He directed Dipti Naval, Shabana Azmi, Nandita Das and Aishwarya Rai in women-centric films like Kamala, Bawander and Provoked. But for the longest time in his Hindi filmmaking career, he was labelled a director of erotic Hollywood thrillers.
Jagmohan Mundhra, who passed away on Sunday following a cardiac arrest, gave actress Pooja Bedi her first break in his Hindi skin flick Vishkanya in 1991. He had made several erotic thrillers in the United States, including The Jigsaw Murders (1988), Halloween Night (1988), LA Goddess (1993), Sexual Malice (1994) and Tales of the Kama Sutra 2: Monsoon (1998).
“In India, I have a certain kind of reputation which I don’t deserve. Erotic films featuring big Hollywood names are considered respectable. But just because my films didn’t have Michael Douglas or Sharon Stone, I was called a sleaze maker,” Mundhra had told this newspaper in an earlier interview.
He also recalled how his leading ladies were warned by their well-wishers not to work with a ‘soft porn’ director. “People told Nandita (Das) that it was dangerous to do a film based on gang rape with a filmmaker of my reputation,” Mundhra had revealed with a chuckle.
Friends and colleagues of the filmmaker remember him as an intelligent and sensitive filmmaker, and a caring and thoughtful friend.
Filmmaker and close friend Shekhar Kapur recalled that the doors of Mundhra’s Los Angeles home were always open for friends coming to the United States from India. “There was never a time when Jag and his wife Chandra’s house was not open for guests,” Kapur said.
Actress Seema Biswas, who was to play a role in Mundhra’s upcoming film Kissa Kutte Ka, recalled how much the director loved his work. “I spoke to him on Friday and it didn’t seem as if there was anything wrong with his health. He said he was excited about the film which was to go on floors by the end of September,” she said.
The 62-year-old filmmaker, who shuttled between India and the US, was admitted to Bombay Hospital on Friday and was being treated for internal bleeding.
He had a cardiac arrest on Sunday morning, following which he was kept on ventilator. However, Mundhra passed away in the afternoon. The body was taken to his family home in Dadar and the last rites were held at the Shivaji Park crematorium on Sunday evening. Mundhra is survived by his wife and daughter who live in Los Angeles.
Starlet Yuvika Chaudhary who was last seen in Mundhra’s last film Naughty@40, said that the director lived life to the fullest and was a “bundle of knowledge”.
Recalling his health problems on the sets, she added, “He would often take a break from shooting because of the swelling in his legs. However, he never complained and would crack jokes on the sets instead.”
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
)
)
)
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}