Before Bollywood became a global phenomenon, there was Sabu — India’s pioneering face in Hollywood whose extraordinary life story is heading back to the big screen.
Almighty Motion Picture has acquired the film and television rights to “Sabu: The Remarkable Story of India’s First Actor in Hollywood,” the acclaimed biography by author Debleena Majumdar that chronicles the incredible true story of Sabu Dastagir, the Indian boy who rose from elephant stables in Mysore to become an international movie star.
The son of a mahout (elephant handler), Sabu’s journey from colonial India to the Hollywood Walk of Fame reads like a forgotten epic of fame, war, identity, and legacy. His story spans continents, cultures, and eras — from his breakout role in “Elephant Boy” to his service as a decorated air gunner in World War II.
Sabu made his debut in “Elephant Boy” (1937) based on Rudyard Kipling’s “Toomai of the Elephants” from “The Jungle Book.” The film was directed by documentary filmmaker Robert J. Flaherty, who produced the Indian footage, and supervising director Zoltan Korda, who completed the film and won the best director award at the Venice Film Festival. Shot at London Films studios at Denham and on location in Mysore, the film launched Sabu into international stardom.
He went on to star in Hollywood classics including “The Thief of Bagdad” (1940), “Jungle Book” (1942), “Arabian Nights” (1942) and “Black Narcissus” (1947), becoming a box office sensation and cultural bridge between East and West. His contributions to cinema were recognized with his induction into the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1960.
“Sabu’s story deserves to be told with grandeur and truth,” said Prabhleen Sandhu, producer at Almighty Motion Picture, whose credits include “Mastram” and “Starfish.” “He wasn’t just India’s first global star—he was a bridge between worlds, cultures, and eras. To bring his story to the screen is more than filmmaking – it’s preserving a legacy the world must never forget and is a responsibility we hold close to our hearts.”
The project is being developed as a high-budget cinematic feature film and/or premium web series, celebrating Sabu’s iconic journey through colonial India, wartime Europe, and golden-era Hollywood.
Author Debleena Majumdar said: “Thanks a lot to my literary agent Suhail Mathur for believing in me and for not only getting me a book deal and an AV one but for also sharing the amazing idea, and Almighty Motion Picture for finding value in the story and for shaping it with this brilliant vision. It was an honor to research on this book and more importantly to learn about how cinema and movies evolved through world changing global events.”
Sabu in “The Thief of Baghdad“
Everett Collection