In the 1970s when there were just around 10 coveted Impala cars in Mumbai, one of them was owned by a 12-year-old. In the same era, when established stars would command a fee of a few thousands, the 12-year-old would demand a lakh — and get it. And if there was any chance of a film not doing well at the theatres, the producers would mitigate their risk by adding a song-and-dance sequence that would save the film – again, featuring the same 12-year-old.
While the Hindi film industry has seen many superstars come and go over the years, there has unarguably been only one child superstar who could lay undisputed claim on the title – Naeem Sayyed, more popularly known as Junior Mehmood (no relation to the iconic comic actor). When he passed away in Mumbai on Friday after battling stomach cancerit marked the end of a chapter in the story of Hindi cinema.
It was a chapter that Naeem Sayyed wrote himself, charting an arc that began along the railway tracks where he lived to the dizzying heights of super-stardom. The son of an engine driver, Naeem always knew what he was born for. With his inborn and unbeatable talent for mimicry, he was an absolute riot when he imitated Jeetendra or Shammi Kapoor. There was no school or locality function that was complete without a solo show by Naeem. “I was the Dilip Kumar of my school;” he told The Indian Express in a relaxed interview he gave a year ago, before he was diagnosed with cancer.
His entry into movies was marked by an audacity that has marked Bollywood dreams – during the shooting of a movie that he had gone to watch, he criticised the faulty dialogue delivery of a child actor and the director asked him to take the boy’s place. Though the movie ended up not being released, a delighted Naeem was richer by five rupees, and had taken his first step into the world of films.
Junior Mehmood With Hema Malini in Seeta and Geeta. (Express photo)
From then on, bit roles started to come his way, starting with Naunihal, which would be his big-screen debut. But the one act he did to perfection was an imitation of Mehmood – in Brahmachari (1968), Naeem danced to Mohammad Rafi’s ‘We are still worried about what happened.’ from the movie Gumnaamcomplete with the lungi and the moustache. And that is what turned his luck too.
One day, when he self-invited himself to a party at Mehmood’s house, he put up a spirited performance of the comedian’s own song. As the dance ended, the veteran actor is known to have walked up to Naeem, put his hand on his head, tied a thread on his wrist, and ordained the boy Junior Mehmood. The name stayed.
“That one move changed my life. Imagine, out of millions of children in the country, for Mehmood to have chosen me to give his title, even above his own sons. Who wouldn’t call me the luckiest child in the world?” And the pluckiest!
His comic timing and dance abilities set him apart from all other children of the era. From 1968 to 1977, Junior Mehmood ruled the silver screen. He starred in over 200 films over those nine years — not just Hindi, but also Marathi, Gujarati, Bhojpuri, and Assamese. Some of his most memorable films include Brahmachari, Haathi Mere Saathi, Kati Patang, Do Raaste, Caravanand Johar Mehmood in Hongkong.
With his “Bhaijaan” and mentor, Mehmood (Left), in a still from Bombay to Goa. (Express photo)
But it was Brahamchaari that gave him the kind of fame and following few others could. “On a Thursday, I was Naeem Sayyed. On the Friday that Brahamchari released, I was Junior Mehmood, the child actor the entire nation was talking about.” And that included none other than Indira Gandhi who even called him to Delhi to meet her. “She sat on the chair and looked at me. I was the youngest of all the people in the room. She called me to stand near her, and said, ‘How do you manage to do all this? Where did you make the lungi?’ It was all beyond my dreams,” he said.
By 1977, though, the film offers had dropped to a trickle, and his visibility on the screen diminished. He did act in some films as an adult – Khel Khiladi Ka, Karishma Kudrat Ka, Jaisi Karni Waisi Bharni, Ankhiyon Ke Jharokhono Se, Geet Gaata Chal, and some television series – but they hardly put him in the same league that he was in as a child actor.
Junior, however, had been around long enough to not just expect this, but also plan in advance for the eventuality. Much before the films could dry up, he had started to do live shows which had become big hits. Jr Mehmood Nite and Jr Mehmood Live were held all over the world and would go house full. He went back to the stage performances he had done as a child and continued them till last year.
His final film tally today stands at a lofty 265, including the six Marathi movies he directed and produced. Out of all these, his favourite was Ghar Ghar ki Kahani, for which he was also nominated for a National Award but which eventually went to Rishi Kapoor for My Name is Joker.
And unlike many child actors of the time, when the time finally came for the curtains to drop, he had no regrets.
In the same interview to The Indian Express he said, “I have got more than I deserved. Where is the scope for heartbreaks or bitterness? The child who saw Re 1 once a month or on Eid ended up sitting on crores, all self-earned… Do you think it is a joke? The lanes I came from and where life took me was beyond my imagination. It is God’s gift and my mentor Mehmood Bhaijaan’s magnanimity. How can I be ungrateful? If reborn, I would want to come back only as Junior Mehmood and no one else.”
