Mehmood, the great and famous comedian, in his real life was known as Mehmood Ali, but was better known as Mehmood. He was born on September 29, 1932 and besides being ator, was also director and producer. Throughout his acting career he was known and appreciated for playing comic roles in Hindi films of repute. It is learnt that he worked in over 300 Hindi films in a career spanning over three decades.
Mehmood was one of nine children born to actor and dancer Mumtaz Ali in the then Bombay and started acting as a reluctant child actor in Bombay Talkies films like Kismet. Some of his early jobs before he started acting were driving, doing odd jobs, selling poultry. He also worked as the driver of director P L Santoshi for sometime! On the other hand, once he was even hired to teach table tennis to Meena Kumari, a great actress in those days. He later married her sister Madhu. It was after marriage and becoming a father that he decided to act to earn a better living. He got a small break as a murder victim in CID. He started off by doing small unnoticed roles in films like Do Bigha Zameen and Pyaasa. He later went on to act in lead roles but he was appreciated for his comedy.
Though he left the cinema world many years ago, but continued to be a revered figure in respect of simplicity, persevarance and zeal of better performance. He had his death in his sleep on July 23, 2004, in Pennsylvania, United States of America.,where he had gone for treatment of lung disease after suffering poor health for several years. His fans were able to pay homage to him at the Mehboob Studio, in Mumbai, India.
His son Lucky Ali is a popular singer in the present days who has also acted in films.
