Child star Jr Mehmood no more

Mumbai, Dec 8: Junior Mehmood, the child star remembered for his endearing performances in films such as ‘Caravan’, ‘Brahmachari’ and ‘Mera Naam Joker’ in the late 1960s and early 1970s, died in the early hours of Friday following a battle with cancer. He was 68.

The actor, who was born Naeem Sayyed and got his pen name from his idol Mehmood, was laid to rest at the Santa Cruz cemetery in the presence of family and associates from the film industry in the evening.

“My father passed away at 2 am following his battle with stomach cancer. He was in a critical condition for the last 17 days. He had lost 35-40 kg in a month,” Junior Mehmood’s younger son Hasnain Sayyed said.
Junior Mehmood began as a child artist with ‘Mohabbat Zindagi Hai’ (1966) and ‘Naunihal’ (1967). He was given the name Junior Mehmood by late comedy icon Mehmood after they starred together in the 1968 film ‘Suhaag Raat’.

Cinema personalities such as Johnny Lever, Raza Murad, Raju Shreshtha, Rakesh Bedi, Avtar Gill, Aditya Pancholi and Ram Sethi (Pyarelal) were amongst those who reached his residence to pay their last respects.