Prakash Mehra
Encyclopedia
Prakash Mehra was a legendary Hindi
film producer and director.
, Uttar Pradesh
, India, Mehra started in the late 1950s as a production controller. In 1968, he directed Shashi Kapoor
who played a double role in Haseena Maan Jayegi
. This was followed by the 1971 hit Mela
starring the Khan brothers (Feroz Khan
and Sanjay Khan
) together. In 1973, he produced and directed Zanjeer
. This mega blockbuster with Amitabh Bachchan
started a relationship that spanned 7 more films, 6 being huge blockbusters (Khoon Pasina, Hera Pheri, Muqaddar ka Sikander, Laawaris, Namak Halal, Sharaabi, Jaadugar). It also launched the career of Bachchan (along with Mehra), as a top director/actor duo, spanning 2 decades of collaboration.
Prakash Mehra also directed & produced Zindagi Ek Jua with actor Anil Kapoor
in 1991, which was not a commercial success. In 1996, he introduced veteran actor Raaj Kumar
's son Puru Raajkumar
in Bal Brahmachari which was also unsuccessful. This was the last film he directed. He also produced the movie Dalaal with Mithun Chakraborthy, in the mid-90s, which was a box-office moneymaker. Mehra received a lifetime achievement award from the India Motion Picture Directors Association (IMPDA) in 2006. He also received Lifetime Achievement as Producer from IMPPA (Indian Motion Picture Producers Association) on 19 September 2008.
Prakash Mehra was one of the first Bombay directors to try venture into Hollywood. In the late eighties he tried a joint venture to make the movie The God Connection with Frank Yandolino. The movie was to include Hollywood actors such as Charles Bronson
among others, but the project though funded heavily initially, never came to fruition.
Mehra died on 17 May 2009 in Mumbai of pneumonia and multiple organ failure. He is survived by three sons - Sumeet, Amit & Puneet.
Hindi
Standard Hindi, or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi, also known as Manak Hindi , High Hindi, Nagari Hindi, and Literary Hindi, is a standardized and sanskritized register of the Hindustani language derived from the Khariboli dialect of Delhi...
film producer and director.
Career
Born on 13 July 1939 at BijnorBijnor
Bijnor variously spelt as Bijnaur and Bijnour, is a city and a municipal board in Bijnor district in the state of Uttar Pradesh, India...
, Uttar Pradesh
Uttar Pradesh
Uttar Pradesh abbreviation U.P. , is a state located in the northern part of India. With a population of over 200 million people, it is India's most populous state, as well as the world's most populous sub-national entity...
, India, Mehra started in the late 1950s as a production controller. In 1968, he directed Shashi Kapoor
Shashi Kapoor
Shashi Kapoor , born Balbir-Raj Prithviraj Kapoor on 18 March 1938 in Calcutta , is an award-winning Indian film actor and film producer. He has also been film director and assistant director in Hindi Films. He is a member of the Kapoor family, a film dynasty in India's Bollywood cinema...
who played a double role in Haseena Maan Jayegi
Haseena Maan Jayegi
Haseena Maan Jayegi is a 1968 Hindi movie directed by Prakash Mehra. The film stars Shashi Kapoor, Babita, Ameeta, Yunus Parvez and Johnny Walker...
. This was followed by the 1971 hit Mela
Mela (1971 film)
Mela is a 1971 Indian Hindi movie directed by Prakash Mehra. This was Prakash Mehra's first directorial venture and the movie was a hit.The movie stars the real life brothers Sanjay Khan and Feroz Khan with Mumtaz as the female lead, Sachin and Rajindernath as the then customary comic...
starring the Khan brothers (Feroz Khan
Feroz Khan
Feroz Khan was an Indian actor, film editor, producer and director in the Hindi film industry...
and Sanjay Khan
Sanjay Khan
-Career:Khan made his debut in the 1964 Chetan Anand film "Haqeeqat" followed by the Rajshri film Dosti. In the 1960s and 1970s Khan starred in the movies Dus Lakh, Ek Phool Do Mali and Intaqam. He also acted opposite his brother Feroz in three films Upaasna , Mela and Nagin...
