Anwar Ali may be his youngest brother but he remains the late Mehmood’s biggest fan. Having survived a stroke, the 70-plus Anwar, also an actor (played the driver Rajesh in Bombay To Goa), shows no trace of the setback as he shares vivid memories of his Bhaijaan. Of a life that juxtaposed extravagance with charity, passion with compassion and romance with religiosity. In times when heroes formed a line-up of swaggering lover boys, Mehmood, as an ingenious comedian, threatened to walk away with the laurels and the laughs.
Tearjerkers like Parvarish and Saural in the 1950s established his comic credentials, followed by comedies like Johar Mehmood in Goa, Pyar Kiye Jaa and Padosan. And to get the coffers rolling, savvy producers rolled out his name in the films’ credits. His parody of a South Indian in films like Padosan and Do Phool, his Hyderabadi intonations in Gumnaam, Kunwara Baap and others symbolised the stylised Mehmood madness.
Off camera he was no less of a rockstar. Owning an ensemble of cars, a stable full of studs and clothes bought off high-end stores in the UK – not to forget the superfluous female attention - Mehmood was a prince without posing as one. His rags-to-riches saga had its own share of overkill, of nicotine and sedatives, which he consumed in copious amounts! Whether it was to soothe his on-the-edge persona or to make semblance of his spinning lifestyle, somewhere it only celebrated his contradictions… till he finally gave it all up for the anonymity of Pennsylvania in the US. Mehmood may have been finally laid to rest in Bangalore but he lives on… as a textbook of entertainment in Hindi films. This year being his 10th death anniversary, Anwar and his family, under Bandwagon Entertainment, have flagged off a tribute to him on radio and TV and will hold a retrospective of his films. We will also be naming a street after him in Juhu,” he says before he pieces together the life and times of Mehmood. In his words...
(clockwise) Mehmood with second wife Tracy, With Saira Banu in Padosan, Calling the shots, With Aruna Irani in Man Mandir
BIG BROTHER
The earliest memory of Bhaijaan that comes to mind is the time when my father (actor/dancer Mumtaz Ali) would give me `10 as pocket money and Bhaijaan would talk me into giving them to him. “Throw it! It’s just paper,” he’d urge. He’d lure me with one paisa and two paisa coins saying, “This is real money!” I’d happily give him the notes and run out to buy Parry sweets, the coins jingling in my pocket!
Bhaijaan cared for all of us (Mehmod had seven brothers and sisters named Husseini, Khairunnisa, Usman, Malikunnisa - actress Minoo Mumtaz, Zubeida, Shaukat and Anwar) and supported the family during hard times. He began as a child actor in Ashok Kumar’s Kismet (1943). Later, to make ends meet he did odd jobs and even worked as PL Santoshi’s (filmmaker Raj Kumar Santoshi’s father) driver. Kishoreda (Kumar) and Bhaijaan were friends and they’d go walking to Filmistan Studio from Malad where we lived.
HERO AMONG HEROES
(Mehmood appeared in films like Do Bigha Zameen and Pyaasa in the 1950s but hit popularity with films Gumnaam, Johar Mehmood In Goa, Padosan and Do Phool in the ’60s. He continued to rule with Bombay To Goa, Kunwara Baap and Sabse Bada Rupaiya into the ’80s) Once Bhaijaan turned successful, there was no looking back. Rajshri Productions’ specially created a role for him in their first production Aarti (Pradeep Kumar-Meena Kumari starrer in 1962). Bhaijaan even taught Meenaji to play tennis. If the end credits of the film read, ‘And Mehmood’, distributors would pounce to buy it. He was paid more than heroes, around seven and a half lakhs for 14 days of shooting. Once Gregory Peck was in Mumbai and met Bhaijaan at Mehboob Studio. He couldn’t help remark, “You’re too handsome for a comedian!”
KING-SIZED LIFE
Bhaijaan’s flamboyance was part of his personality. He lived like a king both in terms of his lifestyle but also his large-heartedness. He looked after our extended kutumb of 150 people. He loved cars and at one point he owned a fleet of 24 cars including a Stingray, Dodge, Impala, MG, Jaguar and others. He had an in-house mechanic named Austin. He’d ask him to paint the car to match with the colour of the suit he was to wear for an event. It didnt matter if he had to spend around a lakh to colour it!
He’d even match his shoes with the colour of the car. He gifted me a Jaguar. My girlfriends loved me because I drove that. So did Amitabh’s (Bachchan) girlfriends because he drove it too (reportedly Bachchan received support from Mehmood during the early years of his struggle)! To digress, I remember the only time he slapped me was when I took Tracy Bhabhi’s (Mehmood’s second wife) sister in the car for a dance party. He didn’t approve of it. Bhaijaan enjoyed shopping in London. If he liked a particular shirt/pant/shoes, he’d pick up all colours in that style.
But it was never about ‘I, me, myself’. Once on returning from a trip abroad, he got so many gifts for everyone that they had to be brought home in a tempo. These included Seiko watches for the liftman, the watchman and even the postman!
