Bob Christo

Robert John Christo, was an Australian–Indian civil engineer and actor in Hindi films. Starting with Sanjay Khan's Abdullah (1980), he went on to act in over 200 Hindi films in the 1980s and 1990s, including Qurbani (1980), Kaalia (1981), Nastik (1983), Mard (1985), Mr India (1987), Roop Ki Rani Choron Ka Raja (1993) and Gumraah (1993), mostly playing roles as a non-Indian henchman or Army General.^[1][2]

Bob Christo
Born	Robert John Christo 1938 (1938) Sydney, Australia
Died	20 March 2011 (2011-03-21) (aged 72) Bangalore, Karnataka, India
Occupations	Civil engineer actor
Years active	1980–2003

Career

Born in Sydney, Christo was a qualified civil engineer of Greek and German descent.^[3][4] He had two brothers, Helmut and Mike.^[2] Known for his brawny physique and bald-headed look, Bob arrived in Bombay, India while awaiting a work permit to Muscat, Oman.^[1] It was in Mumbai that he was introduced to Bollywood actress Parveen Babi,^[2] who helped him transition into Hindi films.

He received his first break when he constructed the jungle palace for Francis Ford Coppola in Apocalypse Now.^[5] And later as a villain in the Hindi movie Abdullah in 1980. Christo decided to stay in India and appeared in over 200 movies in Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam and Kannada, playing a recurring typecast villain.^[6]

Sanjay Khan discovered him and gave him his first break in his movie Abdullah as the villain, and also after many years, Sanjay Khan gave him a break, firstly in Magnum Opus “The Sword of Tipu Sultan” and then in the, The Great Maratha, where he played the iconic character of Ahmed Shah Abdali.

During the later stages of his life, he relocated to Bangalore in early 2000, where he started working as a Yoga instructor^[7] and remained disconnected from the Hindi movie industry since 2003.

Death

The 72-year-old actor died of "rupture of left ventricle valve" in Bangalore on 20 March 2011. He is survived by his wife Nargis and two sons, Darius and Sunil. He has two daughters, Monique and Nicole from a previous marriage.^[4][8]

