Remembering Vinod Mehra, Hindi cinema’s one of the finest actors, on his 28th death anniversary today.

Vinod Mehra was an acclaimed Hindi film actor remembered for his charming and subtle roles on the silver screen. Vinod Mehra gave outstanding performances in the films “Anuraag”, “Ghar” , “Bemisaal”, “Jurmana”, “Amar Deep”and “Swarag Narak”. Along with lead roles Vinod Mehra also did secondary lead and supporting roles in many films.

Born on February 13, 1945 in Amritsar, Punjab, Vinod Mehra started out as a child and junior artiste. He first appeared onscreen as the younger version of Kishore Kumar in Raagini (1958), in which Kishore Kumar played an aspiring musician. Mehra moved on to playing a junior artiste in films like Bewaqoof (1960) and Angulimal (1960). He was rediscovered by filmmaker Roop K. Shorey at the famous eatery hangout in Mumbai, Gaylord. Shorey thought he would be perfect for his next project and gave Mehra his first big break with Ek Thi Reeta (1971). Co-starring Tanuja, the film was a virtual remake of Shorey’s earlier Ek Thi Ladki (1949) featuring his wife Meena Shorey. However the film flopped and did nothing much for him and it was the film Anuraag in 1972 with Mausumi Chatterjee, which established him as an actor.

Vinod Mehra won accolades for his performance in the film ‘Ghar’, opposite Rekha. His acting in ‘Swarag Narak’ is also remembered for his outstanding performance. Some of the prominent films of Vinod Mehra were were Jaani Dushman, Nagin, Ghar, Kartavya, Swarg Narak, Saajan Bina Suhagan, Ek Hi Raasta, Jurmana, Anurodh, Amar Deep, Bemisal and Khud-Daar. He also acted in the Punjabi film “Maujaan Dubai Diyaan”.

Vinod Mehra also produced and directed the film “Gurudev” but died before the completion of the film and director Raj Sippy completed the film later.

Vinod Mehra died of a heart attack on October 30, 1990 at the age of 45.