Sheikh Mukhtar was the son of a railway police inspector. He made is film debut in the 1939 Mehboob Khan film Ek Hi Raasta playing an anti-hero. A towering figure who stood 6 feet 2 inches tall with a shoe size 12 UK (13 US), he was Hindi cinema's first anti-hero and tough guy. He starred in 3 Mehboob Khan classics: Ek Hi Raasta (1939), Bahen (1941), and Roti (1942).