Nostalgia : Remembering Prakash Mehra who gave us Bollywood’s ‘Angry Man’

Prakash Mehra was a film director and producer known for his blockbuster Hindi films. He was one of the pioneers of masala films, along with Nasir Hussain and Manmohan Desai. He is the one who gave us ‘Angry Man’, viz Amitabh Bachchan. Born on 13 July 1939 in Bijnor, Uttar Pradesh, 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.

In 1973, he produced and directed Zanjeer. This hit with Amitabh Bachchan started a long term and successful collaboration that spanned 7 more films, 6 being blockbuster hits: Hera Pheri, Khoon Pasina, Muqaddar Ka Sikandar, Lawaaris, Namak Halaal and Sharaabi. Their final collaboration was Jaadugar which was a flop and ended their successful streak. Zanjeer was the film credited with launching the career of Bachchan as a lead actor and their final film together Jaadugar was released towards the declining period of Bachchan’s career.

Prakash Mehra also directed and 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 Bramhachari which was also unsuccessful. This was the last film he directed. He also produced the movie Dalaal with Mithun Chakraborty, 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 Bollywood directors to try to 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.