He started out as a cowboy and then became a leading man and a director but Feroz Khan will perhaps be best remembered as the man who gave S & S to the Indian film industry — Sex and Style! FK is what the swashbuckling screen persona liked to call himself and with good reason!

Once he switched sides and became a producer-director, Feroz gave Bollywood a new body (quite a few actually) and a whole lot of pizazz to go with it.

As actor

In his first few years as an actor, starting with Didi in 1960, Feroz Khan worked in everything from Tarzan films (Tarzan Goes to India) to Samson movies (Samson). His stint with the Wadia Brothers (Char Dervesh) helped him learn a lot of action stunts that would help him craft those extravagant action set-pieces later in life. But his acting skills came into the spotlight a good decade after he had debuted despite shining briefly in Ramanand Sagar's Arzoo in 1965.

Aadmi Aur Insaan (1969): The film that won Feroz his first award (for Best Supporting Actor), was one about brotherly love and hate, co-starring Dharmendra. Produced by BR Chopra and directed by Yash Chopra, this was FK’s first big-league movie and he made it very clear that he was here to stay.

Safar (1970):Feroz himself considered this Asit Sen gem as one of his best performances. Playing the husband who finds out that his wife is still in love with his college friend, Feroz gave a nuanced performance that struck a chord with everyone. While Rajesh Khanna and Sharmila Tagore were in the forefront, Safar without Feroz Khan would not have been a journey to remember.

Khote Sikkay (1974): If Clint Eastwood was The Man With No Name in the spaghetti westerns, Feroz Khan was the nameless horseback rider in this cult classic from Narendra Bedi. In a plot which borrowed generously from many a famous Western flick, FK played the stylish cowboy to the hilt and, for the first time in his career, garnered his own fan following.

Kala Sona (1975): Another revenge tale, another style statement, another FK classic! Here too he is an outsider trying to put things in order in a village but deep down he has to settle scores with the bad guys. The sexy Parveen Babi added more glamour to this cowboy-styled action flick.

Welcome (2007): In his last film, the rip-roaring comedy from Anees Bazmee, FK’s pet catchphrase was ironically “ Abhi hum zinda hain! ” . Playing the baap of all bhais, Feroz was at his stylish best as the dreaded RDX, who loves to play with the guns, the babes and the saxophone. The man sure signed off in signature style.

As director

Sexy & stylish: A poster of Feroz Khan’s biggest hit Qurbani; Madhuri Dixit and Vinod Khanna locking lips in Dayavan; Celina Jaitley is all oomph in Janasheen

Apradh (1972): When shots of an actual Formula One (Germany) race were seen in the film, the industry sat up and took notice. Here was a director ready to make films kingsize, just the way he lived his life. And the way he shot his heroine Mumtaz, it was very clear what he had on his mind when it came to depicting women on screen. Three decades later, Apradh’s Aye naujawan hai sab (Kalyanji-Anandji) was turned by Black Eyed Peas into the international hit Don’t Phunk With My Heart. FK sure was ahead of his time.

Dharmatma (1975): Feroz Khan’s version of Francis Ford Coppola’s Godfather became a huge hit and it sure proved once and for all that no one used Feroz Khan the actor better than Feroz Khan the director. It helped that he Indianised the story by basing Prem Nath’s godfather character on the then-famous matka king Ratan Khatri. The film had the hit song Kya khoob lagti ho, badi sundar dikhti ho...

Qurbani (1980): The film that epitomised Feroz Khan. Sex and style and both in large measures. A simple love triangle with a twist, Feroz turned it around on its head with just the scale of his production. The climax was shot in London and the music recorded on 24 tracks when the norm was to record on 4-5 tracks. Then he got a 16-year-old Pakistani girl Nazia Hassan to collaborate with a relative newcomer like Biddu and create the all-time chartbuster Aap jaisa koi mere zindagi mein aaye... Then there was Amjad Khan as Inspector Amjad Khan and Vinod Khanna as Mr Hottie.But the yummy icing on the voluptuous cake was, of course, Zeenat Aman like we have never seen her before. Like we have never seen any heroine before.

Janbaaz (1986):Zeenat in Qurbani. Rekha and Dimple in Janbaaz. Having tasted success with his sex and style formula, Feroz adopted it for life and till the day he made his movies, he stood for them. Despite its daring display, Janbaaz didn’t quite have the panache of Qurbani.But when Anil Kapoor and Dimple made out in the stacks of hay, nobody, repeat nobody, could take their eyes off. Here was a director who showed it as it is and was unapologetic about it. His ear for music was, of course, as good as ever with melody flowing in songs like Har kisiko nahin milta yahaan pyaar zindagi mein.

Dayavan (1988):FK’s only official remake, Dayavan was the Bollywood version of Mani Ratnam’s Nayakan. And despite great performances by Vinod Khanna and FK himself, the film is best remembered for what is till today one of the longest screen kisses seen on this side of the Arabian Sea. A demure Madhuri Dixit in a simple cotton sari hesitantly giving in to the determined Vinod Khanna and locking lips like there’s no tomorrow. Only Feroz Khan could have made it happen. No, we didn’t forget the Ramya Krishnan item number on the ship. Chahe meri jaan tu le le...

Yalgaar (1992):An umm, wholesome Nagma in a lazily wrapped violet sari gliding on the porch as the rain pours down incessantly. Feroz Khan could create images that didn’t wash away in a hurry. The films sometimes didn’t work on the whole, as didn’t Yalgaar, but they were punctuated with such moments of mesmerising lust. You may not remember Yalgaar with its innocuous leading man and an out-of-form Sanjay Dutt but can you possibly forget Aakhir tumhe aana hai zara der lagegi? The answer is a resounding no, from Behala to Bandra!

Prem Aggan (1998): The big launch for son Fardeen Khan went completely awry when FK tried to make a sex kitten out of a completely asexual Meghna Kothari. He even gave her an entire song in the gym where she went “Exercise! Exercise!” in her tights as if she was some bloated balloon trying desperately to lose weight. Anu Malik’s songs were ordinary and poor Fardeen struggled with his Hindi, having had to say more lines in the language than he had said in a lifetime.

Janasheen (2003): Another new girl in a bikini. But this one was here to stay. Celina Jaitley standing in the waters and playing a violin in a two-piece was surely a sight for sore eyes and even after any films the former Miss India and ex-Calcutta resident is best known for her sexy debut. Fardeen stumbled again, forced to do everything in one movie, but his old man got the ceetees and the claps as he played the enigmatic (and loud) Saba Karim Shah. Barkhurdar, khoon ke rang se mujhe bhi nafrat hai lekin kya karoon ragon mein daudta hai...