There have been many actors in Hindi cinema whose roles were small, but their impact was huge. Viju Khote was one of them. On screen, he sometimes became a dangerous dacoit and sometimes a comedian whose dialogues would make one burst out laughing.
He may have been identified with Kalia of ‘Sholay’ and Robert of ‘Andaz Apna Apna’, but there were hard work, struggle and many interesting stories in his life and career. One such incident is from the shooting of ‘Sholay’, where a horse repeatedly threw him on the ground.
Viju Khote was born in a film family
Viju Khote was born on 17 December 1941 in Mumbai. His real name was Vitthal Bapurao Khote. He came from a film family. His father, Nandu Khote, was a well-known stage and silent film actor. His sister, Shubha Khote, was also a famous actress of Hindi cinema. Viju Khote was also very good in studies. There was a time when people felt that they would make a career in some other field instead of acting. He also opened a printing press and ran it for some time.
Viju Khote started the film world as a child artist. Gradually he started getting small roles. He was seen in films like ‘Anokhi Raat’, ‘Jeene Ki Raah’, ‘Aapka Swagat Hai’, ‘Khilauna’, ‘Sachcha Jhoota’, ‘Shreshtha’, ‘Bhai Ho To Aisa’, ‘Raaste Ka Patthar’, ‘Rampur Ka Laxman’, Benam’, ‘Jurm Aur Saja’ and ‘Insaniyat’. The audience liked his timing, facial expressions and style of speaking dialogues very much.
‘Sholay’ changed Viju Khote’s fate
The film ‘Sholay’ released in 1975 changed the fate of Viju Khote. In this film, he played the role of Gabbar Singh’s companion Kalia. His dialogue in the film ‘Sardar, I have eaten your salt’ became so famous that even today people remember him with this line. There is an interesting story behind this role also.
Amjad Khan who became Gabbar Singh was his theater friend and on his recommendation, Viju Khote got the role of Kalia.
A funny incident is also related during the shooting of ‘Sholay’. In one scene, Viju Khote was made to sit on a horse. As soon as the spotboy on the set opened the umbrella, the horse suddenly got angry and threw Viju Khote on the ground. This happened several times. This scene was fun for the entire unit, but it was not easy for Viju Khote. Despite this, he shot the scene with complete honesty.
Worked in more than 440 films
After ‘Sholay’, Viju Khote did not look back. He worked in more than 440 Hindi and Marathi films. Robert’s character and dialogue ‘Galti Se Mistake Ho Gaya’ in ‘Andaz Apna Apna’ took him to the new generation. He also played important roles in the TV serials ‘Zabaan Sambhal Ke’, ‘Shriman Shrimati’, ‘Ghar Jamai’, ‘Family Number One’, and ‘CID’ and remained active for a long time through Marathi films like ‘Devta’, ‘Changu-Mangu’, ‘Ayatya Gharat Gharoba’, and ‘Uttarayan’.
He died on 30 September 2019 in Mumbai at the age of 77. After his departure, the film industry lost an artiste who had made a big mark even with small roles.
