Feroz Khan (Sept 25, 1939), veteran actor-cum-producer-cum director turns 67 today. Movietalkies.com would like to wish this flamboyant actor-director a very Happy Birthday.

The eldest of the Khan brothers, Feroz was born in Bangalore to an Afghan father and an Iranian mother. He landed in Mumbai in 1960 to try his luck in Hindi films. His siblings followed as well – Sanjay Khan and Akbar Khan. The actor made his debut as a second lead in a film called Didi in 1960. The actor spent the next four to five years playing the second lead in lots of low budget B-grade thrillers. During this period he also acted opposite Simi Garewal in an English Film called Tarzan Comes To India (1962). The first real hit of his career was a film called Oonche Log (1965). This catapulted him straight into the big league and the same year also saw him playing the second lead in the mushy Sadhana-Rajendra Kumar starrer Arzoo. That was a hit and by now Feroz had cemented his place in A- grade films. The 1969 starrer Aadmi Aur Insaan won him his first Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actor. But surprisingly, despite his dashing good looks and a reasonable amount of talent, roles continued to elude this Khan. So he took to producing and directing his own films so that he could give himself an acting opportunity. Dharmatma made in 1975 and based on Godfather did very good business. In fact, it was his first blockbuster hit. Outside offers never really came pouring in, though he was part of Nagin made in 1976 along with his brother Sanjay Khan and other top stars of that period. He continued to direct and act in many films during the 70s and 80s. But his biggest hit was Qurbani (1980), also starring Vinod Khanna, Zeenat Aman and the late Amjad Khan. He launched the careers of music composer Biddu and Nazia Hassan. His Dayavaan made in 1988, starring him and Vinod Khanna also came in for a lot of praise. It was based on the Tamil film Nayakan which had Kamal Hasan in the lead. After Yalgaar in 1992, he took a long break and came back only in 1998 to make Prem Aggan to launch his sone Fardeen. Unfortunately the film bombed. He made a comeback to his acting career with his next film Janasheen, starring son Fardeen as well. In 2005, he worked with Fardeen again in Ek Khiladi Ek Hasina. This one was not directed by him. The actor is currently divorced from his wife of 20 years, Sundari. His son Fardeen is married to Feroz's one-time heroine Mumtaz's daughter Natasha Madhvani. His daughter Laila, is a painter and is married to former tennis player Rohit Rajpal.

The Khans, Feroz, Sanjay & Akbar had a certain image about them. Flamboyance and style was part of that. Of course, they were also known for their wild parties and equally wild lifestyles. But times have changed and one is tempted to believe that Feroz Khan has mellowed down with age.