Prakash Mehra
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Prakash Mehra (born 13 July 1939) in Bijnaur, U.P- India is an Indian Bollywood film producer and director. He frequently wrote some song lyrics for his own movies.
[edit] Career
He started in the late 1950's as a production controller. In 1968 he directed Shashi Kapoor in Hasina Maan Jayegi. This was followed by the 1972 hit Mela starring the Khan brothers together ( Feroz Khan and Sanjay Khan). In 1973 he produced and directed Zanjeer. The role was offered to a a relative newcomer Amitabh Bachchan as established stars were not available. The role was of a serious police officer who wants revenge, and a break from the then popular musical romances. The movie was a huge hit and established Amitabh as a solo actor ( his previous roles of note having been in support roles). It established Amitabh's early peronnna ( an angry youn man fighting the system on his own terms) and started an association that spawned 7 more movies -'Khoon Pasina'Hera Pheri, Muqaddar Ka Sikandar,Laawaris, Namak Halaal, Sharaabi and Jaadugar All except Jaadugar being hits. Prakash Mehra also directed & produced the movie 'Zindagi Ek Juaa' in the mid nineties with actor Anil Kapoor which was not a huge commercial success but nevertheless did well with its music. Mr Mehra received a lifetime achievement award from the India Motion Picture Producer & Directors Association in 2006.
Prakash Mehra was ahead of his time. He is one of the first Bombay directors to try venture into Hollywood. In the late eighties he tried a joint venture to make the movie 'The God Connection' with Frank Yandolino. The movie was to include Charles Bronson among others, but the project though funded heavily initially, never materialized. Mr Mehra always had a dream to produce a movie in the United States & was a fan of the dynamics of Hollywood. He just had a bit of bad luck grasping the economics. In that respect, he actually was gutsy and ahead of his time.
[edit] Contemporaries
Prakash Mehra along with Manmohan Desai, Hrishikesh Mukherjee and Yash Chopra have accounted for a large number of Amitabh's famous hits. Of these only Yash Chopra went on to make hits beyond the 1980's.
