Nazir Hussain

Nazir Hussain (15 May 1922 – 16 October 1987) was an Indian actor, director and screenwriter. He was famous as a character actor in Hindi cinema and was a pioneer of Bhojpuri cinema. He acted in almost 500 films, with Dev Anand starring in a large proportion of the films he acted in.

Early life

Nazir Hussain's father Shahabzad Khan was a guard in the Railways and Hussain grew up in Lucknow. He himself worked as a fireman in the railways for few months and soon joined the British army during World War II. He was posted in Malaysia and Singapore where he became a prisoner of war. After being freed, he came under the influence of Subhas Chandra Bose and joined the Indian National Army (INA). Later, he worked in many socialist themed films such as Do Bigha Zamin, Devdas and Naya Daur.

Bhojpuri cinema

Hussain discussed the possibility of a Bhojpuri cinema industry with Indian president Rajendra Prasad. He is considered as the Pitamah of Bhojpuri cinema. Hussain created Ganga Maiyya Tohe Piyari Chadhaibo (1963), the first Bhojpuri film. Nazir turned producer with Bhojpuri film Hamaar Sansar and also directed it.

Filmography

Associations Nazir worked with several eminent actors and actresses of Hindi cinema.