Mysuru, KARNATAKA / U.S.A :

Sabu Dastagir, or Selar Sabu, might be an overlooked name in Indian Cinema’s vibrant history but many wouldn’t be aware that he was perhaps the first actor to find bonafide success in Hollywood. These are the early 1930s that we refer to, much before the likes of Om Puri, Saeed Jaffrey, Irffan Khan or even Priyanka Chopra made their mark on the foreign shores.

Born in the Mysuru kingdom of the pre-independent India to the then king’s official mahout, Sabu was spotted at the age of 13 by director Robert Flaherty (or his wife, some sources claim) who would later cast him in the screen adaptation of Rudyard Kipling’s Toomai and the Elephants (from the Jungle Book). While portions of the film were shot in Mysuru, the rest of the film was shot in London which meant that Sabu was flown over, along with his brother, to England where he is said to have attended school for a brief period.

But this was only the beginning for Sabu Dastagir as he chanced upon more such golden opportunities with projects like ‘The Drum (1938), wherein he played prince Azim, or Zoltan Korda’s ‘The Thief of Baghdad’ in 1940 in which he played Abu, the outwitter who ultimately saves the princess. ‘The Thief of Baghdad’ won the Oscars for Cinematography, Art, and Special Effects while ‘The Drum’ ended up causing riots in Mumbai for its subservient attitude towards the British in the film.

Around the time of ‘The Thief of Baghdad’s release, the second World War was looming large over the entire world, and Sabu, during its peak, had just completed shooting for ‘Jungle Book’ in Hollywood.

He would go on to serve the American military and become an integral member of more than 40 air missions across the pacific as their tail or machine gunner. Along with the acting accolades he had received till then, Sabu also became a decorated military officer after being awarded the Flying Cross.

Sabu would then continue residing in the United States of American and become the face of the “Empire Movies” with several hits like ‘White Savage (1942)’, ‘Cobra Woman (1944)’, ‘Man-Eater of Kumaon (1948), and many more to his name.

It was on the sets of ‘Song of India’ in 1949 that he met actor and future wife Marilyn Cooper for the first time.

Sabu Dastagir breathed his last on 2nd December, 1963 in California, despite being in the pink of his health at the time.

source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / TimesofIndia.com / Home> Entertainment> Kannada> Movies / by Swaroop Kodur / September 07th, 2021