Mehboob Khan , was also honoured by the Postal department….many may ask who is this person, we know Sharukh, Salman and Amir khan, even Irfan Khan but this name is not heard so much in Cinema Circles….especially amidst the South Indians….

Mehboob Khan was one of the true pioneers of Indian Film. He started as a bit player in the silent film Alibaba and the 40 thieves made in 1927 after he had run away from home , in Billimora, Gujarat. After a struggle he ultimately got the chance to Direct his film – for Sagar Movietone. He made Manmohan, Watan,We Three and Ek hi Rastha , which brought him fame and recognition as a Director of thought provoking films that dealt with several socially relevant problems. He then went on to make Aurat, Behen and Roti for National Studios. Aurat made in 1940 is considered by many as a pre cursor to his all time classic “Mother India”

He set up his own company Mehboob Productions when he made Najma and Anmol Ghadi ( 1946) – the music track for the latter by Naushad with Noorjehan and Suraiya singing is still considered by many to be a classic. He then made Andaz and Aan , to be followed by Mother India – the first Indian film to be nominated for an Oscar in the 1958 Foreign Film Category award.

Many attained stardom because of his movies….Dilip Kumar, Nargis, Sunil Dutt, Raj Kapoor , Raj Kumar, Rajendra Kumar to name a few. He was given the Padma Sri. He passed away on 28th May 1964.