Mehmood Ali was the comedy czar in Indian film industry. He started his career as a comedian when comedy was still in a nascent stage in Bollywood. Humour came spontaneously to Mehmood. That was the reason why he went onto become one of the greatest comedians of the silver screen. His films were rather remembered for his comic timings rather than the leading men and women. Mehmood was so popular that it was reported that even heroes would decline to work with him because of the fear of being overshadowed by his hilarious performance.

It was Guru Dutt who first gave Mehmood his first major break in Pyaasa. He quickly chose his path of acting and established himself as one of the most successful comedians in Indian cinema. After Pyaasa Mehmood did appear in certain films but his appearance went unnoticed. It was Parvarish (1958) with Raj Kapoor and Mala Sinha, which gave him the fame that he deserved. In 1959 Mehmood`s success story was repeated with Chhoti Bahen. During this time he teamed up with Shobha Khote and delivered several hit films: Sasural (1961), Ziddi (1964), Love in Tokyo (1966) and others. Both of them had great comic timing and the audience loved their antics. His next hit film was Dil Tera Deewaana (1962) starring Shammi Kapoor and Mala Sinha. At this time he clearly became the most favourite comedian of the audiences.

From then onwards Mehmood was part of every important project: Arzoo(1965), Paththar ke Sanam (1967), Padosan (1968) and others. Mehmood bagged the Best Comedian Award at the Filmfare for his outstanding histrionics in Pyaar Kiye Ja.

But the film that left an indelible mark on the minds of the audience was Padosan (1968). The film starred Sunil Dutt, Saira Banu and Kishore Kumar. Mehmood was hilarious in the role of a South Indian music teacher who was in love with his student, Bindu (Saira Banu). His accent, his make up and his performance were beyond doubt outstanding. He had also won Filmfare for Waaris (1969) and Vardaan (1974).

At a later stage of his career Mehmood turned to direction and production. He gave opportunities to several new actors and music directors, such as, RD Burman and Amitabh Bachchan. Mehmood passed away after a prolonged illness in the United States on 23rd July 2004. He was 72 years.

The films of Mehmood are as follows:

Chotte Nawab	Patthar ke Sanam	Bombay to Goa	Ginny Aur Johnny
Sasuraal	Padosan	Sadhu aur Shaitan	Sabse Bada Rupaiya
Zindagi	Aankhen	Humjoli	Johar Mehmood in Goa with I. S. Johar
Gumnaam	Do Phool	Main Sundar Hoon	Johar Mehood in Hong Kong I. S. Johar
Pyar Kiye Ja	Dil Tera Diwana	Kunwaara Baap	Guddu
Love in Tokyo	Bhoot Bangla	Sangharsh