Bhaijaan’s another passion was horses and he owned a couple of them. Hardheld, his favourite horse, was got from the US. Bhaijaan asked jockey Mansingh, who was going through a low phase, to visit Sai Baba of Shirdi and from then on started his winning streak.
With Tracy, jockey Mansingh and favourite horse Hardheld at the races
Sufi leanings
Bhaijaan respected all faiths. That’s why he stuck to ‘Mahesh’ (the name of Lord Shiva) as his screen name. We’d perform the Eid namaz together at Azad Maidan. People recognised him but never disturbed him. Then he’d go to Johnny Walker’s place and ask for Eidi (gift money). He also frequented the dargahs of Sufi saints Makhdoomshah Baba (in Mahim and Malad) and Kamar Ali Darvesh (Shivapur, Pune).
Ladies’ man
Bhaijaan received a lot of fan mail from women. A funny incident, which Bhaijaan would often narrate was that once he had been to Japan to shoot for a film. There the hero and he went to a night club after which they took geishas to their rooms. In the middle of the night, Bhaijaan heard a knock at his door. It was the hero. “Gadbad ho gayee. Woh ‘he’ nikla. I drove him away!” said the baffled star.
Coming to his wives, Bhaijaan’s first marriage to Meenaji’s (Kumari) sister Madhu didn’t last long. They had four sons from their marriage – Masood Ali (featured in in Ek Baap Chhe Bete), Maqsood Ali (aka actor/singer Lucky Ali), Maqdoom Ali aka Macky Ali (played a challenged child in Kunwara Baap) and Masoom Ali who produced Dushman Duniya Ka (1996).
Bhaijaan later met the US resident Tracy in Mahableshwar where he was shooting for Bhoot Bangla (1965). They fell in love and got married. They had ‘3 + 1’ children. With Tracy Bhabhi he had three children, Mansoor Ali, Manzoor Ali (played the drug addict in Dushman Duniya Ka) and daughter Latifunnissa aka Ginny (acted in Ginny Aur Johnny). The fourth girl, Kizzy, has a story behind her. Once when they were in Bangalore, Tracy Bhabhi found a baby girl lying abandoned on the farm. She picked her up, gave her a bath and told Bhaijaan, “Let’s take her to Mother Teresa.” But Mother said, “She’s for you!” She also gave Bhaijaan a cross, which he wore all his life. They named the little girl Rehmat (blessing). Kizzy (her pet name) is a nurse by profession and lives in Pennsylvania in the US. She loved Bhaijaan. Once when he was in the US, she handed him the keys of a car saying, “This car is for you.” There were rumours about Bhaijaan’s proximity to Arunaji (Irani) too. Yes, Bhaijaan and Arunaji were close to each other but not to the point where they would hurt other people’s sentiments. This is the truth.
THE LAST YEARS
Bhaijaan was a heavy smoker. He didn’t consume alcohol but took huge doses of Calmpose, which had the effect of sedation. He’d have it even while shooting. Soon, his health started deteriorating. Dushman Duniya Ka, in 1996, was one of his last films. Soon, he opted out of the industry. His one lung had collapsed. He needed an oxygen mask to breathe. He went away with Tracy Bhabhi to the US because of the medical facilities there. He had turned spiritual and would often recite Quranic verses over the phone.
After he passed away in Pennsylvania on July 23, 2004, his body was brought to Mehboob Studio for the final farewell. He was 72. For five days Amitabh didn’t attend work waiting for his body to arrive. After the ceremonial goodbye here, his body was flown to Bangalore and buried next to our father and his son Macky, who had died a year earlier due to a heart attack. That day I felt I had lost my father.
Mehmood as Charlie Chaplin, in Gumnaam
Mehmood’s famous songs
Ek chatur naar - Padosan
Aao twist karein - Bhoot Bangla
Hum kaale hain to kyaa - Gumnaam
Saj rahi gali meri maa - Kunwara Baap
Soi ja taara - Mastana
Sabse bada rupaiya - Sabse bada rupaiya
Amitabh Bachchan greets Anwar Ali at the recent screening of Bombay To Goa while son Aakar Ali looks on
FILMFARE AWARDS
Best Supporting Actor
Dil Tera Diwana (1962)
Best Comedian
Pyar Kiye Jaa (1966)
Best Comedian
Waris (1969)
Best Comedian
Vardaan (1975)
DID YOU KNOW?
Mehmood’s known to have promoted many actors including Amitabh Bachchan and Aruna Irani (gave them lead roles in Bombay To Goa) Shatrughan Sinha and Rajesh Khanna.
He made a great comic pair with Shubha Khote in films like Sasural, Grihasti, Bharosa, Ziddi and Love In Tokyo.
In Humjoli, he played triple roles of the grandfather, son and grandson.
He did have Madrasi roots (Masterji from Padosan) as apparently his paternal grandfather was the Nawab of Arcot.
Brother Anwar Ali played Rajesh while Mehmood played Khanna in Bombay To Goa
His last appearance was a cameo in Raj Kumar Santoshi’s Andaz Apna Apna.