The Probert Encyclopaedia of Actors

SABU

Sabu (Sabu Dastagir) was an Indian actor. He was born in 1924 at Mysore and died in 1963 of a heart attack. He was 'discovered' by director Robert Flaherty while working in the elephant stables of the Maharajah of Mysore, India and cast in the 1937 film 'Elephant Boy'. After that he acted in other movies about the British Raj in India. His most famoust role was the title role in the 1940 film 'The Thief of Baghdad'. As he grew up his popularity began to wane. His most unusual role as an adult was a small part in the 1947 'Black Narcissus' as an Indian general in the Himalayas. He holds the unique honour of being the first Indian to make it to the Hollywood screen.
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