Finally, he managed to land a leading role, and in the first couple of films, he is credited in his real name, Hamid Khan. He did not meet with much success, and on the advise of Nana Bhai Bhat, he took the Hindu name "Ajit" meaning "indomitable" as his screen-name, but his luck did not greatly improve. Although he did several films as a protagonist and became known to the public, and although his distinctive baritone voice and impressive personality brought him a fan following, his luck at the box office was not good at all. Film director K. Amarnath, who directed him in "Beqasoor", suggested that the actor change his long name of Hamid Ali Khan to something shorter, and Hamid zeroed in on "Ajit". "Beqasoor", in which he acted with Madhubala, was one of the biggest hits of 1950. Ajit's films as hero include "Nastik" (1953), "Bada Bhai", "Milan", "Baradari" and "Dholak," and in all of them, he did credible work as actor. In Nastik (1953), the song ""Dekh tere sansar ki haalat kya ho gayi Bhagwan"" is picturised on him. He moved quite soon to second-lead roles, which he accepted because he had no other source of income. These movies include "Naya Daur" and "Mughal-e-Azam."