Vinod Mehra | |
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| Born | (1945-02-13)13 February 1945 |
| Died | 30 October 1990(1990-10-30) (aged 45) |
| Occupation(s) | Actor,Producer,Director |
| Years active | 1955–1960, 1971–1990 |
| Spouses | |
| Children | Soniya Mehra Rohan Mehra |
Vinod Mehra (13 February 1945 – 30 October 1990) was an Indian actor inHindi 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 filmGurudev which was released 3 years after his death.
Mehra made his debut as a child actor in the 1955 filmAdl-e-Jehangir at the age of ten. He continued playing minor roles in films such asRaagini (1958) andBewaqoof (1960), playing the younger version of the character played byKishore Kumar.
He started his film career as an adult in 1971 withEk Thi Reeta, a smash hit based on the English play,A Girl Called Rita, along withTanuja.[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.
This was followed by the filmParde Ke Peechey opposite debutantYogeeta Bali followed byElaan (with Rekha),Amar Prem (1971) andLal Patthar, though it was onlyShakti Samanta'sAnuraag (1973) withMoushumi 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 likeSunil Dutt,Dharmendra,Sanjeev Kumar,Rajesh Khanna andAmitabh Bachchan. His frequent female co-stars includedRekha,Moushumi Chatterjee,Yogeeta Bali,Shabana Azmi andBindiya Goswami.
Some of his prominent films includeNagin,Jaani Dushman,Ghar,Swarg Narak,Kartavya,Saajan Bina Suhagan,Jurmana,Ek Hi Raasta,Ye Kaisa InsaafSweekar Kiya Maine andKhud-Daar. He receivedFilmfare Nominations as Best Supporting Actor forAnurodh (1977),Amar Deep (1979), andBemisal (1982).[4] He also played the leading role in aPunjabi filmMaujaan Dubai Diyaan in 1985.
He turnedproducer anddirector withGurudev in the late 1980s, starringSridevi,Rishi Kapoor andAnil Kapoor in the lead. He died of aheart attack before completing the film, at the age of 45 in October 1990. The film was released in 1993 after directorRaj Sippy completed the film. Many of his delayed films were released after his death and dedicated to his memory such asPatthar Ke Phool (1991 film),Insaniyat (1994) andAurat Aurat Aurat (1996).
Vinod Mehra's daughterSoniya Mehra has acted in a couple films and sonRohan Mehra made his debut in Nikhil Advani'sBaazaar in 2018.[5]
Vinod Mehra was born inAmritsar 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 inSacred Heart Boys High School Santacruz and later earned a Bachelor's degree fromSt. Xavier's College, Mumbai.
Mehra was close toRekha during the mid-70s. Indeed, they were widely believed to have been married, but in a 2004 television interview withSimi Garewal, Rekha denied having ever been married to him, and referred to him affectionately as a well-wisher (but in Rekha's unofficial 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)."[6] Mehra's first marriage to Meena Broca was arranged by his mother. The marriage was reportedly not consummated asVinod had aheart 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 directorJ. P. Dutta.[7] In 1988, Mehra married Kiran, daughter of aKenya-based transport businessman. The marriage lasted until his death two years later and produced two children: a daughter namedSoniya (born in 1988) and a son namedRohan (born posthumously). Mehra died of a heart attack on 30 October 1990.[8] He was only 45 years of age.
After Mehra's death, his widow moved toKenya, to live with her parents and sister. The children were raised inMombasa and went to theUK for higher education. Both entered the film industry eventually. Soniya made her Hindi film debut in the 2007 filmVictoria No. 203, a remake of the 1972 classic filmof the same name. Rohan made his debut inNikhil Advani'sBaazaar (2018).[9]
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