) together. In 1973, he produced and directed Zanjeer
Zanjeer
Zanjeer , is a 1973 Hindi film directed and produced by Prakash Mehra; starring Amitabh Bachchan, Jaya Bachchan, Pran, Ajit and Bindu. The movie changed the trend from romantic films to action films and pioneered Amitabh's new image of a brooding but explosive person who fights back when cornered...
. This mega blockbuster with Amitabh Bachchan
Amitabh Bachchan
Amitabh Bachchan is an Indian film actor. He first gained popularity in the early 1970s as the "angry young man" of Hindi cinema, and has since appeared in over 180 Indian films in a career spanning more than four decades...
started a relationship that spanned 7 more films, 6 being huge blockbusters (Khoon Pasina, Hera Pheri, Muqaddar ka Sikander, Laawaris, Namak Halal, Sharaabi, Jaadugar). It also launched the career of Bachchan (along with Mehra), as a top director/actor duo, spanning 2 decades of collaboration.
Prakash Mehra also directed & produced Zindagi Ek Jua with actor Anil Kapoor
Anil Kapoor
Anil Kapoor is an Indian actor and producer who mainly appears in Bollywood films. He won a Filmfare Best Supporting Actor Award for his role in Yash Chopra's film Mashaal ....
in 1991, which was not a commercial success. In 1996, he introduced veteran actor Raaj Kumar
Raaj Kumar
Raaj Kumar , born Kulbushan Pandit was an Indian actor in Hindi movies. Raaj Kumar started out as sub-inspector of Mumbai police in the late 1940s before he turned to acting with the 1952 film Rangili...
's son Puru Raajkumar
Puru Raajkumar
Puru Raajkumar is an Indian film actor. He is the son of the late veteran actor Raaj Kumar. He was also arrested in a hit and run accident in which several sleeping pavement dwellers were killed, although he was never convicted for the same....
in Bal Brahmachari which was also unsuccessful. This was the last film he directed. He also produced the movie Dalaal with Mithun Chakraborthy, in the mid-90s, which was a box-office moneymaker. Mehra received a lifetime achievement award from the India Motion Picture Directors Association (IMPDA) in 2006. He also received Lifetime Achievement as Producer from IMPPA (Indian Motion Picture Producers Association) on 19 September 2008.
Prakash Mehra was one of the first Bombay directors to try venture into Hollywood. In the late eighties he tried a joint venture to make the movie The God Connection with Frank Yandolino. The movie was to include Hollywood actors such as Charles Bronson
Charles Bronson
Charles Bronson , born Charles Dennis Buchinsky was an American actor, best-known for such films as Once Upon a Time in the West, The Magnificent Seven, The Dirty Dozen, The Great Escape, Rider on the Rain, The Mechanic, and the popular Death Wish series...
among others, but the project though funded heavily initially, never came to fruition.
Mehra died on 17 May 2009 in Mumbai of pneumonia and multiple organ failure. He is survived by three sons - Sumeet, Amit & Puneet.
Filmography
- Haseena Maan JayegiHaseena Maan JayegiHaseena Maan Jayegi is a 1968 Hindi movie directed by Prakash Mehra. The film stars Shashi Kapoor, Babita, Ameeta, Yunus Parvez and Johnny Walker...
(1968) - Aakhri DakuAakhri DakuAakhri Daku is a 1978 Hindi movie produced by Shanti Sagar and directed by Prakash Mehra. The film stars Vinod Khanna, Randhir Kapoor, Rekha, Reena Roy, Sujit Kumar, Ranjeet, Keshto Mukherjee and Paintal. The films music is by Kalyanji Anandji.-Cast:...
(1970) - MelaMela (1971 film)Mela is a 1971 Indian Hindi movie directed by Prakash Mehra. This was Prakash Mehra's first directorial venture and the movie was a hit.The movie stars the real life brothers Sanjay Khan and Feroz Khan with Mumtaz as the female lead, Sachin and Rajindernath as the then customary comic...
