Jankidas Biography 
Jankidas Mehra, shortly called Jankidas was a noted character artist associated with Bollywood oldies. In a long career spanning to more than 5 decades since 1940s, he has portrayed over 1000 character roles onscreen – indeed a unique achievement. He excelled in the comic roles. He retired from the film scene in 1997 and passed away in 2003, aged 92. Apart from a character artist, he was also known as a cyclist, production designer and writer. He spent his last days in Mumbai. He was a sportsperson too, who broke the world record in cycling between 1934 and 1942, the only Indian who reached this achievement.
Jankidas Mehra was born on January 1st, 1910 in Lahore, British India. He was a sportsperson and Olympian in the 1930s before he became fully associated with film world. He was the single Indian member of International Olympic Committee at the 1936 Olympic Games in Berlin. He was also a cycling champion in the 1930s and 1940s breaking world records. Khazanchi (1941) was his debut movie. Later he was seen in 1946 Shantaram movie - Dr. Kotnis Ki Amar Kahani, where he played the character role of Dr. Mukerjee. Since then he appeared in over 1000 films between the 1940s and 1997.
Janakidas is credited to be the first production designer in the Indian film industry and some of his works as a production designer include - Pathar aur Paya and Warrant. Thus he played a significant role in casting many actors on big screen for suitable roles. He introduced Meena Kumari in Hamara Ghar, Mala Sinha in Hamlet and Khusboo in Sunil Dutt's Dard Ka Rishta. He casted Madhubala in Sohrab Modi's Daulat in 1947. He has also scripted one Bollywood film - Yaadon Ki Kasam in 1985, and has authored a few books as guidelines to Bollywood film industry.
Published: N/A
Updated: January 04, 2016
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