So -called marriage to Rekha, 3 broken relationships and incomplete films: untold story of Vinod Mehra’s life
It is difficult to decide when the star will shine in Hindi cinema and when it will sink. In 1971, when Vinod Mehra appeared as a hero from the film ‘Ek Thi Rita’, the audience immediately liked his Sudarshan face. Tanuja was her first heroine and the pair raised new hopes.
From churchgate to cinema
The ‘Galard’ restaurant located in the Churchgate area of Mumbai, used to be the base of struggling artists in the 50s and 60s. Here is the director form. Shori’s eye on Vinod and he gave him a lead role in his film without hesitation. Earlier, Vinod had worked as a child artist in films like ‘Ragini’, ‘Stupid’, and ‘Angulimal’.
Moushumi Chatterjee changed his luck
Born on 13 February 1945, Vinod Mehra’s fate came out when he got a chance to work with Moushumi Chatterjee in Shakti Samanta’s film ‘Anurag’ (1972). Moushumi played a blind girl and Vinod appeared as an idealistic lover. After this, the pair appeared in films like ‘Paar’, ‘Do Lie’, and ‘Swarg Narak’.
Limited romance as B-grade hero
Although Vinod was recognized as the lead hero, A-grade directors gave him a place in most second leads or multistar films. He got a very limited space during stars like Rajesh Khanna, Dharmendra, Sanjeev Kumar, Amitabh. He became a part of the crowd in big projects like ‘The Burning Train’.
South Indian directors support
After neglect in Bollywood, he got the support of South Indian directors. Krishnan-Panju (‘fantastic’), R. Krishnamurthy (‘Amardeep’), S. Ramanathan (‘Do Phool’), and Dasari Narayan Rao (‘heaven hell’ gave him opportunity. But this weakened his grip in Bollywood.
Eighty decade and marginalized hero
Vinod got diverse roles in the 80s, but the popularity took other stars. In ‘Duty’, stars like Dharmendra-Rekha, ‘Unmatched’ and ‘Khuddar’, stars like Rajkumar-Hema in ‘Lal Patthar’ left him behind. He also faded in Amjad Khan’s film Chor Police.
Love, marriage and mystery with Rekha
Vinod and Rekha’s love remained in Bollywood for a long time. It is said that both of them also got married, although it never was stamped. Vinod had three marriages – the first wife Meena Broka. This was followed by a relationship with Bindiya Goswami, but broke quickly. He had two children from the third wife Kiran – Sonia and Rohan. Sonia Mehra also tried his hand in films.
‘Gurudev’ and incomplete desires
Dissatisfied with his acting career, Vinod chose the path of direction and made the film ‘Gurudev’ with Rishi Kapoor, Anil Kapoor and Sridevi in the lead roles. But Vinod started being under stress due to delay in shooting and not getting the dates of stars. He died of a heart attack on 30 October 1990 before the film was completed on 30 October 1990.
Last movies and incomplete dreams
After the death of Vinod, films like ‘Await’ (1993), ‘Sarfira’ (1992), and ‘Humanity’ (1994) were released. But the artist who took the entry shining in the 70s finally left the margins.
Major movies
Lal Patthar (1972), Anurag (1972), the largest Rupaiya (1976), Nagin (1976), request (1977), Ghar (1978), Kartavya (1979), The Burning Train (1980), Bemisal (1982), Locket (1982), Locket (1986), Pyaar Ki Jeet (1986), Pyaar Ki Jeet (1986), but Vinod was ever reached till the top of the stars, but they have ever reached the top Get.
