Mehmood Ali ,popularly known as Mehmood, was a Bollywood actor, singer, director and producer and was in great form during 60s. Best known for his comic roles , during his career of more than four decades, he worked in over 300 Hindi films.
This Photo clicked by me was published along with report in Blitz weekly.
He began his acting career as a child artiste with Bombay Talkies film Kismet. Later, he was found doing number of odd jobs.Not many are aware that he was a table tennis coach to Meena Kumari and also worked as a driver for director P. L. Santoshi. No wonder, Santoshi’s son, Rajkumar Santoshi, later cast him in his film ‘Andaz Apna Apna’, when he had almost retired from film industry, for not finding roles. But, early sixties , late 60s and early 70s belonged to Mehmood, who entertained the Hindi film lovers, with his mere presence in some of his films. Mehmood also produced some sensible films, with a message. In 80’s he could not find suitable roles.
Sometime during 1990, I remember meeting him at a Juhu hotel, when makers of a Tele fim had introduced him in a different get up. He had shaved off his head, reminding of his character in the film ‘Padosan’. While answering some questions from few journalists present on the occasion, he became too emotional and burst into tears. Perhaps, he remembered his good old days, when he had offered scope to young talent, including Amitabh Bachchan, when he made his film ‘Bombay to Goa’. It was sad that a talented actor like him, was totally ignored by Bollywood film makers in the later stage of his career. Meeting him in that serious mood, was surprising, as I had heard that he was always in a cheerful mood. In 90s he did only three films, after which he suffered health problems. On 23 July 2004, Mehmood died in his sleep in Pennsylvania, US, where he had gone for treatment of heart disease after suffering poor health for several years. Mehmood is no more, but his lively performances in hundreds of films, shall always remain in our memory.