Rehman was an actor in Hindi and Indian films. He was born on 23 June 1921 at Lahore. He graduated from Robertson College Jabalpur.

After college (1942) he joined the Royal Indian Air Force and trained at Poona as a pilot. Air Force didn't appeal to him and soon left for a career in films at Bombay. He is best known for his suave sophisticated roles, which suited his personality. His movie career started with a job as third assistant director to Vishram Bedekar at the studios in Pune. Vishram needed an Afghan who could tie a Pushtun turban on one of his characters. Rehman could do that being a Pushtun by race, and that brought him to the screen for some lead roles.