Speaking to Hindustan Times about his visit to Jr Mehmood, Jeetendra said that he was there by his bedside but he was unable to recognise him. “He is in so much pain, he is unable to open his eyes. To see him in this state breaks my heart,” he said.
He mentioned that he had been coming to the Mount Mary Church for 25 years and when he learned of Jr Mehmood’s health condition, he planned to visit him on his way to the church next Sunday. But Johnny reached out to him on Monday night, urging a quick visit. Jeetendra, 81, became emotional and moved to tears during the visit.
Jeetendra gets teary-eyed as he meets ailing Junior Mehmood; Sachin Pilgaonkar’s daughter Shriya says, ‘Papa is in touch and visited him today’
Talking about his association with Jr Mehmood from the 60s-70s, Jeetendra recalled working with his ailing friend at a time when movies took a lot of time to be completed. “Junior played my younger brother in Nasir Hussain’s Caravan. In the course of filmmaking, Ravindra Kapoor, Asha Parekh, Aruna Irani and I ended up spending a lot of time together both on set and outdoors. A major portion of the film was shot in a caravan and so we often found ourselves huddled up together during shoots. However, I had not spoken to him or met him for years till I heard he had fallen ill,” he said.
The veteran actor also opened up about working with Jr Mehmood’s wife Lata in a film called Suhagaan and remembered her as a beautiful girl. She had met him around 40 years ago to say that she was marrying Jr Mehmood. “I was very happy for her. This evening I met a frail Lata and their two sons by Junior’s bedside. Seeing them I feel even more distraught,” he added.
Jr Mehmood has lost 36 kilos in the course of his ailment. Jeetendra said that he will keep him in his prayers and hope he has a peaceful evening and peaceful days ahead. The actor was undergoing treatment at the Tata Memorial Hospital in Parel, Mumbai. Now, he is recuperating at home.