Meet Prakash Mehra He made Amitabh Bachchan Bollywood’s ‘Angry Young Man’
Prakash Mehra landed in Mumbai with just
Rs 13. Started off as a daily wage worker. At that time, he used to earn Re 1.
Behind this brilliance was a life full of struggles and determination. From a young age, he faced challenges that would have discouraged even the strongest of people.
He was Prakash Mehra
His childhood hardships made him resilient with unshakeable determination. Regardless having studied till 10th grade,his dream was to making it big in films.
Landing in Mumbai, the ‘Mecca’ of Hindi films Bollywood with just 13 rupees, he started with a daily wage of 1 rupee.
He ventured into cinema, working as a production controller in the 1962 film “Professor”. Later, he turned assistant director with Purnima.
Around the same era, Amitabh Bachchan was struggling with a string of flops. Eleven of his films in a row failed to make a mark at the
box-office and he was almost ready to give up on his acting career.
Veteran actor Pran put a word to Prakash Mehra who was looking for a hero in his maiden home production “Zanjeer”
Earlier Dharmendra Dev Anand and Raaj Kumar were approached for the film, but they they turned down the offer. This was when Amitabh Bachchan and Prakash Mehra came together in “Zanjeer”. The film turned out to be a block buster success at the
box-office. After this, there was Amitabh never looked back.
After Zanjeer, Prakash Mehra directed hits like Muqaddar Ka Sikandar, Lawaaris, Namak Halaal and Sharabi, each featuring Amitabh Bachchan cementing his superstardom.
The film Co-written by Salim-Javed, emerged as a turning point for both of them. The collaboration marked the beginning of a series of blockbusters for the two. It was infact Prakash Mehra who gave Amitabh Bachchan the image of
“Angry Young Man”.
Following his successful films a team was formed Prakash Mehra Amitabh Bachchan Kishore Kumar Kalyanji-Anandji Anjaan
Following a successful line-up of films, the duo gave their first flop in 1989, Jaadugar. It was followed by Mehra’s two more flops, Zindagi Ek Jua with Anil Kapoor Madhuri Dixit and Bal Brahmachari featuring Karisma Kapoor and Puru Rajkumar son of legendary actor Raaj Kumar. Prakash Mehra had also produced “Dalaal” with Mithun Chakraborty and Ayesha Jhulka and directed by Partho Ghosh.
Prakash Mehra quit filmmaking in 1996 at the age of 57, living a life away from the limelight.
News Edit KV Raman