Mohammed Ibrahim Baloch (or Bloch; born 1949), better known as Mehul Kumar, is an Indian filmmaker and writer in

Bollywood 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 ...

.Mohamed Ibrahim Bloch
''

Open Corporates OpenCorporates is a website that shares data on corporations under the copyleft Open Database License. The company was launched on 20 December 2010, by Chris Taggart and Rob McKinnon. Recognition In 2011, the site won third place in the Op ...

''. He is known for directing the films '' Tirangaa'' (1992), ''

Krantiveer ''Krantiveer'' () is a 1994 Indian Hindi-language action crime film directed and produced by Mehul Kumar. The film stars Nana Patekar, Dimple Kapadia, Atul Agnihotri, Mamta Kulkarni in the lead roles. Farida Jalal, Paresh Rawal, Tinu Anand, ...

'' (1993) and ''

Kohram ''Kohram'' is a 1999 Indian Hindi-language action film directed by Mehul Kumar. It stars Amitabh Bachchan, Nana Patekar, Jaya Prada, Danny Denzongpa, Tabu and Jackie Shroff with other supporting actors. It was an average earner at the box off ...

'' (1999). His other works include '' Mrityudaata'' (1997) and ''

Kitne Door Kitne Paas ''Kitne Door Kitne Paas'' () is a 2002 Indian Hindi-language romance film. It stars Fardeen Khan and Amrita Arora. Story Two young Indians, a male named Jatin, and a woman named Karishma, meet on an airplane, who are on their way to India. J ...

'' (2002) among others as well as several Gujarati films.

Early life and work

Mehul Kumar was born as Mohammed Baloch into a Makrani Baloch family in the city of

Jamnagar Jamnagar () is a city located on the western coast of India in the state of Gujarat of Saurashtra (region), Saurashtra region. It is the administrative headquarters of the Jamnagar district and the fifth largest city in Gujarat. The city lies ...

, Gujarat in 1949. Graduating from

Bombay University The University of Mumbai is a collegiate, state-owned, public research university in Mumbai. The University of Mumbai is one of the largest universities in the world. , the university had 711 affiliated colleges. Ratan Tata is the appointed ...

he started as a journalist during the early 1970s which included writing film reviews. He then moved to work in

Gujarati theatre Gujarati theatre refers to theatre performed in the Gujarati language, including its dialects. Gujarati theatre is produced mainly in Gujarat and Maharashtra, in cities like Mumbai, Ahmedabad and Baroda, Surat and else where Gujarati diaspora ex ...

Career

His first work in films was as an assistant director to

Chandrakant Sangani Chandrakant Sangani ( – 28 July 1997) was an Indian Gujarati language director, writer and actor from Gujarat, who worked predominantly in Gujarati cinema. Biography Sangani was born in Saurashtra region of Gujarat, India. Sangani started his car ...

and then with

Aamir Khan Mohammed Aamir Hussain Khan (; born 14 March 1965) is an Indian actor, film director and producer who works in Hindi films. Through his career spanning over 30 years, Khan has established himself as one of the most notable actors of Indian ci ...

's father

Tahir Hussain Mohammad Tahir Hussain Khan (19 September 1938 – 2 February 2010), better known as Tahir Hussain, was an Indian film producer, screenwriter, actor and film director known for his works in Hindi cinema. Personal life Tahir Hussain ...

. He made his directorial debut with a Gujarati comedy ''Chandu Jamadar'' (1977), a remake of

Dada Kondke Krishna "Dada" Kondke (Marathi pronunciation: ̪aːd̪a koːɳɖke 8 August 1932 – 14 March 1998) was an Indian actor and film producer. He was one of the most renowned personalities in Marathi film industry, famous for his double entendre ...

's highly successful lowbrow Marathi comedy '' Pandu Havaldar'' (1975). Though it was Kumar's 1977 bilingual Hindi-Gujrati film '' Janam Janam Na Saath'' (Gujarati)/''Phir Janam Lenge Hum'' (Hindi) produced by Tahir Hussain which first gained recognition. After its success, Kumar directed eighteen successful Gujarati films over the years. Kumar then made his second Hindi project '' Anokha Bandhan'' (1982). After that he directed films with actors like

Dharmendra Dharam Singh Deol (born 8 December 1935), also known Mononymous person, mononymously as Dharmendra, is an Indian actor, producer and politician who is known for his work in Hindi films. Known as the first "He-Man" of Bollywood, Dharmendra has w ...

Jeetendra Ravi Kapoor ( ; born 7 April 1942), known mononymously by his screen name Jeetendra, is an Indian actor who is known for his work in Hindi cinema. He also serves as the chairman of the Balaji Telefilms and Balaji Motion Pictures. Early lif ...

Anil Kapoor Anil Kapoor (born 24 December 1956) is an Indian actor and producer who works primarily in Hindi films, besides television and international films and television. In a career spanning over 40 years as an actor and since 2005 as a producer, Kapo ...

Meenakshi Sheshadri Meenakshi Seshadri (; born 16 November 1963) is a former Indian actress, model and dancer who worked primarily in Hindi films, with a few films in Telugu and Tamil. She made her debut with the film '' Painter Babu'' (1983) produced by Manoj ...

Shabana Azmi Shabana Azmi (born 18 September 1950) is an Indian actress of Hindi film, television and theatre. One of India's most acclaimed actresses, Azmi is known for her portrayals of distinctive, often unconventional female characters across several ge ...

Madhuri Dixit Madhuri Dixit Nene (née Dixit; born 15 May 1967) is an Indian actress who primarily works in Hindi films. A leading actress of Indian cinema, she has appeared in over 70 films. Noted by critics for her beauty, dancing skills, and characters ...

