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Vinod Mehra

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Vinod Mehra (13 February 1945 – 30 October 1990) was an Indian actor in Hindi films. He started out as a child actor in the mid 1950s before starting his film career as an adult in 1971. He acted in over 100 films from the 1970s through to his death at the age of 45 in 1990. He was also the producer and director of the film Gurudev which was released 3 years after his death.

Vinod Mehra
Born(1945-02-13)13 February 1945
Amritsar, Punjab, British India
(present-day Punjab, India)
Died30 October 1990(1990-10-30) (aged 45)
Bombay, Maharashtra, India
Occupation(s)Actor, Producer, Director
Years active1955–1960, 1971–1990
Spouse(s)
Meena Broca
​
​
(m. 1974; div. 1978)​

​
​
(m. 1980; div. 1984)​

Kiran
​
(m. 1987)​

ChildrenSoniya Mehra
Rohan Vinod Mehra

Career

Mehra made his debut in the 1958 film Raagini as a child artist playing the younger version of the character played by Kishore Kumar. After playing a few more minor roles as a child, he started his film career as an adult in 1971 with Ek Thi Reeta, a smash hit based on the English play, A Girl Called Rita, along with Tanuja.[1][2] He was one of finalists in the 1965 All India Talent Contest organised by United Producers and Filmfare from more than ten thousand contestants. He lost the contest to Rajesh Khanna and became male runner up of the contest.[3] He was an executive with Goldfield Mercantile Company till the time he became runner up in the contest. He joined the film industry after being spotted by Roop K Shorey at Bombay’s Gaylord restaurant.[4]

This was followed by the film Parde Ke Peechey opposite debutant Yogeeta Bali followed by Elaan (with Rekha), Amar Prem (1971) and Lal Patthar, though it was only Shakti Samanta's Anuraag (1973) with Moushumi Chatterjee, which established him as an actor. He went on to appear in over 100 films in a career spanning over two decades. He played lead roles in his earlier films. Later he mostly acted in multi-starrers as a secondary lead or played strong supporting roles such as a brother, friend, uncle, father and police officer. He worked with all top actors like Sunil Dutt, Dharmendra, Sanjeev Kumar, Rajesh Khanna and Amitabh Bachchan. His frequent female co-stars included Rekha, Moushumi Chatterjee, Yogeeta Bali, Shabana Azmi and Bindiya Goswami.

Some of his prominent films include Nagin, Jaani Dushman, Ghar, Swarg Narak, Kartavya, Saajan Bina Suhagan, Jurmana, Ek Hi Raasta, Ye Kaisa Insaaf Sweekar Kiya Maine and Khud-Daar. He received Filmfare Nominations as Best Supporting Actor for Anurodh (1977), Amar Deep (1979), and Bemisal (1982).[5] He also played the leading role in a Punjabi film Maujaan Dubai Diyaan in 1985.

He turned producer and director with Gurudev in the late 1980s, starring Sridevi, Rishi Kapoor and Anil Kapoor in the lead. He died of a heart attack before completing the film, at the age of 45 in October 1990. The film was released in 1993 after director Raj Sippy completed the film. Many of his delayed films were released after his death and dedicated to his memory such as Patthar Ke Phool (1991 film), Insaniyat (1994) and Aurat Aurat Aurat (1996).

Vinod Mehra's daughter Soniya Mehra has acted in a couple films and son Rohan Mehra made his debut in Nikhil Advani's Baazaar in 2018.[6]

Personal life and family

Vinod Mehra was born in Amritsar in 1945 in a Punjabi family. His father's name was Parameshwaridas Mehra and mother's name Kamala Mehra. Family shifted its base to Bombay from Amritsar after independence as Parameshwaridas had business interest in Bombay. He had an elder sister named Sharda who appeared in several films before Mehra started his career in 1970s. Mehra completed his schooling in Sacred Heart Boys High School Santacruz and later earned a Bachelor's degree from St. Xavier's College, Mumbai.

Mehra was close to Rekha during the mid-70s. Indeed, they were widely believed to have been married, but in a 2004 television interview with Simi Garewal, Rekha denied having ever been married to him, and referred to him affectionately as a well-wisher (but in Rekha's biography The Untold Story by Yasser Usman, it is mentioned that Vinod Mehra, Rekha's rumoured husband, took her to his house in Bombay, after getting married in Calcutta, and Vinod's mother pushed the actress away when the latter tried to touch her feet)."[7] Mehra's first marriage to Meena Broca was arranged by his mother. The marriage was reportedly not consummated as Vinod had a heart attack shortly after the marriage. After he recovered, he eloped with his frequent leading lady of the time, Bindiya Goswami. Meena was left with no choice but to file for divorce. Mehra's relationship with Bindiya unraveled quickly, and she soon left him to marry director J. P. Dutta.[8] In 1988, Mehra married Kiran, daughter of a Kenya-based transport businessman. The marriage lasted until his death two years later and produced two children: a daughter named Soniya (born in 1988) and a son named Rohan (born posthumously). Mehra died of a heart attack on 30 October 1990.[9] He was only 45 years of age.

After Mehra's death, his widow moved to Kenya, to live with her parents and sister. The children were raised in Mombasa and went to the UK for higher education. Both entered the film industry eventually. Soniya made her Hindi film debut in the 2007 film Victoria No. 203, a remake of the 1972 classic film of the same name. Rohan made his debut in Nikhil Advani's Baazaar (2018).[10]

Filmography

Producer and director

Actor

Unreleased films

  • Dam Maro Dam (1980)
  • Barrister (1982)
  • Chakma (1984)
  • Kasme Rasme (1986)
  • Bonny (1993)

References

  1. ^ A serious satirist Archived 28 March 2005 at the Wayback Machine Subhash Chadda, The Indian Express, 25 July 1997.
  2. ^ Biography[permanent dead link] Yahoo! Movies.
  3. ^ "More facts about Rajesh Khanna". The Times of India. Archived from the original on 26 March 2015. Retrieved 25 August 2014.
  4. ^ http://m.thehindubusinessline.com/blink/hang/quiz-india-at-70/article9811221.ece[permanent dead link]
  5. ^ "Filmfare Nominess and Winner - 1953-2005" (PDF). 26 February 2006. Archived from the original (PDF) on 12 June 2009. Retrieved 23 November 2008.
  6. ^ "Meet Vinod Mehra's son, Rohan". Rediff. 10 May 2017. Archived from the original on 7 July 2017. Retrieved 28 June 2017.
  7. ^ Mehta, Ruchika (3 June 2004). "India's Greta Garbo breaks silence". The Times of India. Archived from the original on 25 August 2017. Retrieved 23 November 2008.
  8. ^ Salaam Bollywood. Archived from the original on 3 December 2007. Retrieved 23 November 2008.
  9. ^ "Vinod Mehra Bio MTV". Archived from the original on 22 February 2014. Retrieved 8 February 2014.
  10. ^ "Rohan Mehra to make debut". Archived from the original on 14 December 2016. Retrieved 19 August 2016.
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