Tariq

QAMYAB – THE FORGOTTEN GEMS OF BOLLYWOOD

Qamyab is our humble tribute to all those lesser-known actors, one hit wonders and junior artists who we see umpteen times but don’t know about; beyond their faces. These actors have been an integral part of Bollywood but didn’t get their due. This series is our sincere attempt to put a name to these faces, familiarize them to our readers and celebrate their achievements in life – however big or small. We believe that every artist contributes in his/her own way to the cinema’s success. Qamyab will explore the unknown lives of such actors and artists as we believe even these forgotten gems of Bollywood deserve their due recognition today.

Some actors get the perfect Bollywood launch pad – big film, prestigious production, great music – and yet, aren’t able to capitalize on this head start. Quite a few star-sons have faded away after their initial success like Kumar Gaurav, Suneil Anand, Kunal Goswami and Rajiv Kapoor. One more actor who got a good launch in the ’70s and saw a short spell of stardom was Tariq Khan better known by his first name Tariq.

Nasir Husain was a big name in Bollywood until the ’70s with many musical hits to his credit. The veteran producer director decided to make a musical revenge drama called Yaadon Ki Baaraat (1973) with a fresh cast. Zeenat Aman, Vijay Arora, Anamika and Neetu Singh were all newcomers then with Ajit trying out his luck as a formidable villain in his second innings. Thus, Yaadon Ki Baaraat banked heavily on Dharmendra, who was the only big star in the film. Amongst the ensemble cast, what caught everyone’s eyes was debutant Tariq, who played a night club singer named Monto and made his entry on the big screen strumming a guitar.

Tariq got to perform on peppy numbers like ‘Aap ke kamre mein koi rehta hai’, ‘Lekar hum deewana dil’ and of course the title song of the movie which unites the onscreen brothers in the climax. Tariq became an instant heartthrob of the nation with his rock star image and every young girl wanted to marry him. A classic case of overnight stardom!

Born on 9th November, 1951 in Lucknow to Azhar Ali Khan and Anize Khan (who was the elder sister of Nasir Husain and Tahir Hussain), Tariq was Nasir Saahab’s nephew and the cousin of future superstar Aamir Khan. Initially, acting was never in his mind but it was destiny which brought him to the Hindi film industry.

Actually, Tariq wanted to pursue mechanical engineering but his grades in the entrance exams were poor. It was around this time that Nasir Husain asked him to be his production assistant for Caravan (1971). During its filming, an astrologer predicted stardom for Tariq which was an unimaginable dream for him till that time. One day, Nasir Saahab saw a young Tariq dancing at a family party and decided to cast him as a dancing star in his next Yaadon Ki Baaraat.

At the age of just twenty-two years, Tariq achieved stardom with Yaadon Ki Baaraat which many big stars took years to achieve. After such a flying start, you would naturally expect producers and directors lining up at his door. Sadly, that didn’t happen with Tariq as his uncle Nasir Hussain had signed a three films contract with him which didn’t allow Tariq to sign any film with outside production house during this period.

In 1975, his second film Zakhmee was released which had stellar line-up of actors comprising Sunil Dutt, Asha Parekh, Rakesh Roshan, Reena Roy and Helen. The film obviously belonged to Nasir Husain’s camp and was produced by his brother Tahir Hussain (Aamir Khan’s father). Though a modest success, Zakhmee couldn’t do much for Tariq as he had a small role in it.

As per contract, Nasir Husain cast Tariq again in his next film Hum Kisise Kum Naheen (1977) alongside Rishi Kapoor and debutant Kaajal Kiran, which turned out to be a smash hit particularly for its awesome music score by R.D. Burman. In the film, Tariq again rubbed his fingers on the guitar which made the audience go crazy. The competition medley between Rishi Kapoor and Tariq attracted whistles and claps in the cinema halls. Hum Kisise Kum Naheen was a bonafide hit.

To cash in on its success, there were stage shows started by the name ‘Tariq Nights’ where the actor would perform on his chartbuster songs from Yaadon Ki Baaraat and Hum Kisise Kum Naheen. These stage shows became quite popular in that era.

Despite this success, Tariq wasn’t able to sustain his stardom for long. His three films contract with Nasir Husain restricted him to approach other filmmakers. By the time he was available to sign other movies, it was too late and outside big banners generally shied away from him.

The films he did subsequently were mostly forgotten or delayed ventures and had Tariq playing supporting roles like a character actor. He did manage to be a part of Nasir Husain movies like Zamaane Ko Dikhana hai (1981), Manzil Manzil (1984) and Zabardast (1985) but none of them worked at the box office. Moreover, the characters played by Tariq in these movies didn’t have any meat or substance which could help him survive in the industry for long. Looking at his inconsequential role in Zabardast, people started comparing his performance to what Ravindra Kapoor did in Nasir Hussain films in the ’70s.

The few films Tariq worked for outside banners – Khwaja Ki Diwani (1981), Bismillah Ki Barkat (1983), Paise Ke Peechey (1986), Zevar (1987) and Saat Ladkiyan (1989) – bombed badly at the box office.

Soon enough, Tariq realised that the industry was forgetting him and good work was not coming his way; so he decided to bid goodbye to Bollywood and change his profession. After all, he had a family to sustain and needed financial security. His final release was the long-delayed Mera Damad in 1995 which was in the making since 1979.

After quitting films, Tariq decided to opt for vocational shift and completed a diploma in travel ticketing and cargo forwarding and started working for a courier company. He stayed away from the Bollywood limelight for years and nobody knew what he was doing.

In 2010, Tariq was spotted at an event where he looked unrecognizable and disclosed some personal information about his post-Bollywood stint. Apparently, he lives a normal family life and prefers to use public transport. He is happy in his own space and prefers to be away from the world of glamour. Later, he was spotted at the funeral of Tahir Hussain.

With two highly successful films and a stage show named after him, Tariq experienced a sudden spurt of stardom. Unfortunately, he couldn’t sustain it for long. Today, the yesteryear Bollywood buffs still remember him as the heartthrob of ’70s but for the new gen, he remains a non- entity.