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Mehmood’s final take
The antics of a lungi-clad, half-bald South Indian music teacher falling for his female student in Padosan were enough to make everybody laugh out loud. Apart from Padosan, films like Bombay To Goa, Pyar Kiye Ja, Johar Mehmood In Goa, Bhoot Bangla, etc, define the evergreen Bhaijaan, as Mehmood was affectionately known among his ilk. He was born in Mumbai in 1932, and his impressive repertoire included 300 films; some of them directed by himself.
Mehmood’s father, Mumtaz Ali, was a dancer and Minoo Mumtaz, his sister, a character-actress. Although Mehmood initially made his mark as a villain in Guru Dutt’s CID and Piyasa later on, his name found its place in the list of the most distinguished comedians of the Indian film industry.
Susral was Mehmood’s big breakthrough as a film comedian and with that started the most successful comedy team of the 1960s — Mehmood and Shubha Khote. Besides Shubha, Aruna Irani was also a name which remained associated with his for a long time. Once, on being asked, Mehmood said: “I had a good jodi with Aruna Irani and Shubha Khote. We were generally paired together as we had a great sense of timing when we acted together.”
Two of Mehmood’s most remarkable roles were in Pyar Kiye Ja (1966) and Padosan (1968). In Pyar Kiye Ja, he played an aspiring film director who wants his father to finance his production company called Wah Wah Productions. In Padosan, Mehmood played the role of the South Indian music teacher (known as Guruji). In the film he also shared the spotlight with veteran Kishore Kumar.
Besides comedy, Mehmood had a knack to make viewers burst into tears. His characterization of a good-hearted rickshaw driver who raises a polio-affected boy as his adopted son in Kunwara Baap is a perfect example. He was proud of the fact that he never used glycerin as a substitute for tears. He believed that if he couldn’t cry himself, he wouldn’t be able to make others cry. To bring real tears to his eyes, he said that he would think of his deceased parents who passed away before his screen success.
In comedy, Mehmood liked mimicry the best. For his role in Sab Se Bada Rupaya, he copied a certain Tolaram Jalan, which he confessed on countless occasions. In Humjoli, he played a triple role in which he mimicked Prithvi Raj Kapoor with his heavy baritone, his son Raj Kapoor with his shy character and stiff hand and his grandson Randhir Kapoor with his shaking head. He also mimicked Charlie Chaplin in the song, Jodi hamari banegi kaisay.
There was a time in the Indian film industry when no big star would agree to work with Mehmood, as he would take the credit by his superlative performance. However, Dilip Kumar once shared a scene with him in a guest appearance for Sadhu Aur Shaitan.
During his lifetime, Mehmood introduced Amitabh Bachchan, Aruna Irani and Sanjeev Kumar to Bollywood. Amitabh Bachchan, according to Mehmood, was a risk. As an immature newcomer, Amitabh sought Mehmood’s support and appreciation while performing with him in Bombay To Goa.
As a director, some of Mehmood’s feats include Sab Se Bada Rupaya, Pyar Kiye Ja and Johar Mehmood In Hong Kong. However, the last film directed by him, Dushman Duniya Ka, in which he introduced his son, Manzoor, was a flop, despite cameos by Shahrukh Khan and Salman Khan. Lucky Ali, another of Mehmood’s sons, has carried his name all over the world as an acknowledged singer.
Mehmood admired Johnny Lever as a comedian. He was thrice recognized as the best comedian in the Film Fare Awards, first in 1966 for his Pyar Kiye Ja, in 1969 and then again in 1974 for Waris and Vardaan, respectively.
Mehmood died at the age of 72 in a Pennsylvania hospital last week, leaving behind a treasure of films to inspire the next generation of comedians.
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