This bollywood actor, who had made his name as a mealy-mouthed, sadistic, and vicious brigand, now played a cultured yet hapless Nawab and on the first shot itself, lost control of himself as he crooned a simple but sad couplet with the melancholic light of a setting sun defining his face,

Amjad Khan as Nawab Wajid Ali Shah in 'Shatranj Ke Khiladi' moved Satyajit Ray, which highlights his range beyond the infamous Gabbar Singh.

As Amjad Khan, playing Nawab Wajid Ali Shah in Shatranj Ke Khiladi (1977), recited: " Jab chhorh chale Lucknow nagri/Kahein haal ke hum par kya guzri… ", even Satyajit Ray's eyes grew moist, screenplay writer Shama Zaidi recalled.

No actor in the history of cinema from any part of the world has been so closely associated with any one role as Amjad Khan with Gabbar Singh in Sholay. It was Gabbar with his Chambal “chaal” and “awadhi” slang that had the nation trapped in a terror zone for months and years.