Exclusive | Lucky Ali on ‘strict father’ Mehmood: ‘He had 27 cars but I wasn’t allowed to touch any; he would give me Rs 5 every day and ask for hisaab’

I don’t think they were scared. I think they were overwhelmed by his personality

What was it like growing up in the shadow of such a mammoth?

Well, my father basically sent me to boarding school when I was very small.He just kept me away from the industry and the people generally. My only interaction with my father was when I came home for the holidays. I would go to his shooting. I would come home for about a month and a half and that was the only time we got together for a full year of schooling. That was the time I would visit him on his set,and also spend time with my mother. My father and mother were divorced so I would spend time with my mother and I would spend time with my father.

Were you closer to your mother than your father?

Actually, I was very close to my father. My mother was far away. Only when I was a teenager did I start communicating more with my mother.

Was it tough on you that you as you were away from your parents, and growing up as the son of Mehmood?

Well, it was kind of strange. In boarding school, when parents of other children came to visit, they would come to my class to see Mehmood’s son. I was always in the eyes of people.

So it was a privilege to be Mehmood’s son?

Of course.

A lot of star kids go through that as they have to deal with all sorts of questions and teasing. You didn’t have any of that?

No, no, just the basic teasing. That happened in every school, but nothing that would affect my perception of my friends or anything like that.

Lucky, what are your memories with Mehmood Saab?

Well, the best times I’ve had with Mehmood saab came after I had established my career in music. And, yeah, I travelled with my father, we went abroad, we did Umrah together. So that was a special one for me.

People who are constantly in the public eye, they are expected to be funny even when they’re with friends or they’re at a party. Did that make Mehmood Saab unhappy?

Not at all. My father had his own issues. He was very popular. I think at a point he kind of got tired of being that popular. Because then you have to live up to people’s expectations. But he wasn’t unhappy.

Was Mehmood Saab funny at home?

He was very funny at home as well, but also he was a very strict father. I never went on a date with anyone till I was about 21 and the cut-off time was by 6 pm, nobody could go out after that.

Was that acceptable to you or did you rebel against that?

I rebelled for other things — my mother lived separately, and it was strange for me to not to have her around. Everybody else had their mom. That kind of made me rebellious, and since I was in boarding school, I had an independent spirit instilled in me. I was super-independent.

When you look back on your relationship with Mehmood saab , is there anything that you would like to change?

Nothing, I wish he was here. Many times that I find myself being confused about things. And that’s the time I miss talking to him. Because he was my go-to person whenever I had a problem. He would talk to me about even the deepest thing that I had in my mind or in my heart that troubled me. And he would always there was always a piece of good advice or some encouragement or things like that.But he never spoiled me. He never overdid things for me. Like, he had 27 cars, but he didn’t allow me even one.

27 cars?

He didn’t allow me even one car. I wasn’t allowed to drive them. And he used to have this Corvette, which I wanted to drive. And he would say, when you earn your own money, you buy it. He would give me Rs 5 in the morning and ask for a hisaab in the evening. I had to travel by bus. It’s only after I made something of my life, he started giving me responsibilities, like, the estate he had. Of course, it was in a mess because my dad trusted a lot of people. Before he died, he said to me, ‘Now, see, I was a father to all my brothers. So, after I go, you’re going to be responsible for your brothers.’

And have you been able to live up to that?

I think I failed at that because everyone had their own direction in life.When dad died, there was no one to keep things together.

Are you happy with life? I’m asking this because whenever I see a picture, I don’t see you smiling?

There’s nothing much to smile about these days, you know. I feel the pain of the people around me. And I can’t do anything about it because these things are not in my hands.

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