Jankidas Mehra (1910 – 18 June 2003) was an Indian actor of
Hindi cinema
Hindi cinema, popularly known as Bollywood and formerly as Bombay cinema, refers to the film industry based in Mumbai, engaged in production of motion pictures in Hindi language. The popular term Bollywood, is a portmanteau of "Bombay" (fo ...
,
cyclist
Cycling, also, when on a two-wheeled bicycle, called bicycling or biking, is the use of cycles for transport, recreation, exercise or sport. People engaged in cycling are referred to as "cyclists", "bicyclists", or "bikers". Apart from two ...
,
production designer
In film and television, the production designer is the individual responsible for the overall aesthetic of the story. The production design gives the viewers a sense of the time period, the plot location, and character actions and feelings. Wo ...
, and writer. He made over 1000 film appearances between the 1930s and 1997.
Biography
Sports
Jankidas served as the only Indian member of the
International Olympic Committee
The International Olympic Committee (IOC; french: link=no, Comité international olympique, ''CIO'') is a non-governmental sports organisation based in Lausanne, Switzerland. It is constituted in the form of an association under the Swiss ...
at the
1936 Olympic Games in Berlin along with Hockey legend Major Dhyanchand
[ and was the only Indian to have broken the world record in cycling between 1934 and 1942.]
In the 1940s, along with Sohrab Bhoot
Sohrab H. Bhoot (or Sorabji Bhoot or Sorab Bhoot) (1891 – 9 January 1984) was an Indian Olympian administrator and sports administrator in the early and middle 20th century.
Biography
Bhoot's major accomplishments were to serve as:
* Manage ...
, he founded the Cycling Federation of India.
Films
Jankidas debuted in films playing a major role in '' Khazanchi'' (1941), produced in Lahore
Lahore ( ; pnb, ; ur, ) is the second most populous city in Pakistan after Karachi and 26th most populous city in the world, with a population of over 13 million. It is the capital of the province of Punjab where it is the largest city. ...
. He was not seen again until 1946, when he would appear in '' Dr. Kotnis Ki Amar Kahani''. From then on he would continue to play roles with increasing vigour over the years.
As a production designer, Jankidas was responsible for the founding of many famous Indian actor's careers. He was responsible for Madhubala
Madhubala (born Mumtaz Jehan Begum Dehlavi; 14 February 1933 – 23 February 1969) was an Indian actress and producer who worked in Hindi-language films. She ranked as one of the highest-paid entertainers in India in the post-independence era, ...
's role in Sohrab Modi
Sohrab Merwanji Modi (2 November 1897 – 28 January 1984) was an Indian stage and film actor, director and producer. His films include ''Khoon Ka Khoon'' (1935), a version of Shakespeare's ''Hamlet'', '' Sikandar'', ''Pukar'', ''Prithvi Va ...
's '' Daulat'' in 1947, and introduced Meena Kumari
Meena Kumari (born Mahjabeen Bano; 1 August 1933 – 31 March 1972) was an Indian actress and poet, who worked in Hindi films. Popularly known as ''The Tragedy Queen'', she was active between 1939 and 1972. Kumari is widely considered one of ...
in Nanabhai Bhatt
Nanabhai Bhatt (12 June 1915 – 24 April 1999) was an Indian film director and producer who worked in Hindi and Gujarati cinema. He is known for making over a hundred fantasy and mythological films, including ''Mr. X'' (1957), ''Zimbo Comes t ...
's '' Hamara Ghar'', and Khushbu
Khushbu Sundar (born Nakhat Khan; 29 September 1970) is an Indian actress, politician, film producer and television presenter. She is known for her works predominantly in Tamil, besides Telugu, Hindi, Malayalam and Kannada films. She is a rec ...
in Sunil Dutt
Sunil Dutt (born Balraj Dutt; 6 June 1929 — 25 May 2005) was an Indian actor, film producer, director and politician. Dutt was one of the major stars of Hindi cinema in the late 1950s and 1960s and continued to star in many successful film ...
's ''Dard Ka Rishta
''Dard Ka Rishta'' is a 1982 Indian Bollywood film produced and directed by Sunil Dutt, who also stars. Smita Patil, Dr. Naaz Hussein, Reena Roy and Ashok Kumar play pivotal roles. It also marked late actress, Padmini Ramachandran's (a part of ...
''.[ He also introduced actress ]Mala Sinha
Alda Sinha (born 11 November 1936), better known by her stage name Mala Sinha is a former Indian actress who has worked in Hindi, Bengali and Nepali films. Initially starting her career with regional cinema, she went on to become a top leading ...
in Hamlet, produced and directed by Kishore Sahu
Kishore Sahu (22 November 1915 – 22 August 1980) was an Indian actor, film director, screenwriter, and producer. He appeared in 22 films between 1937 and 1980, and he directed 20 films between 1942 and 1974.
His directorial venture Kuwara Ba ...
.
In 1985, he wrote the script for the film ''Yaadon Ki Kasam
''Yaadon Ki Kasam'' is a 1985 Indian Hindi-language action film directed by Vinod Dewan, starring Mithun Chakraborty, Zeenat Aman, Shakti Kapoor, Asrani, Madan Puri and Viju Khote
Summary
Ravi Kapoor (Mithun Chakraborty) and Chandni (Zeenat ...
''.
Jankidas was the recipient of numerous national and international awards. In May 1996, he was honored with the Lifetime Achievement Award
Lifetime achievement awards are awarded by various organizations, to recognize contributions over the whole of a career, rather than or in addition to single contributions.
Such awards, and organizations presenting them, include:
A
* A.C. ...
given by the Indian Motion Pictures Producers' Association.[
Jankidas was also an author and wrote numerous books on Bollywood and the acting profession. He published '' My Misadventures in Filmland'' and ''Acting for Beginners''.][
]
Selected Filmography
Death
Jankidas had had a heart ailment for a substantial period of time, but was discharged from the local hospital two days before his death.[ He died of cardiac failure at his Juhu residence on Wednesday 18 June 2003. He was 93.
]
References
External links and sources
*
Indian male film actors
Indian production designers
1910 births
2003 deaths
Indian male cyclists
{{India-actor-stub