(1971) - SamadhiSamadhi (1972 film)"Samadhi" is a 1972 Hindi film directed by Prakash Mehra. The film stars Dharmendra in a dual role as father and son, Asha Parekh and Jaya Bhaduri as the love interests. Music is by R.D. Burman...
(1972) - ZanjeerZanjeerZanjeer , is a 1973 Hindi film directed and produced by Prakash Mehra; starring Amitabh Bachchan, Jaya Bachchan, Pran, Ajit and Bindu. The movie changed the trend from romantic films to action films and pioneered Amitabh's new image of a brooding but explosive person who fights back when cornered...
(1973) - Haath Ki SafaiHaath Ki SafaiHaath Ki Safai is a 1974 Hindi film produced by I.A Nadiadwala. Directed by Prakash Mehra, the film features Vinod Khanna, who won the Filmfare Best Supporting Actor Award, the only nomination and win for the film. The rest of the cast include Hema Malini, Randhir Kapoor, Simi Garewal, Ranjeet...
(1974) - Hera PheriHera Pheri (1976 film)Hera Pheri is a 1976 Hindi movie directed by Prakash Mehra and starring Amitabh Bachchan, Saira Banu, Vinod Khanna, Sulakshana Pandit, Shreeram Lagoo and Asrani. The film's music is by Kalyanji Anandji and the lyrics by Anjaan.This movie was 'superhit' at boxoffice.Vinod Khanna received a Filmfare...
(1976) - Khoon PasinaKhoon PasinaKhoon Pasina is a 1977 Hindi movie. The movie is produced by Baboo Mehra and directed by Rakesh Kumar. The movie stars Amitabh Bachchan, Vinod Khanna, Rekha, Nirupa Roy, Helen, Asrani, Aruna Irani, Bharat Bhushan and Kader Khan. The music is by Kalyanji Anandji.This was another 'blockbuster' movie...
(1977) - Muqaddar Ka SikanderMuqaddar Ka SikanderMuqaddar Ka Sikandar is a 1978 Indian Hindi film. Produced and directed by Prakash Mehra, it stars Amitabh Bachchan in his third out of six films with Prakash Mehra to date. The films also stars Vinod Khanna, Raakhee Gulzar, Rekha and Amjad Khan...
(1978) - Laawaris (1981)
- Namak HalaalNamak HalaalNamak Halaal is a 1982 Hindi movie. The movie is directed by Prakash Mehra. Music is by Bappi Lahiri and lyrics by Anjaan. This an Action packed Comedy film that stars Amitabh Bachchan, Waheeda Rehman, Om Prakash, Shashi Kapoor, Smita Patil, Parveen Babi, Ranjeet, Satyen Kappu, Suresh Oberoi and...
(1982) - SharaabiSharaabiSharaabi is a 1984 Indian Hindi movie produced and directed by Prakash Mehra. This was Prakash Mehra's last hit and sixth in a row with Amitabh, the other five being Zanjeer, Hera Pheri, Muqaddar Ka Sikandar, Laawaris and Namak Halaal...
(1984) - JaadugarJaadugarJaadugar is a 1989 Hindi film directed by Prakash Mehra and starring Amitabh Bachchan, Jaya Prada, Aditya Pancholi, Amrita Singh, Amrish Puri and Pran. Prakash Mehra and Amitabh Bachchan collaborated for seventh time for this movie...
(1989) - Zindagi Ek Jua (1992)
- DalaalDalaalDalaal is a 1993 released Indian action film starring Mithun Chakraborty and Raj Babbar as villain. The film fetched good initial collection due to its Super hit songs composed by Bappi Lahiri.- Synopsis :...
(1993) - Bal BramhachariBal BramhachariBal Bramhachari is 1996 Hindi Movie directed by Prakash Mehra and Amit Mehra and starring Puru Raajkumar in his film debut, Karishma Kapoor, Deepak Tijori, and Simran....
(1996)