Remembering Prakash Mehra, one of the most prolific filmmakers of bollywood, on his 79th birth anniversary.

-

Born in Bijnore, Uttar Pradesh, on July 13, 1939, Prakash Mehra began his career as a production controller. He dabbled in multiple jobs in the industry, including as a songwriter, before turning to film direction. He ventured into filmmaking in 1968 with the Shashi Kapoor starrer Haseena Maan Jayegi. However, Mehra's first success came in 1971 with Mela. The movie brought together the Khan brothers -- Feroz Khan and Sanjay Khan -- for the first time on silver screen. His next was Samadhi (1972) with Dharmendra. Over the next two decades, he would churn out blockbusters like Zanjeer, Muqaddar Ka Sikandar (1978), Laawaris (1981), Namak Halaal (1982) and Sharaabi (1984).
Prakash Mehra with some of the cast and crew including actors Amitabh Bachchan, Jaya Bhaduri and Ajit, at the muhurat of Zanjeer

 He struck gold at the box office with the 1973 action flick Zanjeer, with Bachchan in the main lead. The success of the film made Mehra a name to reckon with as a director and launched the career of Amitabh Bachchan, and the trope of 'Angry Young Man' in Indian cinema.

 The Mehra-Bachchan duo gave the industry seven movies of which six were mega-hits.The Director-actor duo hits include Muqaddar Ka Sikander, Laawaris, Namak Halal, Sharabi and Hera Pheri apart from Zanjeer. Their last movie together was Jadugar in 1989, which was a flop.
Prakash Mehra with Bappi Lahiri, Kishore Kumar and lyricist Anjaan
Mehra was bestowed with the Lifetime Achievement award from the India Motion Picture Directors Association (IMPDA) in 2006 for his commendable contribution to the industry as a Director.

 Two years later, in 2008, he was presented with the Lifetime Achievement award from the Indian Motion Picture Producers Association for his role as a Producer.
Amitabh Bachchan with Prakash Mehra & Vinod Khanna during the shoot of "Oh Sathi Re" from MKS
Prakash Mehra died on May 17, 2009 in Mumbai after prolonged illness leaving a treasure trove of some most entertaining films.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Helen, a great beauty and a fabulous dancer of Bollywood.

-
Image
Helen was born in Burma to an Anglo Indian father named George Desmier and a Burmese mother named Marlene. Her father went missing during the Second World War. Her family migrated to India in 1942 as refugees in order to escape from the Japanese invasion of Burma. Helen was introduced to Bollywood in 1953 by the famous dancer Cuckoo. She got her break in 1958 when she performed the song 'Mera Naam Chin Chin Choo' in the movie Howrah Bridge. Helen rarely got roles as the lead heroine in movies. So, she opted dancing which proved to be her fortune. Throughout the 1960's and 1970's, she danced in more than 700 movies establishing herself as a prolific dancer. She was known for wearing different colors of wigs, contact lenses and skimpy outfits in her movies. In the late 1970's, her demand started diminishing because of her age along with the entry of younger dancers like Padma Khanna, Jayshree T, Bindu, Aruna Irani and Kalpana Iyer. In 1979, she won the best suppo...
Read more

Remembering Shahzad Khalil: One of the best directors Pakistan media industry has ever produced.

-
Image
Shahzad Khalil began his career as a director producing music videos in 1970, and then moved to making television drama serials. After a few projects he moved from PTV in Lahore to its Karachi Center. The Government of Pakistan gave Khali the Pride of Performance Award in 1986 and named a Karachi street after him. Khali's wife Badar Khalil is a veteran Pakistani Actress. They have two children, Ibrahim and Umar. Khalil was not only an intelligent TV director but he had a great personality. He gained fame in a very short period of time as a result of the dramas he directed for Pakistan television. He was first recognised as a director for his TV serial Teesra Kinara in 1980 in which several legendary actors including Sahira Kazmi, Usman Peerzada, Rahat Kazmi, Shafi Mohammad, and Jamil Fakhri starred. Khalil met Badar Khalil when she played the title role in the drama Bi Jamalo which he directed. They later married and have two children. Shahzad Khalil's classic drama Tan...
Read more

Remembering Tahira Wasti, one of the finest actresses to grace Pakistan's screen, on her birth anniversary.

-
Image
Tahira Wasti had such a beautiful, attractive and graceful personality that always gives a distinctive look to every role she did and proved herself a real Queen of showbiz world and was liked everywhere in the world where Urdu dramas are being watched. She started the journey of her professional career in late 60’s from PTV,  famous name in broadcasting and acting in industry Rizwan Wasti who later became her life partner introduced her on PTV. She got popularity from drama serial Jaib Qatra based on short story by Saadat Hassan Manto and then remained on screens for next 2 decades, proved herself as a good actress during time of competition in field.  Rizwan Wasti & Tahira Wasti with Late Qurban Jilani. TV actress Laila Wasti , her daughter, is also following the footprints of her mother. Actress Maria Wasti is Tahira’s niece. Laila Wasti She had become choice of Writers and Producers especially for the real life roles. She was al...
Read more