I. S. Johar also wrote and directed films, including the partition-based Hindi movie "Nastik" (1954), "Johar Mehmood in Goa" and "Johar Mehmood in Hong Kong", in which he co-starred with comedian Mehmood. These were inspired by comedy films of the Bob Hope-Bing Crosby style "Road to..." series. Johar was a unique and idiosyncratic individual, a lifelong liberal who poked fun at institutionalised self-satisfied smugness – an attitude which did not endear him to the essentially hierarchical and conservative Indian establishment, and led to difficulties finding finance for his unconventional screenplays. In many of his films, both those he directed and those he acted in, Sonia Sahni was the leading lady, most notably in "Johar Mehmood in Goa", 1964.