We all know of our own homegrown film superstars but do we know about one of the very few actors who made it big in Hollywood. It’s Selar Sabu the boy who travelled to Hollywood on an elephant. Born on 27 January 1924, in Mysore he was son of an Assamese lady and a mahout. However, he was orphaned soon and put under the care of his uncle. At that time, in Mysore, there were interviews going on by Robert J. Flaherty, director of the movie “Elephant Boy”. Apparently Sabu was hiding out in the stables to avoid interviews when his uncle shunted him out and right into sight! His natural assertiveness and grace with animals won him the main role. Selar Sabu was then whisked off to England so that he could learn English for his role where he was declared child star for his movie “The Drum”. But what does Sabu actually mean? It means a strong loyal person. After getting naturalized in the USA in 1944, not only did he acted in the Arabian Nights (1942), White Savage (1943) and Cobra Woman (1944). He worked on the movie that made him famous and the very purpose for me writing this article, the movie, Jungle Book! Yes, Sabu was the first ever actor to have played Mowgli. It was in fact at this movie set, that he met Marilyn Cooper, his future wife. After this he also acted in Rampage opposite Robert Mitchum. His signature turban remains a fond memory for many. But. on 2 December 1963, Sabu died suddenly in Chatsworth, California, of a heart attack, a month before his 40th birthday. His wife said in a television interview that two days before his death, during a routine medical check, his doctor told him: “If all my patients were as healthy as you, I would be out of
a job”.
Hardeep S. Chandpuri