Shatrughan Sinha Shatrughan Prasad Sinha (born 9 December 1945) is an Indian actor and politician. He is a Member of Parliament, Lok Sabha from Asansol constituency as a member of All India Trinamool Congress (TMC). Earlier he was elected as Member of Parliam ...

Mehmood Mahmud is a transliteration of the male Arabic given name (), common in most parts of the Islamic world. It comes from the Arabic triconsonantal root Ḥ-M-D, meaning ''praise'', along with ''Muhammad''. Siam Mahmud *Mahmood (singer) (born 1 ...

and Feroz Khan among others. Then came Kumar's blockbuster golden jubilee hit '' Marte Dam Tak'' (1987) which starred

Raaj Kumar Raaj Kumar (born Kulbhushan Pandit; 8 October 1926 3 July 1996) was an Indian actor who worked in Hindi films. He appeared in the Oscar-nominated 1957 film '' Mother India'' and starred in over 70 Hindi films in a career that spanned over fo ...

Govinda Govinda (), also rendered Govind and Gobind, is an epithet of Vishnu which is also used for his avatars such as Krishna. The name appears as the 187th and the 539th name of Vishnu in '' Vishnu Sahasranama''. The name is also popularly addresse ...

and Farah. '' Jungbaaz'', '' Nafrat Ki Aandhi'' and a string of back-to-back films followed in the 1980s. In the '90s he made commercially successful films like '' Tirangaa'' (1992) starring Raaj Kumar and

Nana Patekar Vishwanath Patekar (born 1 January 1951), better known as Nana Patekar, is an Indian actor, screenwriter, film maker, and a former Indian Territorial Army officer, mainly working in Hindi and Marathi cinema. He is regarded as one of the finest an ...

. Then followed ''

'' (1993) based on the

Bombay riots In the Bombay riots in December 1992 and January 1993, an estimated 900 people died. The riots were mainly due to escalations of hostilities after large scale protests by Muslims in reaction to the 1992 Babri Masjid Demolition by Hindu Karsev ...

. ''Krantiveer'' was a box-office hit with Patekar winning a

National Film Award The National Film Awards is the most prominent film award ceremony in India. Established in 1954, it has been administered, along with the International Film Festival of India and the Indian Panorama, by the Indian government's Directora ...

for his performance. Kumar then directed ABCL's debut venture '' Mrityudaata'' (1997) which was

Amitabh Bachan Amitabh Bachchan (; born as Amitabh Shrivastav; 11 October 1942) is an Indian actor, film producer, television host, occasional playback singer and former politician known for his work in Hindi cinema. He is regarded as one of the most success ...

's comeback film after five years, but it emerged as a box-office failure. He brought Nana Patekar and Amitabh Bachchan together in ''

'' (1999). Although it was commercially unsuccessful as well, it is remembered for the performances of its lead actors. He then made ''

'' (2002), which fared well. His next film '' Jaago'' (2004) was based on a real life incident and was one of the first films to raise awareness about

rape in India Rape is the fourth most common crime against women in India. According to the 2021 annual report of the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB), 31,677 rape cases were registered across the country, or an average of 86 cases daily, a rise from 20 ...

. His last film was ''Krantiveer: The Revolution'' (2010) starred his daughter Jahan Bloch in the lead role and was a sequel to ''Krantiveer''. He has also produced some of his films like ''Tirangaa'', ''Krantiveer'', ''Kohram'' and ''Jaago''. Other actors which have appeared and collaborated with Kumar on film projects include

Dimple Kapadia Dimple Kapadia (born 8 June 1957) is an Indian actress predominantly appearing in Hindi films. Born and raised in Mumbai by wealthy parents, she aspired to become an actress from a young age and received her first opportunity through her father ...

, Naseeruddin Shah,

Akshay Kumar Rajiv Hari Om Bhatia (born 9 September 1967), known professionally as Akshay Kumar (), is an Indian-born naturalised Canadian Quote: "(Former prime minister Stephen) Harper campaigned in 2011 alongside one of Modi's biggest celebrity backer ...

Raveena Tandon Raveena Tandon (born 26 October 1972) is an Indian actress who works in Hindi films. The daughter of director Ravi Tandon, she made her acting debut in the 1991 action film '' Patthar Ke Phool'', which won her the Filmfare Award for New Face ...

and

Karisma Kapoor Karisma Kapoor (born 25 June 1974) is an Indian actress, who works in Hindi films. A member of the Kapoor family, she is the recipient of several accolades, including a National Film Award and four Filmfare Awards. Kapoor made her acting d ...

Personal life and family

Kumar runs Mehul Cinemax, a film theatre in Jamnagar owned by his production company Mehul Entertainments Private Limited. His brother Hussain Bloch is a film director in Gujarati cinema and has also worked with Kumar in many of his films. Kumar's daughter Jahan Bloch appeared as the lead in ''Krantiveers sequel ''Krantiveer: The Revolution'' (2010). She had previously appeared as a child actress in his films. Having since moved to

Prince Edward's Island Prince Edward Island (PEI; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is the smallest province in terms of land area and population, but the most densely populated. The island has several nicknames: "Garden of the Gulf", ...

with her chef husband, she now runs a bakery while also working as a filmmaker.PEI filmmaker Jahan Bloch's feature film
'' CBC.ca''. His son Zoheb Mohammed Bloch has assisted Kumar as a director in films. He has another daughter Shameem Khan, a costume designer, and a brother production manager Mohamed Bloch; both of whom have worked with Kumar on his films. The family uses the unusual spelling of Bloch for their surname, which is usually spelt as Baloch.

Filmography

References

External links