New Delhi: HCC President, CEO Steve Nissen and Walk of Famers Eugenio Derbez, along with Richard Blade, on Wednesday night, introduced the Hollywood Walk of Fame Class of 2026, which also included Indian actor Deepika Padukone. She even took to her social media profile to acknowledge the honour as she wrote, ‘Gratitude’ on her Instagram stories. While DP fans are basking in glory as she became the first Indian actress to have a star in her name at the Hollywood Walk Of Fame, let us tell you about an actor who was the first Indian actor to receive this honour. Yes! 65 years ahead of Deepika, an Indian-origin actor, had his name included in the Hollywood Walk Of Fame.
Sabu Dastagir was first Indian-origin actor to work in Hollywood
Sabu Dastagir was born in a mahout family in Mysore. Sabu was nine years old when his father passed away. After this, his family was dependent on the support received from the Mysore court in the form of food. Let us tell you that Sabu, famous as ‘Elephant Boy’, was not only the first Indian actor to step into Hollywood films, but was also the first Indian-origin artist to be included in the prestigious ‘Hollywood Walk of Fame’ in 1960. The time when Sabu recieved this honour, he had accpeted US citizenship.
Sabu gained massive popularity in Hollywood films in the 1930s-40s. He made his debut in Hollywood films for the first time at the age of just 13. After this, in 1934, he was discovered by American filmmaker Robert Flaherty, who came to India for the shooting of the film ‘Elephant Boy’. The story of this film was based on the famous writer Rudyard Kipling’s short story ‘Toomai of the Elephants’. It was about a young mahout who lived with elephants. This film proved to be a super hit at the box office and Sabu became a star overnight.
Lead roles in Hollywood and British films
After doing this film, Sabu started appearing in lead roles in Hollywood and British films. During this time, he played lead roles in many British and American films like ‘The Drum (1938), Thief of Baghdad (1940), Jungle Book (1942), Arabian Nights (1942), Cobra Woman (1944), Song of India (1949). But he never acted in any Hindi film, though, he played the role of ‘Prince Azim’ in the 1938 film ‘The Drum’, which was highly appreciated in India.
Sabu never featured in an Indian film
It is said that in 1957, famous Bollywood filmmaker Mehboob Khan offered Sabu to play the lead role in the film ‘Mother India’. However, Sabu refused. Later that role was played by actor Sunil Dutt. On December 2, 1963, at the age of only 39, Sabu died of a heart attack in Los Angeles, America. He was married to American actress Marilyn Cooper, with whom he has 2 children. Sabu’s last film was ‘A Tiger Walks’, in which he played the role of an Indian animal trainer. This film was released in March 1964, almost three months after his death.
