Mehmood is a popular actor, director and producer of Bollywood, who mostly performed in comic roles. He is often referred to as the King of comedy in Bollywood. He was born on 29th September, 1932 in Bombay,Maharashtra to actor and dancer Mumtaz Ali. His son Lucky Ali, is a popular singer of Bollywood who has also acted in films like Sur. He is the brother of actress Minoo Mumtaz. He married Madhu, sister of famous actress Meena Kumari. He worked in more than 300 Hindi films in his thirty years film career.
Mehmood started his film career as a child actor in Kismet, a film by Bombay Talkies. Before he started acting, he worked as director P L Santoshi's driver. He was first offered a small role as a murder victim in CID and then acted in films like "Do Bigha Zameen" and "Pyaasa". He got his first major break in the film Parvarish in 1958. After Paravrish, Mehmood's comic talent was recognized in the industry. He was then offered meatier roles in films like Gumnam, Pyar Kiye Jaa and Pyar Hi Pyar. In Sasural, he was the lead comedian opposite Shobha Khote, the character actress. Their pair was quite successful, which was repeated in hits like Love in Tokyo and Ziddi. Mehmood alongwith with another comedian, I. S. Johar, worked in Namasteji, which was followed by Johar Mehmood in Goa and Johar Mehmood in Hong Kong. During the early 70s, Mehmood was a rage in the film industry.
In the early 60s, Mehmood started his company, which produced Chhote Nawab in 1961. This was followed by Mehmood's directorial debut in the film Bhoot Bangla, a suspense-comedy-thriller. One of the most successful movies of his company was Padosan. In 1962, he was awarded the Filmfare Best Supporting Actor award for Dil Tera Deewana for the comic role played by him. He is still remembered for his performances in Kunwara Baap, Bombay to Goa, Bhoot Bangla, Johar-Mehmood in Goa, Gumnaam, and Ankhen. He even directed few films, including Sabse Bada Rupaiya, Pyar Kiye Jaa, and Dushman Duniya ka.
This veteran comedian of Bollywood passed away on 23rd July 2004 in Pennsylvania, USA at the age of 72.
