Bollywood’s iconic villain, came Mumbai to become a cricketer, later became an actor, his name was…, Raveena Tandon is her…
GH News April 01, 2025 09:06 PM

Over the years several actors have appeared in films and television often going unnoticed despite their close connections to the established celebrities. This trend continues even today. However one surprising connection is that of actor Mac Mohan best known for his iconic role as Sambha in Sholay. He took on various roles including several memorable villainous characters and had a career spanning five decades in Hindi cinema.
Born as Mohan Makijany in Karachi in undivided India on April 24 1938 his father was a colonel in the British Army in India. In 1940 his father transferred from Karachi to Lucknow following partition. Mohan was a keen cricket enthusiast since childhood and came to Mumbai to become a cricketer but became a Bollywood actor instead.
He entered into the film industry as an assistant producer following which he made his debut in the 1964 film Haqeeqat. He acted in around 218 films and mostly played a part of the villains gang playing usually a bad guy on-screen.
Mac Mohan portrayed the iconic role of Sambha in Sholay. He delivered the legendary line poore pachaas hazaar after 27 retakes which later became an unforgettable dialogue in Bollywoods history.
He remained a prominent villain throughout the 1970s and 1980s featuring in blockbusters like Don Karz Satte Pe Satta Zanjeer Rafoo Chakkar Shaan Khoon Pasina and Majboor. For the unversed Mac Mohan was Raveena Tandons maternal uncle.
In November 2009 a day before he could start the shooting for Ashwini Dheer’s Atithi Tum Kab Jaoge? the actor was admitted to a hospital in Mumbai after his health deteriorated. He was diagnosed with a tumour in the right lung and passed away due to lung cancer on May 10 2010.