Yusuf Khan (Zebisko)

QAMYAB – THE FORGOTTEN GEMS OF BOLLYWOOD

After the astounding success of Bombay Talkies – The glory of Mumbai single screen cinemas, writer duo Sumeet Nadkarni and Alex Almeida are back with a new series 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. 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.

It is our belief that every artist contributes in his/her own way to the cinema’s success and that is why we remember a Ramlal or Sambha as much as Jai-Veeru from Sholay (1975). 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.

Hope our esteemed readers love and enjoy Qamyab as much as our previous endeavours.

When the name Yusuf Khan pops up with regard to Hindi film industry, what comes first in everyone’s mind is the legend Dilip Kumar whose real name was Yusuf Khan. But not many know that Bollywood also had another actor by the same name who made his mark for his body builder physique and his onscreen name Zebisko.

While having a muscular body is a must for actors in today’s Bollywood, the ’60s and ’70s stars let their acting and intensity do all the talk!! Yusuf Khan was one of rare actors who had a great macho physique and tried his luck initially as main hero but failed. Later, he gained popularity in negative roles either playing a smuggler, a street thug, a molester, etc. Basically, the brawny man who gets thrashed by the hero in the end.

Born on 1st May 1940 in Egypt as Yusuf Abousher, he was bitten by the acting bug since childhood and soon enough landed up in Mumbai to be an actor. With his overall handsome personality, Yusuf was adored by everyone but had to struggle a lot for work. Finally, his struggle came to an end in 1969 when he signed Jungle Ki Haseena as the main lead which remains his only movie as a hero. The film flopped miserably and Yusuf was back to struggling for roles. He changed his name to Yashraj but even that brought him little luck as he signed few regional films down South. One of his best remembered movies is Kaalam Vellum (1970) where he played a street fighter. The fight scene from the film is quite much popular on YouTube.

In 1972, Yusuf appeared in the cult comedy Bombay To Goa, where he played one of the passengers in the bus- a wrestler called John Ragada going for a tournament in Goa. The film’s hero was then struggling actor Amitabh Bachchan who went on to become a superstar and Yusuf was seen in most of his later hits like Parvarish (1977), Don (1978), Muqaddar Ka Sikandar (1978), Naseeb (1981), Khud-Daar (1982), Nastik (1982) and above all Amar Akbar Anthony (1977). After his first few films, he reverted to his original name Yusuf Khan from the assumed Yashraj.

Bombay To Goa was a box office hit and Yusuf got noticed by the industry. He managed to get the villain’s henchman roles in notable films like Do Phool (1974), Duniya Ka Mela (1974), Dharmatma (1975), Harfan Maula (1976) and Chhailla Babu (1977). Yusuf Khan became a known face with these movies where people started recognizing him. But something big was yet to happen.

That big moment came when the legendary director Manmohan Desai offered Yusuf a role in his film Amar Akbar Anthony (1977) which turned out to be a blockbuster success. Yusuf Khan played the role of Parveen Babi’s bodyguard named Zebisko who beats up a drunk Amitabh Bachchan in one scene. Like all the characters in the movie, Zebisko also became highly popular and the name literally stuck with him forever. The audience still remember him as Zebisko and not Yusuf Khan.

Manmohan Desai repeated his character of Zebisko in Naseeb (1981) which again became a huge hit and was to repeat the same in Mard (1985). But unfortunately, Yusuf Khan passed away before its filming began and was replaced by Manik Irani but as a tribute to Khan, Manik Irani’s character was called Zebisko in Mard.

Between the mid ’70s to early ’80s, Yusuf worked with all top heroes of that time – Chandi Sona 1977 (Sanjay Khan), Hum Kisi Se Kum Nahi 1977 (Rishi Kapoor), Vishwanath 1978 (Shatrughan Sinha), Des Pardes 1978 (Dev Anand), Karz 1980 (Rishi Kapoor), Professor Pyarelal 1981 (Dharmendra), etc. Besides his regular negative roles, Khan also appeared as positive character in films like Vishwanath (1978) and Main Inteqaam Loonga (1982).

The ’80s saw the emergence of Disco era where another struggling actor Mithun Chakraborty made it big as dancing sensation cum action star. Yusuf became regular in Mithun’s films like Disco Dancer (1982), Ashanti (1982), Boxer (1984), Kasam Paida Karne Wale Ki (1984) and Ghar Ek Mandir (1984).

Unfortunately tragedy struck in 1985 while Yusuf was shooting in Hyderabad for a movie and he suddenly collapsed on sets due to conflicting reports of brain haemorrhage and heart attack. The well-built fitness freak Yusuf Khan left everyone at a relatively young age of 44 years. His completed movies like Bhavani Junction (1985) released just after his death. His last release was Inteqaam Ki Aag (1986).

Few years after his death, Yusuf’s son Faraaz Khan, who was his carbon copy in terms of looks and physique, was about to make his debut in Sooraj Barjatya’s Maine Pyar Kiya (1989). But few days before the shoot, he contacted jaundice and was replaced by a newcomer Salman Khan. In 1996, Faraaz Khan finally stepped into his father’s shoes as an actor with Vikram Bhatt’s Fareb but couldn’t leave a mark like his father. His memorable movies include Mehndi (1998) and Dulhan Banoo Main Teri (1999) where he played lead roles.

The ’70s and ’80s movie buffs will instantly recognize Zebisko but no one will remember his real name and tumultuous life journey today. This article is our humble tribute to the other Yusuf Khan who couldn’t make it as big as his namesake!!