Punjabi films' 'comic king' Mehar Mittal dead

BATHINDA: Dadasaheb Phalke award winner and veteran Punjabi actor Mehar Mittal who was famous for his comic roles passed away in a hospital in Mount Abu, Rajasthan, on Saturday, two days before he was to turn 81. His daughters, who reside in Chandigarh and Mumbai, were with him when he breathed his last.
The death of the popular Punjabi comic actor, who was essential for any Punjabi film at one time, comes just a few days after rumours about his end.
Sanjeev Gupta, an advocate in the Punjab and Haryana high court and Mehar Mittal's grandson, said, “He was in co ma for 3-4 days. On Saturday afternoon he suffered a stroke which he couldn't survive.“
Mittal had long association with Bathinda and his last public appearance too happened to be there. He was born at Chugge village, near Bathinda, on October 24, 1935, and had his schooling there. His friend PD Goyal remembers their last meeting. “Mittal reached here on September 25 and stayed with me. I saw him off the next day after he attended a social gathering in his honour at DAV College and a Ru-B-Ru with students.“ Goyal is president of the DAV College managing committee. “On the persistent demand of students and old acquaintances of Bathinda, Mittal rendered his famous dialogue, “Uda doo tote pa du moshe“ (will make parrots fly) in his inimitable style,“ he added. PD Goyal was two years junior to Mittal in the SSD School and both completed their bachelors in law from Panjab University Chandigarh in 1963. Mehar Mittal's nephew Ramesh Goyal said Mittal, his maternal uncle, used to visit them whenever he happened to be in Bathinda. I met him on September 26, too, and we spent a long time catching up.
PD Goyal said Mittal was very innovative from an early age. “We had a group in school which was called Mehar Mittal di party. He used to take part in cultural programmes and came up with apt dialogues instantly .There was no looking back for Mittal after his first film “Ma Da Ladla“ in 1971-72,“ remembered PD Goyal.
Acted in 100 films
Though Mittal acted in over a 100 films, “Chann Pardesi“, “Lambardarni“, “Walayati Babu“, “Putt Jattan Da“ and “Qurbani Jatt Di“ were a hit at the box office. He also produced “Ambe Maa Jagdambe Maa“ (1980) and “Walayati Babu“ (1981). Mehar Mittal had a long association with noted Punjabi actor-producer Veerendra, cousin of Dharmendra, who was killed by extremists in 1988. Some of their memorable Punjabi films include “Lambardarni“ and “Yaari Jatt Di“.