Mahendra Sandhu (born 18 April 1947) is an Indian actor, who worked in

Hindi film 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 ...

and

Punjabi film Punjabi cinema, sometimes metonymously referred to as Pollywood or Punjwood is the Punjabi-language film industry centered around the Indian state of Punjab, and based in Amritsar and Mohali. The cinema of Punjab has its beginnings with the ...

s, most known for '' Agent Vinod'' (1977), produced by Rajshri Pictures.

Early life and education

Sandhu was born into a Sandhu Jat Sikh family in the city of

Patiala Patiala () is a city in southeastern Punjab, India, Punjab, northwestern India. It is the fourth largest city in the state and is the administrative capital of Patiala district. Patiala is located around the ''Qila Mubarak, Patiala, Qila Mubarak ...

Punjab Punjab (; Punjabi: پنجاب ; ਪੰਜਾਬ ; ; also romanised as ''Panjāb'' or ''Panj-Āb'') is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the northern part of the Indian subcontinent, comprising ...

. He graduated from Mohindra College, Patiala. He was very active in doing plays and was associated with Harpal Tiwana & Balwant Gargi. In 1970, he joined the

Film and Television Institute of India The Film and Television Institute of India (FTII) is a film institute under the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting of the Government of India and aided by the Central Government of India. It is situated on the premises of the erstwhile ...

Pune, and did two years acting course.

Career

Mahendra Sandhu started his career in 1973 with '' Khoon Khoon'', a movie inspired by ''

Dirty Harry ''Dirty Harry'' is a 1971 American neo-noir Neo-noir is a revival of film noir, a genre that had originally flourished during the post-World War II era in the United Statesroughly from 1940 to 1960. The French term, ''film noir'', translates ...

''. He has acted in 30 films, most famously in '' Agent Vinod'' (1977), produced by Rajshri Pictures. He had impressed

Tarachand Barjatya Tarachand Barjatya (10 May 1914 – 21 September 1992) was an Indian film producer. He has produced many Hindi films from the 1960s through to the 1980s. He founded Rajshri Productions which continues to produce films even today. His mainstay wa ...

with his performance in ''

Khoon Ki Keemat ''Khoon Ki Keemat'' is a 1974 Hindi-language thriller drama film directed by Shibu Mitra and produced by Jagdish Sharma. The film stars Ashok Kumar and Mahendra Sandhu. Cast * Ashok Kumar as John Fernandes * Mahendra Sandhu as Deepak * Neelam ...

'' and was offered two movies. He refused those, but agreed to work in '' Agent Vinod''.

Directorial career

Mahendra Sandhu directed the movie '' Kisme Kitna Hai Dum'' in 1992.

Later career

Mahendra Sandhu made an appearance in the 2004 film '' Mitter Pyare Nu Haal Mureedan Da Kehna'', but was credited as "Mohinder Sandhu". He later purchased land in Boisar, about 90 minutes from Mumbai airport and is currently building weekend homes. He was approached for a cameo role in '' Agent Vinod'' in 2011, but it did not work out. However, there is a dialogue in the film that is a tribute to him. When

Saif Ali Khan Saif Ali Khan (; born Sajid Ali Khan Pataudi; 16 August 1970) is an Indian actor and film producer who works in Hindi films. Part of the Pataudi family, he is the son of actress Sharmila Tagore and cricketer Mansoor Ali Khan Pataudi. Khan ma ...

's character is being interrogated at a base in Pakistan/Afghanistan, he reveals the identity of Ravikishan's character as an Indian spy named Major Mahendra Sandhu. After his film career, Sandhu started a real estate business, and divided time between Mumbai and Punjab.

Filmography

Actor

Producer

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Sandhu, Mahendra Male actors from Punjab, India Living people Male actors in Hindi cinema Hindi film producers People from Patiala 1947 births Punjabi people Male actors in Punjabi cinema 20th-century Indian male actors 21st-century Indian male actors