This actor was once driver, used to sell eggs, joined Bollywood, started charging more fees than superstars, his son..

From 1950 to 1970, films of Dev Anand, Rajkumar, Raj Kapoor, Manoj Kumar, and Rajendra Kumar were widely watched. These stars were counted among the highest-paid actors of Bollywood in those days. It is said that even at that time they used to charge exorbitant prices from the makers for a film. However, you will be surprised to know that among them, there was one actor who worked as a second lead in films but used to charge more than them. 

There is often a lot of discussion about the fees that Bollywood stars charge. Fans are often eager to know the fee of their favourite stars. Today, we will tell you about a hero from 1950-60s, a comedy actor who used to charge more than the lead actor of a film. He became a millionaire in just 15 days of shooting a film.

Amitabh Bachchan himself had once written an article regarding the fees of that actor, in which he had said that he was able to achieve his position in the film industry because of that star. That actor was none other than yesteryear comedy king Mehmood.

Mehmood Ali, popularly known as Mehmood, was born in September 1932. He was the second of the eight children, and eldest son to Latifunnisa and Mumtaz Ali, a huge star of the 1940s and 1950s cinema. In his career spanning more than 40 years, Mehmood worked in over 300 Hindi films. He was known as India's national comedian.

Mehmood was a superstar of his time. His acting career started when he was a child. He was first cast in Gyan Mukherjee's film 'Kismet' produced by Bombay Talkies. Ashok Kumar was the lead actor in this film. This film was released in 1943. 

Reports state that after 'Kismet', Mehmood stopped acting because his family started facing a financial crisis. After this, Mehmood started doing several odd jobs. To make ends meet, he became a driver for PL Santoshi, the father of director Rajkumar Santoshi. Apart from this, to improve his finances, he also started doing work like selling eggs and driving a taxi.

But soon, things changed for Mehmood. When Raj Kapoor's film 'Parvarish' was released in 1958, Mehmood's fortunes changed. In this film, Mehmood played the role of Raj Kapoor's brother and gained immense popularity. 

Mehmood then did some memorable roles in films such as 'C.I.D', 'Do Bigha Zameen', and 'Pyaasa'. While Mehmood played unnoticeable roles in these films, he was greatly appreciated by the audiences for his comic timing. 

One thing about Mehmood is quite famous in Bollywood. When Mehmood was at the peak of his career, his fees were more than the lead actors in the films. According to a report in The Print, Mehmood was paid more than the lead actors in the films. Some people even say that producers who wanted to brand their films used to mention Mehmood's name in the film credits. It is said that Mehmood used to earn Rs 7.5 lakh for just 14 days of shooting, which was a huge amount in those times.

Mehmood was married to legendary actress Meena Kumari's younger sister Madhu. His second marriage was to Tracy Ali. Mehmood is survived by his 7 children - Lucky Ali, Pucky Ali, Mansoor Ali, Macky Ali, Baby Ginni, Manzoor Ali, and Masoom Ali. 

His last known film as an actor was Rajkumar Santoshi's 'Andaz Apna Apna' (1994). In July 2004, Mehmood died in his sleep in Pennsylvania, US, where he had gone for treatment. He was 71 at the time.

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