Actor-producer Anwar Ali (Mehmood‘s brother) featured with Balraj Sahni in a song as a child artist at age of 11 in the film Seema. At the age of 12, he featured in another interesting song ‘Bade bhaiya laayein hain London se chhori’ with Sunil Dutt in the film Ek Hi Raasta. Recalling his acting days, he tells ETimes, “I was more than willing to spread my wings in the world of Indian Cinema.”
When Anwar Ali approached Mehmood with the aspiration of becoming an actor, the latter said that he would have to go through an additional induction process.”He said that I would have to learn the basics by starting off as a peon in our production house “Mumtaz Films”, in full uniform -khaki shorts and canvas shoes, mostly sweeping floors and making tea for our film folk guests. Jyoti Swaroop was planningPadosan soon after and I was under the impression I would get the young hero’s role being in his line of sight day and night! He visited us frequently as Mehmood bhai’s friend and now director. I was in my early twenties and Padosan seemed just the right launch for me. But man proposes and God disposes (laughs). The role went to Dutt Saab, the hero of my previous film… and rightly so. Saira (Banu) bhabhi and Dutt Saab were the perfect onscreen jodi with Mehmood bhai playing a perfect suitor! Mehmood bhai went totally bald for the long duration of the shoot in order to get into the skin of Masterji and resorted to wigs when he wasn’t shooting. As for me, my happy go lucky attitude held me in good stead till Jyotibhai offered me a song in his next film three years later, by which time my breakthrough had already happened with Saat Hindustani,” Anwar recalls.
As the film clocked 25 years recently, Anwar says, “Padosan takes me back to the ‘Chatur naar’ days of fun-frolic and RD Burman’s music. It will always remain one of Mehmood bhai’s classics, a true depiction of the infectious laughter he cascaded right from his co stars to his audience.”
When Anwar Ali approached Mehmood with the aspiration of becoming an actor, the latter said that he would have to go through an additional induction process.”He said that I would have to learn the basics by starting off as a peon in our production house “Mumtaz Films”, in full uniform -khaki shorts and canvas shoes, mostly sweeping floors and making tea for our film folk guests. Jyoti Swaroop was planningPadosan soon after and I was under the impression I would get the young hero’s role being in his line of sight day and night! He visited us frequently as Mehmood bhai’s friend and now director. I was in my early twenties and Padosan seemed just the right launch for me. But man proposes and God disposes (laughs). The role went to Dutt Saab, the hero of my previous film… and rightly so. Saira (Banu) bhabhi and Dutt Saab were the perfect onscreen jodi with Mehmood bhai playing a perfect suitor! Mehmood bhai went totally bald for the long duration of the shoot in order to get into the skin of Masterji and resorted to wigs when he wasn’t shooting. As for me, my happy go lucky attitude held me in good stead till Jyotibhai offered me a song in his next film three years later, by which time my breakthrough had already happened with Saat Hindustani,” Anwar recalls.
As the film clocked 25 years recently, Anwar says, “Padosan takes me back to the ‘Chatur naar’ days of fun-frolic and RD Burman’s music. It will always remain one of Mehmood bhai’s classics, a true depiction of the infectious laughter he cascaded right from his co stars to his audience.”
