and was impressed with the famous singerKundanlal Sehgal. In his 20s, Iftekhar travelled toCalcutta for an audition conducted by the music composer Kamal Dasgupta, who was then serving forHis Master's Voice. Dasgupta was so impressed by Iftekhar's personality that he recommended his name to M. P. Productions as an actor.[2]
Iftekhar made his debut in the 1944 filmTaqraar, which was made under the banner of Art Films-Kolkata.[3]
Many of Iftekhar's close relatives, including his parents and siblings, migrated toPakistan during thepartition.[2] He would have preferred to stay in Calcutta, but rioting forced him to leave Calcutta. Along with his wife and daughters, he moved toBombay, where they struggled to make ends meet. Iftekhar had been introduced to actorAshok Kumar during his time in Calcutta and contacted him in Bombay, gaining a role in the Bombay Talkies movieMuqaddar (1950). Iftekhar acted in over 400 films in a career that spanned from the 1940s through to the early 1990s.[2]
His brother, Imtiaz Ahmed, was a famous TV character actor of PTV (Pakistan Television), especially Afshan and Tanhaiyan.Like many of the older character actors who populated the Bollywood universe of the 1960s and 1970s, Iftekhar had been a lead actor in his youth during the "golden age" of Bollywood, in the 1940s and 1950s. His roles ranged from father, uncle, great-uncle, grandfather, police officer, police commissioner, courtroom judge and doctor. He also did negative roles inBandini,Sawan Bhadon,Call Girl,Khel Khel Mein andAgent Vinod.
In the 1960s and 1970s, Iftekhar graduated to playing uncle, father, and what came to be his speciality: police inspector roles, doctor or senior advocate. Generally he played "sympathetic" characters but, on occasion, he played the heavy. One of his most memorable roles as a heavy was asAmitabh Bachchan's corrupt industrialist mentor inYash Chopra's classicDeewaar (1975). Another of Iftekhar's classic roles was as the police inspector inPrakash Mehra'sZanjeer. It was a small part, but the scene where Iftekhar reprimands the near-hystericAmitabh Bachchan for taking the law into his own hands is incredibly powerful. Another important role as a police officer was played by him in the 1978 hit filmDon. Some of his major roles came in Rajesh Khanna films such asJoroo Ka Ghulam,Mehboob Ki Mehndi,The Train,Khamoshi,Safar,Raja Rani,Ittefaq,Rajput andAwam.
BesidesDeewaar andZanjeer, Iftekar had character roles in many of the classics of 1960s, 1970s, 1980s Bollywood cinema: Bimal Roy'sBandini, Raj Kapoor'sSangam, Manoj Kumar'sShaheed,Teesri Manzil,Teesri Kasam,Johny Mera Naam,Hare Rama Hare Krishna,Don,The Gambler (1971 film),AnkhiyonKe Jharokhon Se (1978) andSholay, to name but a few.
Apart fromHindi films, he appeared in two episodes of the American TV seriesMaya in 1967 as well the English language filmsBombay Talkie (1970) andCity of Joy (1992).
Iftekhar married Hannah Joseph, a Jewish lady fromCalcutta, who changed her religion and name to Hina Ahmed. They had two daughters; Salma and Sayeda.[2][4] Daughter Sayeda died of cancer on 7 February 1995.[2]
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