What comes to your mind when actor Mehmood's name is mentioned? I will tell you what comes to my mind - a son narrating the story of his horror film to his father, a Hyderabadi cook unleashing chaos in the kitchen while dancing in his dream sequence, a father taking care of his polio-affected child and yes, the hapless south Indian music teacher harassed by Kishor Kumar and Sunil Dutt. Barring a few cases, his reel life was all fun and frolic. I had no idea that that his real life would be miles away from it.
But that was before I read 'Mehmood - man of many moods' by Hanif Zaveri. The book covers many chapters of the actor's life - his family, his wives, his movies, his co-actors and the trials and tribulations of his personal as well as professional life. There are interesting glimpses into the lives of some other filmy personalities of that era like e.g. legendary actress Meena Kumari or actress Aruna Irani. The author presents facts where they are known or can be corroborated by others. If he does not know anything, he refrains from making any conjectures. But he has been candid throughout. There is almost no attempt to glorify the subject of his book. What is black is presented as black. That is kind of rare, I think. A chapter by Mehmood, at the end of the book, is worth reading as well.
I wonder, as I have always had, if the tragedies in the lives of the celebrities are as massive as their triumphs or do they just seem like that?
But that was before I read 'Mehmood - man of many moods' by Hanif Zaveri. The book covers many chapters of the actor's life - his family, his wives, his movies, his co-actors and the trials and tribulations of his personal as well as professional life. There are interesting glimpses into the lives of some other filmy personalities of that era like e.g. legendary actress Meena Kumari or actress Aruna Irani. The author presents facts where they are known or can be corroborated by others. If he does not know anything, he refrains from making any conjectures. But he has been candid throughout. There is almost no attempt to glorify the subject of his book. What is black is presented as black. That is kind of rare, I think. A chapter by Mehmood, at the end of the book, is worth reading as well.
I wonder, as I have always had, if the tragedies in the lives of the celebrities are as massive as their triumphs or do they just seem like that?
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