King of comedy

Mehmood is the only comedian in post-Independent India who commanded equal billing with the top heroes of his time. He debuted in 1943 as a child artiste in Kismat and made his mark in 1958 with Parvarish. But it was not till the mid-1960s with films like Love in Tokyo, Bhoot Bangla and Gumnam that he got into his elements.

Present-day youngsters may find Mehmood’s style of comedy intolerably gross and would cringe at his lungi-uthake mannerisms. But there can be no denying his attention to language and diction, particularly while playing a Tamil or Hyderabadi character. As Masterji in Padosan, his portrayal of a South Indian music teacher is a classic. And who can forget the part when he scared the daylights out of Om Prakash in Pyar Kiye Jaa by recreating a graveyard scene with sounds like ‘toink toink`85 wao wao`85 kud kud kach kach kach’? He was just too good. — D.B.

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