Tragic life of Vinod Mehra: Passed away without seeing his child

Much before Aamir Khan and Salman Khan came to be known as 'chocolate boys' of the silver screen, the title belonged to Vinod Mehra. Hailing from a business-oriented family, that had recently moved from Amritsar to Mumbai after independence, Mehra's introduction to the world of cinema happened in an unexpected way at an early age. After completing graduation from St Xavier's College Mumbai, the handsome young man decided on making it his full time career.

He entered the industry playing the younger version of 'Rajan' in the 1958 release Raagini. The adult version was essayed impeccably by Kishor Kumar. His cherubic appearance made the audience and the makers fall in love with him instantly, and the boy ended up bagging several other roles as a child artist.

Vinod Mehra debuted as an adult with EK Thi Rita opposite Tanuja. The Hindi adaptation of the English play, A Girl Called Rita, released in 1971. Vinod was employed with Goldfield Mercantile Company previously, but the release of Ek Thi Rita brought new opportunities for him and he quit his job to pursue acting fulltime. Some of his quick releases were Pardey Ke Peechey, Elaan and Lal Patthar.

While his professional life progressed steadily, his personal life was going haywire. On the insistence of his family, the actor tied the knot with Meena Broca in an arranged marriage setting. But he could never bring himself to love her. Soon after the marriage, he suffered a heart-attack and it is reported that this marriage - which would soon culminate into a divorce - was never consummated.

He soon lost his heart to Bindita Goswami who was also his co-star in several movies including Duniyadari and Dada. His love found a reciprocation in Bindiya's eyes and a tumultuous romance unfurled. He was also reported to have eloped with the actress while being married to Meena. The wife was left with no options but to divorce him, after which Vinod and Bindiya made their relationship official and walked the altar.

But this marriage proved to be nothing like the sweet dreams Vinod has woven around it and troubles hit his little paradise within four years when he learnt that Bindiya had been dating director J.P. Dutta. The actress filed for a divorce from Mehra, and quit her acting ambitions to be wife to Dutta. The couple remains to be married happily till now, and have two daughters together.

On the other hand, Vinod found himself heart-broken and disillusioned. It is said, that he has also had a clandestine affair with yesteryear's diva, Rekha. Many say they had married secretly, but the actor's mother refused to accept Rekha as her daughter-in-law, after which Vinod too retracted. These are just unfounded rumors, and on an interview with Simi Garewal, Rekha rubbished all of these calling the deceased actor, just a 'well-wisher'.

In 1988, the Anuraag actor found love once again, and this time it was in Kiran, who was daughter to a Kenya-based businessman. This young girl who had no ties with the world of cinema and loved Vinod for who he was, seemed to be the best match for him. They got married in 1988, and Kiran moved from Kenya to India to spend the rest of her life with Vinod.

Things were going perfect for the two. Within a year of marriage they welcomed their first bundle of joy, their daughter, Sonia. While Sonia was barely a toddler, Kiran conceived again and the couple started counting days for the arrival of their second child.

Together, they could be a complete family with their perfect, 'happily ever after', but man has only so much power against destiny. On 30 October 1990, Vinod Mehra left the world after suffering a massive heart attack. He was only 45 years old, and Kiran was still pregnant with baby Rohan who was born posthumously, 6 months after his father's demise.