Rangeela (actor)

Mohammad Saeed Khan (1 January 1937 – 24 May 2005), better known by his stage name Rangeela, was a Pakistani actor, comedian, director and producer.

He was also a professional bodybuilder, a billboard painter, a writer (both a screenwriter and a lyricist), a film distributor, a singer and a music composer.

He is regarded as one of the finest comedians of the Pakistani film industry.

Beginning in 1956 with the Punjabi film Chann Mahi, he eventually performed in over 550 films in a career spanning over 4 decades.

His birth name was Mohammad Saeed Khan and he was born in Parachinar, a city in the Kurram District of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

His family moved to Peshawar when he was very young.

He took a keen interest in bodybuilding and physical exercises as a teenager.

He moved to Lahore at a young age and earned his livelihood by painting billboards for the Pakistani film industry.

Once, when the shooting of a film was taking place, an actor for the film's jolly character role was needed.

The film director asked Mohammad Saeed Khan to play the part which he did.

All those present during the shooting were amused by his acting style and he became an actor through sheer luck.

Rangeela made his professional cinematic debut in a 1958 Punjabi film Jatti, directed by M. J. Rana.

He started playing humorous roles in movies and, to everybody's surprise, became highly popular.

In 1969, he formed 'Rangeela Productions' to produce his own movies.

He not only produced films but also directed his productions, sang songs, and wrote some scripts as well.

His movies, to the surprise of many film industry stalwarts, attracted a large number of viewers.

The film Diya Aur Toofan, released on 9 May 1969, was Rangeela's directional debut.

He directed numerous movies under the banner of Rangeela Productions.

His acting was showcased in the film Rangeela (1970), in which he played the title role.

His third consecutive hit film was Dil Aur Dunya (1971), starring Habib, Aasia and Rangeela.

He brought to the film Dil Aur Dunya, a sobering sense of a director's prowess which is the opposite to his celluloid persona.

When Rangeela produced film Dia Aur Toofan, he sang a song Gaa mere manwa gata ja re, janaa hai Hamka duur under the music direction of Kamal Ahmed.

People of the film industry were taken aback to know Rangeela was producing a film.

The film attracted a large number of movie-goers.

His song also became very popular.

He was married three times and had eight daughters and six sons, with a daughter Farah Deeba who's a politician in Lahore, another daughter is a CPA accountant based in America while his sons Kamran and Jahanzaib acted in some movies.

Rangeela died of a cardiac arrest on 24 May 2005 at the age of 68.