Anwar Ali: Even through his pain and illness, Junior Mehmood prays for our family and sends us dua - Exclusive

Veteran artist Junior Mehmood has been diagnosed with stage four stomach cancer. The ailing actor recently reunited with his old friends, veteran actor Jeetendra and Sachin Pilgaonkar, after they visited him on Tuesday. Actor-comedian Johnny Lever has been by his side in this testing time.

Speaking to ETimes, Junior Mehmood's contemporary actor and brother of the legendary Mehmood shared, "Even through his pain and illness, Juni, as I have always addressed him, instantly prays for our family, sending us duas, on hearing my voice note. His heart is full of joy when messages of my nephews Nadeem, Lucky Ali and niece Ginny are read out to him. A special bond is shared with the entire family from an early age. I remember he danced to Bhaijaan’s “Humein kaale hain to kya hua dilwale hain” at Ginny’s first birthday. He emulated Mehmood bhai so effortlessly."

Mehmood had conferred his own name upon Naeem who in turn carried it with great pride and grace through his 250 plus films.

Recalling his recently meeting with Junior Mehmood, Anwar Ali said, "We met recently during an event to pay tribute to Bhaijaan, where Johnny (Lever) and Juni both performed on stage, Juni dancing energetically to Humein kaale hain… yet again! He continues to radiate the same energy and positivity despite the pain, the illness, a true example of determination and fortitude."

Junior Mehmood, originally known as Naeem Sayyed, started his film career as a child artist and subsequently ventured into directing Marathi films. Junior Mehmood and Sachin Pilgaonkar formed a successful duo as child artists, creating a memorable partnership. They went on to do films like 'Bachpan,' 'Geet Gaata Chal,' and 'Brahmachari.'

Master Raju, who has been regularly visiting the ailing actor, too spoke about Junior Mehmood's legacy recently. He said, "When I joined the film industry with 'Parichay' (1972), Junior Mehmood was already a big star. There was a huge craze about him. Then we worked together again in Deewangee (1976) where he played Shashi Kapoor's friend and I was a child artiste. He was such a big star and so busy that the producers had to wait for his dates to shoot. If he wasn't available, they would use a duplicate because Junior Mehmood used to be busy with his shows. There was a time when the producers would take his dates first and match it with their lead actors' availability."

Recently, Jeetendra and Sachin Pilgaonkar paid a visit to ailing Junior Mehmood.