Arjun (Firoz Khan)

Some Lesser Known Facts About Arjun (Firoz Khan)

• Arjun (Firoz Khan) is an Indian film and television actor who is best known for portraying Arjun in B. R. Chopra’s Mahabharat.

• He was born in a middle-class Muslim family in Mumbai. ^[1]Nai Dunia

  

• After his schooling, he attended Shrimati Mithibai Motiram Kundnani College of Commerce & Economics (M. M. K. College) in Mumbai.

• After graduating from M. M. K. College in Mumbai, he went to England where he pursued his further studies at Oxford.

• When he returned to India after completing his studies from Oxford, he tried to join Taj in Mumbai. However, eventually, he became an actor.

  

• After his debut film ‘Manzil Manzil’ (1984) alongside Sunny Deol, Dimple Kapadia, and Danny Denzongpa, Firoz did more than 250 films in his career and gave many notable performances, such as ‘Arjun Singh in ‘Khatron Ke Khiladi’ (1988), ‘Duryodhan’ in ‘Jigar’ (1992), ‘Rasik Nath Gundaswamy’ in ‘Tirangaa’ (1992), ‘Naahar Singh’ in ‘Karan Arjun’ (1995), ‘Billoo’ (Eunuch/Hijra) in ‘Mehndi’ (1998), and ‘Sikh Inspector in London’ in ‘Yamla Pagla Deewana 2’ (2013). 

• After Mahabharat, his identity changed forever and even today, he is best known by his screen character ‘Arjun’ rather than his real name ‘Feroz Khan.’ He says,
  

  My real name is Firoz Khan, but Arjun’s character has given me such fame that even my mother calls me Arjun back in the home.” ^[2]Nai Dunia

• In an interview, he revealed the story behind getting the role of Arjun in Mahabharat. He said,
  

  I firmly believe in destiny. Basically I was never inclined to do any TV serial. I studied in Oxford and returned to join Taj. But acting always fascinated me. One day I was informed about an ongoing audition for a movie. But unfortunately, I was late and some other actor was finalised. Little disheartened, I was passing by Mr.B.R Chopra’s house. I saw a group of renowned actors and actresses present there. I was very captivated. I met Mr.Gufi Pantel(Who played ‘Shakuni’ in Mahabharata). He told me that audition for Mahabharat was going on and insisted me to go for it. At that moment I had no idea about Mahabharata script. To my surprise, I was handed the dialogues which were in Hindi, the language I was not at all fluent with. So, I first translated the dialogues into English and then I went for the audition. Fortunately, after a week I came to know that I was selected for the role of Arjun.”

• When he signed for Mahabharat, he was quite sceptical about portraying Arjun on screen; as he wasn’t well-versed in Hindi at that time. While talking about it, he says,
  

  Initially, I had problems learning the dialogues but late Rahi Masoom Raza and Pandit Narendra Sharma (the scriptwriter) helped me a lot to overcome my problem. With time I improved and then everything became simple and more interesting.”

• In 2016, he made his digital debut with the web series ‘I Don’t Watch TV’ in which he did a cameo. It was premiered on Arre and YouTube.

• His son, Jibraan Khan has worked as a child artist in movies, like Kabhi Khushi Kabhi Gham (2001), Rishtey (2002), etc.

  

• Firoz Khan has often expressed his love for Uttarkhand, and he has a bungalow near Shastradhara in Dehradun where he often pays a visit. ^[3]Jagran

• Reportedly, it was Gufi Paintal who made him get dressed as Arjun and brought him to B. R. Chopra who finally, selected him for the role. ^[4]Amar Ujala

• Arjun and Gajendra Chauhan who played Yudhisthir in Mahabharat are very close friends.

  

• Even after being a Mulsim, Firoz Khan has great faith in Hindu deities, and he often visits the Shiva Shakti Sadhna Peeth in Rajasthan.

  

• He loves to watch Boxing and has been a boxing champion for Maharashtra.

• Apart from being an actor, he is also a proficient singer and has done many live shows where he performed several melodious renditions of Mohammed Rafi.

  

• In March 2020, he recorded his debut Bollywood song for Sandesh Gour’s film “Mobile India.”

  

• Reportedly, Firoz Khan is a BJP supporter, and he even campaigned for the party in the 2014 Lok Sabha Elections.

  

• He loves to play negative roles. While talking about it, he says,
  

  Playing negative character needs a lot of articulations and mannerisms that are different from the stereotype heroes. The villain has got a lot of shades. I feel if the negative is strong the positive will automatically be strong. A perfect balance between the contrasts can be maintained when a negative portrayal is right.”