CNN Central News & Network-ITDC India Epress/ITDC News Bhopal: Mumbai, October 22, 2026. When powerful dialogue writing, outstanding comic timing and memorable villainous roles in Hindi cinema are discussed, Kader Khan’s name is mentioned prominently. As an actor, screenplay writer and dialogue writer, he created a distinct identity in the film industry. Born on October 22, 1937, in Kabul, Afghanistan, Kader Khan is being remembered today on his 89th birth anniversary. His life remained a story of poverty, struggle, hard work and extraordinary talent.
Kader Khan’s family moved to Mumbai during his childhood. He grew up in difficult financial conditions in the cramped locality of Kamathipura. According to media reports, to help his family, he sometimes had to beg near a mosque. Despite these hardships, he continued his studies and received an education in civil engineering. Before making a name in films, he also worked as a civil engineering teacher at M. H. Saboo Siddik College in Mumbai.
Kader Khan had a passion for acting and delivering dialogues from childhood. He would repeat incidents he had seen and heard through the day and, in the evening, practise acting at a Jewish cemetery. One day, actor Ashraf Khan saw him delivering dialogues there. Impressed by his talent, he gave Kader Khan an opportunity to act in a play. That meeting became an important turning point in his acting journey.
Kader Khan also earned a special place as a dialogue writer in the 1970s and 1980s. His writing reached audiences through films such as ‘Jawani Diwani’, ‘Roti’, ‘Amar Akbar Anthony’, ‘Muqaddar Ka Sikandar’, ‘Laawaris’, ‘Namak Halaal’ and ‘Sharaabi’. He wrote dialogues for several well-known Amitabh Bachchan films. In later years, his pairing with Govinda and director David Dhawan also gained immense popularity in comedy films.
Kader Khan had once shared, in an old interview, an account of the distance that developed in his relationship with Amitabh Bachchan. According to him, he always addressed Amitabh as ‘Amit’, because the two shared a friendly relationship. A producer told him that Amitabh should now be addressed as ‘Sir Ji’. Kader Khan continued to use the old form of address instead. He had said that, after this, conversations and closeness between the two gradually decreased. This statement was based on Kader Khan’s own experience; it is important to keep in mind the different public interpretations of the episode from both sides.
Kader Khan died in Canada on December 31, 2018. He left behind a legacy of work associated with hundreds of films, memorable characters and popular dialogues. Remembering him on his birth anniversary is a tribute to an artiste who rose from difficult circumstances and created an indelible place in Hindi cinema through his writing and acting.
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