Filmography

Film

List of Bob Christo film credits

Year	Title	Role	Language	Notes
1978	Arvind Desai Ki Ajeeb Dastaan	Roberts	Hindi
	The Wild Geese	Body double	English	Uncredited
1979	Pehredaar		Hindi
1980	Qurbani		Hindi
	Cobra	Bob Christo	Hindi
	Bebbuli[9]	Bob Christo	Telugu
	Abdullah	Magician	Hindi
1981	Sankharsham		Malayalam
	Kaalia	Michael	Hindi
	Kalkut		Hindi
1982	Prohari		Hindi
	Ustadi Ustad Se	Prem's associated	Hindi
	Namak Halaal	Hitman	Hindi
	Ashanti	Sampat's Man	Hindi
	Star	Samson	Hindi
	Disco Dancer	International Hit-man	Hindi
	Main Intequam Loonga	Anthony	Hindi
	Sharaabi Nar		Hindi
	Bobbili Puli		Telugu
1983	Taqdeer	Gangster	Hindi
	Nastik		Hindi
	Jaani Dost	Cobra's Goon	Hindi
	Naukar Biwi Ka	Rustom	Hindi
	Hum Se Hai Zamana		Hindi
	Haadsa	Abductor	Hindi
	Bekhabar		Hindi
1984	Boxer		Hindi
	Sharaabi	Ruffian #3	Hindi	Uncredited
	Insaaf Kaun Karega	Bob	Hindi
	Raaj Tilak	Combatant in arena	Hindi
	Jagir	Bandit	Hindi
	Kasam Paida Karne Wale Ki	Udaybhan's Assistant	Hindi
	Sharara		Hindi
	Raja Aur Rana	Bob	Hindi
	Sardar[10]	Pavana Murthy's Goon	Telugu
1985	Karm Yudh		Hindi
	Sarfarosh	British Man	Hindi
	Baadal		Hindi
	Telephone	Bob	Hindi
	Geraftaar	Ram	Hindi
	Mard	Simon	Hindi
	Insaaf Main Karoonga	Commander Bob	Hindi
	Yaar Kasam		Hindi
	Kali Basti	Bob Jackson	Hindi
	Haveli	Runaway prisoner English man	Hindi
	Kaakki Sattai		Tamil
	Jeevante Jeevan	Boxer Bob Christo	Malayalam
1986	Viduthalai		Tamil
	Badle Ki Jwala		Hindi
	Amma	British Colonel	Hindi
	Prathyekam Sradhikkukka	Christopher	Malayalam
	Kala Dhanda Goray Log	Bob	Hindi
	Nasihat		Hindi
	Allah Rakha	Don	Hindi
	Avinash	Bob	Hindi
	Palay Khan	British Officer	Hindi
	Chanakya Sapadham[11]	Nero, Diamonds Smuggler	Telugu
	Hello My Dear Wrong Number	Bob	Malayalam
1987	Kadhal Parisu		Tamil
	Hukumat	DBDN's English Friend	Hindi
	Mr. India	Mr. Wolcott	Hindi
	Hiraasat	Bob	Hindi
	Uttar Dakshin	Bob	Hindi
	Superman	Bob	Hindi
	Jayasimha	Foreign Smuggler	Kannada
	Cooliekkaran		Tamil
1988	Commando	Marcelloni's Henchman	Hindi
	Bloodstone	Haggerty	English
	Paanch Fauladi	Seth Englishman	Hindi
	Mera Shikar		Hindi
	Mar Mitenge	Bob	Hindi
	Aryan		Malayalam
	Aakhri Adaalat		Hindi
1989	Ustaad	Bob[12]	Hindi
	Paanch Paapi[13]		Hindi
	Guru	Bandit	Hindi
	Vardi	Himself	Hindi
	Sachché Ká Bol-Bálá	Henchman	Hindi
	Farz Ki Jung	Mr. Barker	Hindi
	Kanoon Ki Awaaz		Hindi
	Dost		Hindi
	Toofan	Goodmark, Gold Smuggler	Hindi
	Jaadugar	Bob	Hindi
	Siva		Tamil
	Desh Ke Dushman	Inspector Bob	Hindi
	Hongkongnalli Agent Amar[14]		Kannada
	Shehzaade	Bob	Hindi	Uncredited
	Apna Desh Praye Log	Swami's Goon	Hindi
	Sachai Ki Taqat		Hindi
	Love Love Love	Bob	Hindi
	Dav Pech	Gambler	Hindi
	Aakhri Muqabla	Tiger / Shola / Shaitan	Hindi
	Gharana	Shiekh, Diamond Merchant	Hindi
	Elaan-E-Jung	Kalanaag Henchman	Hindi
	Meri Garmi		Hindi
1990	Maut Se Mukabala		Hindi
	Taqdeer Ka Tamasha	Shooter George	Hindi
	Zahreelay	Massena	Hindi
	Agneepath	Gora	Hindi
	Gunahon Ka Devta		Hindi
	Doodh Ka Karz	Engrez Master 'Gora'	Hindi
	Zimmedaaar	Man who beat up the press editor	Hindi
	Roti Kee Keemat	Bob	Hindi
	Maula Jatt		Punjabi
	Dushman	Sadashiv's aide	Hindi
	Atishbaz	Michael	Hindi
	Athisaya Piravi	Goon	Tamil	Uncredited
	Aag Ka Gola	Natwar's Man Baldy	Hindi
1991	Saugandh	Killer	Hindi
	Vishnu-Devaa	Bald Fighter	Hindi
	Yodha	Christo	Hindi
	Farishtay	Terrorist Bob	Hindi
	Numbri Aadmi	Don	Hindi
	Kaun Kare Kurbanie	Goon	Hindi	Uncredited
	Jungle Beauty	Jumbo	English
	Fateh		Hindi
1992	Mr. Bond	Bob	Hindi
	Tahalka	Captain Richard	Hindi
	Humshakal	Rapist	Hindi
	Deedar	Goon	Hindi
	Sone Ki Lanka		Hindi
	Dil Aashna Hai	Goverdhan's man	Hindi
	Tirangaa		Hindi
	Saali Adhe Gharwali	Peter	Hindi
1993	Roop Ki Rani Choron Ka Raja	Mr. Donze	Hindi
	Phool Aur Angaar	Mr Richard	Hindi
	Gumrah	Male cop in Hong Kong	Hindi
	Hum Hain Kamaal Ke	English Diamond Dealer	Hindi
	Aadmi	John	Hindi
	Tahqiqaat	Goon	Hindi
	Aulad Ke Dushman	Rexon Warner	Hindi
	Aankhen	Tejeshwar's Henchman	Hindi	Uncredited
1994	Kaun Apna Kaun Paraya		Hindi
	Insaaf Apne Lahoo Se	Bob	Hindi
	Pathreela Raasta		Hindi
	Aaja Re O Sajana		Hindi
1995	Jawab	Sobhraj's goon	Hindi
	Paandav		Hindi
	Jai Vikraanta		Hindi
	Prem	British Officer	Hindi
	Sarhad: The Border of Crime		Hindi
	Kismat	Charlie	Hindi
1996	Zordaar	John	Hindi
	Ram Aur Shyam		Hindi
1997	Agnichakra		Hindi
	Gupt: The Hidden Truth	Boat organiser	Hindi
	Dhaal		Hindi
1998	Kalicharan		Hindi
1999	Hum Tum Pe Marte Hain		Hindi
	Nyaydaata	B.C.	Hindi
2001	Kasam	John	Hindi
	Veer Savarkar	William Hutt Curzon Wyllie	Hindi
2004	Rose Thorn		English
2016	Aman Ke Farishtey		Hindi	(final film role)

