# Agha (actor)

Agha (21 March 1914 – 30 April 1992) was an Indian actor of Bollywood films. He was known for comic roles and modeled himself on Bob Hope's style of acting. He appeared in over 300 Hindi films in his career between 1935 and 1986. His son, Jalal Agha, also became an actor, mostly known for the song Mehbooba Mehbooba in Sholay (1975).

## Early life

Aghajan Baig was born on 21 March 1914 at Fatima Nagar, Pune, British India. His father was originally from Iran and had settled in Pune but had to leave Pune for Bombay in search of employment. Agha confessed that he went to school for just three days, "that was as long as I could stand it". He spent time "mooching" around the Poona Race Course as he wanted to become a jockey and loved horses. Agha came to Bombay and joined his neighbourhood drama group. His interest in acting took him to films where in 1933 he started as a production manager in Kanwal Movietone.

## Career

His first film was Kanwal Movietone's Stree Dharma, also called Painted Sin (1935), starring Mehtab and Nazir. However, his films Karwan-e-Husn (1935), Wadia Movietone's Rangila Mazdoor (1938) and Anuradha (1940) helped him gain recognition as a comic actor. He acted in Kikubhai Desai's (Manmohan Desai's father) Circus Ki Sundari (1941), which was popular and this helped in getting lead roles in films such as Muqabala (1942), Laheri Cameraman (1944) and Taxi Driver (1944). His most active years were from the 1930s to the 1980s.

## Filmography

Selected list.
| Year | Film | Role | Director |
| 1935 | Stree Dharma | | C. M. Rafi |
| 1935 | Karwan-e-Husn | | C. M. Rafi |
| 1936 | Berozgaar | | Rajhans |
| 1937 | Daulat | | S. M. Yusuf |
| 1938 | Rangila Mazdoor | | S. M. Yusuf |
| 1939 | Kahan Hai Manzil Teri | | S. M. Yusuf |
| 1940 | Anuradha | | Mohan Sinha |
| 1940 | Captain Kishori | | K. Amarnath |
| 1941 | Circus Ki Sundari | | Balwant Bhatt |
| 1941 | Nai Roshni | | Chimankant Gandhi |
| 1941 | Safed Sawar | | Nari Ghadiali |
| 1941 | Roti | | Mehboob Khan |
| 1942 | Muqabla | | Nanabhai Bhatt, Babubhai Mistri |
| 1942 | Apna Paraya | | Ramachandra Thakur |
| 1942 | Mera Gaon | | Prafulla Roy |
| 1943 | Amanat | | Lalit Chandra Mehta |
| 1943 | Mohabbat Ki Jeet | | Ramanlal Desai |
| 1944 | Laheri Cameraman | | Nari Ghadiali |
| 1944 | Taxi Driver | | S. M. Raza |
| 1944 | Bhagya Laxmi | | Sarvottam Badami |
| 1945 | Meghdoot | | Debaki Bose |
| 1945 | Chalis Karod | | Nanabhai Bhatt |
| 1946 | Khush Naseeb | | Vithaldas Panchotia |
| 1946 | Dhokhebaaz | | R. Shivraj |
| 1947 | Elaan | | Mehboob Khan |
| 1947 | Jugnu | | Shaukat Hussain Rizvi |
| 1948 | Jadui Bansuri | | Nanubhai Vakil |
| 1948 | Shikayat | | Shahid Lateef |
| 1949 | Balam | | Homi Wadia |
| 1949 | Bhool Bhulaiyan | | Taimur Behramshah |
| 1950 | Hamari Beti | | Shobhana Samarth |
| 1950 | Hamara Ghar | | Nanabhai Bhatt |
| 1951 | Badal | | Amiya Chakravarty |
| 1951 | Ustad Pedro | | Harish |
| 1952 | Do Raha | | Bal Chhabda |
| 1952 | Ambar | | Jayant Desai |
| 1953 | Patita | | Amiya Chakravarty |
| 1953 | Chandirani | | Bhanumathi |
| 1954 | Bahut Din Huwe | | S. S. Vasan |
| 1954 | Chandni Chowk | | B. R. Chopra |
| 1955 | Tismarkhan | | H.S. Kwatra and music by Sardul Kwatra |
| 1955 | Udan Khatola | | S. U. Sunny |
| 1955 | Mr. and Mrs. 55 | | Guru Dutt |
| 1956 | Parivar | | Asit Sen |
| 1957 | Bade Sarkar | | Kishore Sahu |
| 1957 | Nausherwan-E-Adil | | Sohrab Modi |
| 1958 | Kala Pani | | Raj Khosla |
| 1959 | Navrang | | V. Shantaram |
| 1959 | Ardhangini | | Ajit Chakrabarty |
| 1960 | Ghunghat | | Ramanand Sagar |
| 1961 | Gharana | Sarang (brother in law) | S. S. Vasan |
| 1961 | Zindagi aur Khwab | | S. Banerji |
| 1963 | Nartaki | | Nitin Bose |
| 1964 | Daal Mein Kaala | | Satyen Bose |
| 1964 | Dulha Dulhan | | Raj Kapoor |
| 1968 | Aadmi | Prem | A. Bhimsingh |
| 1968 | Padosan | | Jyoti Swaroop |
| 1968 | Teen Bahuraniyan | | S.S Balan and S.S Vasan |
| 1969 | Jigri Dost | | Ravikant Nagaich |
| 1971 | Tere Mere Sapne | | Vijay Anand |
| 1972 | Bombay To Goa | | S. Ramanathan |
| 1972 | Piya Ka Ghar | | Basu Chatterjee |
| 1973 | Honeymoon | | Hiren Nag |
| 1973 | Mere Gharib Nawaz | | |
| 1974 | Prem Nagar | | K.S. Prakash Rao |
| 1976 | Charas | | Ramanad Sagar |
| 1977 | Hum Kisise Kum Nahin | Hotel Manager | Nasir Hussain |
| 1977 | Aadmi Sadak Ka | | Devendra Goel |
| 1981 | Kranti | | Manoj Kumar |
| 1982 | Main Intaquam Loonga | Colonel Bajpai | T. Rama Rao |
| 1983 | Andhaa Kanoon Ulta Sidha | | T. Rama Rao |
| 1986 | Love And God | | K. Asif |
| 1986 | Baat Ban Jaye | | Bharat Rangachary |
| 1989 | Ishwar | | K. Vishwanath |

## Death

Agha died on 30 April 1992 of a heart attack in Pune, Maharashtra, India, at the age of 78. He was survived by three daughters, one son Jalal Agha and son-in-law actor Tinnu Anand.

## Awards

He was nominated for the Filmfare Best Supporting Actor Award for the 1960 film Ghunghat, but did not win the award.