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Yakub
Born	Yakub Mehboob Khan 1904 Jabalpur, India
Died	1958 (aged 53–54) Breach Candy Hospital, Bombay, Maharashtra, India
Occupation	Actor
Years active	1924–1958
Spouse	Lakshmiben

Yakub Mehboob Khan, known as Yakub, was an Indian actor born into a Pathan family in 1904, in Jabalpur, Madhya Pradesh, India. He died in 1958 after a career spanning thirty years in the film industry. He is best known for his comedic, villainous roles. He began his career with roles as an extra, but eventually was cast in more important roles, frequently playing the parts of heroes and villains. He became one of the most renowned screen villains, while achieving equal success in comedy and character roles. Yakub appeared in over 100 films.

Early life

Yakub ran away from home at an early age, and performed odd jobs, such as a motor mechanic and table waiter, before joining the crew of the ship S.S. Madura as a kitchen worker. He left the ship after travelling to various places, like London, Brussels and Paris, then returned to Calcutta, where he worked as a tourist guide, among other jobs. Around 1924, he moved to Bombay (now Mumbai) and joined the Sharda Film Company.

Career

During his travels, Yakub watched american films, and became greatly influenced by Eddie Polo, Douglas Fairbanks Sr., Wallace Beery and later by Humphrey Bogart. Yakub's first film was the silent film Bajirao Mastani (1925), which starred Master Vithal. While his first talkie was Meri Jaan (1931), where he played the title role of the Prince. This film has also been credited as Romantic Prince. His portrayal of Briju in Aurat (1940) was well received and his acting in this film is considered one of the finest performances in the Indian Cinema. Yakub's popularity in those days can be gauged by the credit roll of films such as the S K Ojha directed Hulchul (1951), which had a star cast of Dilip Kumar, Nargis and Sitara Devi, where his name was credited as '…and your favourite, Yakub'.

Yakub was an "acknowledged master of comedy" along with other actors such as Johnny Walker, Gope and Agha, according to the B. K. Karanjia co-edited book; Genres of Indian Cinema. His comic pairing with Gope and Agha was so well liked by the audiences, that they all appeared in multiple films together. For example Sagai (1951), Patanga (1949) and Beqasoor (1950) . Yakub was one of the highest payed actors from 1930 to early 1950.

Director

Yakub directed three films; Sagar Ka Sher and Uski Tamanna in the 1930s, and Aiye in 1949. Sagar Ka Sher or Lion of Sagar, was the first film he directed in 1937 under the Sagar Movietone banner. His co-stars in this film were; Bibbo, Pesi Patel, Sankatha Prasad, Raja Mehdi and David. Uski Tamanna also known as Her Last Desire was made in 1939 under Sagar and directed by Yakub. The film starred Yakub, Maya, Bhudo Advani, Kaushalya, Sankatha Prasad, Satish and Putli. He directed his third and last movie, Aiye, in 1949 under the Indian Production banner. It had Sulochana Chatterjee, Masud, Jankidas, Sheela Naik, and Ashraf Khan along with Yakub. The music in this film was composed by Nashad (Shaukat Dehlvi) and was Mubarak Begum's first film as a playback singer. Yakub's second cousin Allaudin was the song recordist for this film. However, he lost money on this film and called it the biggest mistake of his life.

• When Mehmood was a struggling artist, he would hang around Bombay Talkies waiting for Yakub to arrive. Yakub knowing his financial state would give him one or two rupees in the form of loose change.
• Yakub was a deeply religious person and was called Maulana by his friends.

Death

Yakub died in Bombay, Maharashtra, India, at the age of 54 years.

Filmography

Yakub acted in over 100 films in a career covering 34 years. A brief filmography is listed.

References

1. Stars of The Indian Screen-by Sushila Rani Baburao Patel Parker and Sons 1952
2. Encyclopedia of Hindi Cinema, edited by Gulazara, Govind Nihalani, Saibal Chatterjee. Yakub pg.638 Popular Prakashan 2003
3. Eena Meena Deeka: The Story of Hindi Film Comedy by Sanjit Narwekar 2005 Rupa ISBN 81-291-0859-3
4. Encyclopedia of Hindi Cinema, edited by Gulzar, Govind Nihalani, Saibal Chatterjee. Yakub pg.638
5. Stars of The Indian Screen-by Sushila Rani Baburao Patel Parker and Sons 1952
6. Encyclopedia of Hindi Cinema, edited by Gulzar, Govind Nihalani, Saibal CEncyclopedia of Hindi Cinema, edited by Gulzar, Govind Nihalani, Saibal Chatterjee pg. 638
7. Encyclopedia of Hindi Cinema, edited by Gulzar, Govind Nihalani, Saibal Chatterjee pg. 638
8. Encyclopaedia of Hindi Cinema edited by Gulazar, Govind Nihalani, Saibal Chatterjee. Yakub, pg 638
9. cineplot.Yakub-interview
10. Genres of Indian Cinema edited by B. K. Karanjia, pg 82. Digitized 26 April 2008. Original from The University of California
11. Eena Meena Deeka: The Story of Hindi Film Comedy by Sanjit Narwekar 2005 ISBN 81-291-0859-3
12. Other Side of the Coin: An Intimate Study of Indian Film Industry by Madan Gaur pg. 29 Trimurti Prakashan retrieved 14 April 2014
13. Yakub Interview (conducted in 1954) from Cineplot. Retrieved 8 April 2014
14. Mehmood, A Man of Many Moods by Hanif Zaveri pg. 43 Retrieved 8 April 2014 Popular Prakashan 2005 ISBN 8179912132
15. Yakub Interview (conducted in 1954) from Cineplot
16. CITWF Database-Yakub http://www.citwf.com/person444181.htm

External links

• Yakub at IMDb

• Indian male film actors
• Indian Muslims
• 1958 deaths
• 1904 births
• Male actors in Hindi cinema
• 20th-century Indian male actors
• Male actors from Madhya Pradesh
• Indian people of Pashtun descent
• People from Jabalpur