Television

List of Bob Christo television credits

Year	Title	Role	Language
1990	The Sword of Tipu Sultan	General Matthews	Hindi
1994	The Great Maratha	Ahmed Shah Abdali	Hindi
	The Indian Trunk		French
	La Nouvelle Malle des Indes	Le major aka Wettlauf nach Bombay West Germany	French

Works

• Flashback: My Life and Times in Bollywood and Beyond, by Bob Christo. Penguin India, 2011. ISBN 0143414623.

See also

• List of Indian film actors

• Bollywood portal

References

1. "Veteran film actor Bob Christo no more". Deccan Herald. Bangalore. 20 March 2011. Archived from the original on 24 March 2011. Retrieved 21 March 2011.
2. Dubey, Bharati (21 March 2011). "Actor Bob Christo passes away". The Times of India. Archived from the original on 16 September 2014. Retrieved 21 March 2011.
3. Gupta, Gargi. "The passions of Christo". Business Standards. Archived from the original on 9 October 2021. Retrieved 14 March 2021.
4. Christo, Bob (2011). Flashback: My Life and Times in Bollywood and Beyond. Penguin Books Limited. ISBN 9788184755114. Archived from the original on 7 April 2023. Retrieved 15 March 2021.
5. Gianani, Kareena N. (27 March 2011). "'I loved playing the white baddie: Bob Christo". DNA India. Archived from the original on 10 November 2020. Retrieved 10 November 2020.
6. "Actor Bob Christo dead". The Hindu. 20 March 2011. Archived from the original on 21 March 2011. Retrieved 21 March 2011.
7. Kumar, Mala (10 May 2004). "BAD BOY makes it good". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 13 May 2006. Retrieved 4 June 2006.
8. "Actor Bob Christo dead". The Hindu. 20 March 2011. Retrieved 26 August 2016.
9. Bebbuli Telugu Full Length Movie | Krishnam Raju | Sujatha | Jaggaiah @skyvideostelugu, 16 January 2018, retrieved 18 January 2024
10. "Sardar (1984)". Indiancine.ma. Archived from the original on 13 April 2023. Retrieved 13 April 2023.
11. "Chanakya Sapadam (1986)". Indiancine.ma. Retrieved 20 January 2024.
12. "Ustaad (1989)". IMDb. Archived from the original on 26 November 2021. Retrieved 24 June 2021.
13. "Paanch Paapi (1989) Cast – Actor, Actress, Director, Producer, Music Director". Cinestaan. Archived from the original on 8 April 2023. Retrieved 7 April 2023.
14. "Hongkongnalli Agent Amar (1989) Kannada movie: Cast & Crew".

External links

• Bob Christo at IMDb