Feroz Khan was one of the top actors of his time, known for his roles in films like ‘Janbaaz,’ ‘Qurbani,’ ‘Nagin,’ and many more. However, he was often labeled as a difficult actor to work with. Nevertheless, Feroz had a different story to tell. Upon receiving a Lifetime Achievement award in 2001 from Filmfare, he shared an anecdote with the publication about working with Raaj Kumar and his perspective as people considered him a challenging actor to collaborate with.
“I remember on the first day of shooting of ‘Oonche Log,’ Raaj Kumar advised me on how to say my dialogue.” Feroz found this a little intrusive and politely told the senior actor to mind his own business. He recalled, “I turned around and very politely told him, ‘Raajji, aap apna kaam kijiye, main apna kaam karoonga’ (Raajji, you do your work, and I’ll do mine). If I need any help, I’ll ask you.’ There were no problems between us after that.”
Feroz then shared another “strange” thing that Raaj Kumar used to practice on set. “Believe it or not, he used to do strange things during scenes where he had his back facing the camera. He’d look sideways and say his dialogue. Imagine, he’d be giving cues to the wall instead of me. God bless his soul, he was still a very nice guy.”
In the same interview, Feroz insisted that he “never manipulated my roles or tried any other underhand tactics,” but he added that he had been “at the receiving end from other heroes.” He also shared, “Despite what other heroes may have done to my lines and roles in films, I never harassed any of my producers or directors. I can confidently say I’ve not been a difficult actor to work with.”
The actor passed away due to a prolonged illness in 2009.