Mehtab

Mehtab Biography

Mehtab was a popular actress of Indian cinema in the silent era to early talkies. She appeared in Hindi and Urdu movies. She played supporting roles before getting heroine’s roles. Kidar Sharma directed Chitralekha (1941) earned her quick attention following a bathing scene. She was married to noted film actor cum film maker, Sohrab Modi. Earlier she was married to her early co-star Ashraf Khan. Mehtab was last seen in Modi's Samay Bada Balwan (1969).

She was born in Sachin, Gujarat, to a Muslim family. Najma Khan was her real name. Her father, Sedee Abraham Khan, was the Nawab of Sachin. Mehtab started his acting career at the age of 2 for the movie, “Kamaal-e Shamsheer” produced by her mother. In the late 1920s she played supporting roles in Second Wife, Indira B. A, Jayant etc. Veer Kunal (1932) was her first movie as heroine. Her future husband Ashraf Khan was its hero. She was mostly seen doing B-grade action movies earlier before doing Chitralekha (1941). She came to prominence after this movie.

Following Veer Kunal, she appeared in “Bhola Shikar” (1933) opposite E. Billimoria and “Ran Chandi” opposite Navin Chandra. But both movies failed to make a mark. Her mother formed a film company and Ashraf Khan was given its charge. Love blossomed between Ashraf and Mehtab, resulting in marriage. They had one son. However the marriage didn’t last long and ended in a divorce.

She married Sohrab Modi in 1946, who casted her in many movies like Bollywood disaster, Jhansi Ki Rani (1953), though an expensive film. After the failure of this movie, Mehtab suddenly quit film industry. She appeared on silver screen only once - Samay Bada Balwan (1969) in a character role. She received best actress award for the movie Parakh in the Annual BFJA Awards 1945.

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Updated: November 16, 2015