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Manmohan Desai

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Manmohan Desai
Born(1937-02-26)26 February 1937[1]
Died1 March 1994(1994-03-01) (aged 57)
Alma materSt. Xavier's College
Occupation(s)Film director, producer
Years active1960–1993
SpouseJeevanprabha Gandhi[2]
ChildrenKetan Desai
Parents
  • Kikubhai Desai
  • Kalavati
[3]

Manmohan Desai (26 February 1937 – 1 March 1994) was an Indian film producer and director. He was one of the most successful filmmakers of the 70s and 80s.[4] Desai was an influential and sought-after film director of Bollywood and a pioneer of making Masala films along with Prakash Mehra and Nasir Hussain.[5]

Family background

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Manmohan Desai was of Gujarati ancestry. His father, Kikubhai Desai,[6] was an Indian film producer and owner of Paramount Studios (later Filmalaya)[7] from 1931 to 1941. His productions, mainly stunt films, included Circus Queen, Golden Gang, and Sheikh Challi.[8] Manmohan Desai's elder brother, Subhash Desai, became a producer in the 1950s[9] and gave Manmohan his first break in the Hindi film Chhalia (1960). Subhash later went on to produce Bluff Master, Dharam Veer, and Desh Premee with Manmohan as the director.

His wife was Jeevanprabha Desai. She died in April 1979. He was engaged to actress Nanda from 1992 until the time of his death in 1994. He had one son Ketan Desai who is still involved in the film industry. Ketan is married to Kanchan Kapoor, daughter of Shammi Kapoor and Geeta Bali.[10]

On 1 March 1994, as per news Manmohan Desai fell from the balcony in Girgaon as the rail he was leaning on collapsed and died.[11] Very little is known about his death.

Career

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Manmohan Desai was known for his family-centered, action-song-and-dance films which catered to the tastes of the Indian masses and through which he achieved great success. His movies defined a new genre called masala films.[12] A common theme in his films were the lost and found plot where family members would be separated and reunited.[13]

Filmography

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Year Movie Name Cast Notes
1957 Janam Janam Ke Phere Nirupa Roy, Mahipal
1960 Chhalia Raj Kapoor, Nutan, Pran, Rehman, Shobhna Samarth
1963 Bluff Master Shammi Kapoor, Saira Banu, Pran, Lalita Pawar
1966 Budtameez Shammi Kapoor, Sadhana, Manorama
1968 Kismat Biswajeet, Babita, Helen, Kamal Mehra
1970 Sachaa Jhutha Rajesh Khanna, Mumtaz, Vinod Khanna
1972 Raampur Ka Lakshman Randhir Kapoor, Rekha, Shatrughan Sinha
1972 Bhai Ho To Aisa Jeetendra, Hema Malini, Shatrughan Sinha
1973 Aa Gale Lag Jaa Shashi Kapoor, Sharmila Tagore, Shatrughan Sinha, Om Prakash
1974 Roti Rajesh Khanna, Mumtaz, Om Prakash, Vijay Arora, Nirupa Roy
1977 Parvarish Amitabh Bachchan, Shammi Kapoor, Vinod Khanna, Neetu Singh, Shabana Azmi
Dharam Veer Dharmendra, Zeenat Aman, Jeetendra, Neetu Singh, Pran
Chacha Bhatija Dharmendra, Randhir Kapoor, Rehman, Hema Malini, Yogeeta Bali
Amar Akbar Anthony Amitabh Bachchan, Vinod Khanna, Rishi Kapoor, Parveen Babi, Neetu Singh, Shabana Azmi, Pran
1979 Suhaag Amitabh Bachchan, Shashi Kapoor, Rekha, Parveen Babi
1981 Naseeb Amitabh Bachchan, Shatrughan Sinha, Rishi Kapoor, Hema Malini, Reena Roy, Kim Yashpal
1982 Desh Premee Amitabh Bachchan, Shammi Kapoor, Sharmila Tagore, Hema Malini, Parveen Babi
1983 Coolie Amitabh Bachchan, Rishi Kapoor, Rati Agnihotri, Waheeda Rehman, Kader Khan
1985 Mard Amitabh Bachchan, Amrita Singh, Nirupa Roy, Dara Singh
1988 Ganga Jamuna Saraswati Amitabh Bachchan, Mithun Chakraborty, Meenakshi Sheshadri, Jaya Prada
1989 Toofan Amitabh Bachchan, Meenakshi Seshadri, Amrita Singh Producer
1993 Anmol Manisha Koirala, Rishi Kapoor, Johnny Lever Producer

References

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  1. ^ Connie Haham (1 December 2005). Manmohan Desai's Enchantment of the Mind. Roli Books Private Limited. pp. 20–. ISBN 978-93-5194-049-4.
  2. ^ Singh, Kuldip (4 March 1994). "Obituary: Manmohan Desai". The Independent. Retrieved 8 August 2015.
  3. ^ Raje, Niilesh A (26 February 2015). "Anhonee Ko Honee Karde: A Tribute To Manmohan Desai". Learning & Creativity. Retrieved 8 August 2015.
  4. ^ "Desai, Manmohan – Senses of Cinema". 19 March 2014.
  5. ^ "The champion of masala films, Manmohan Desai made Bollywood what it is today". 26 February 2020.
  6. ^ "Kikubhai Desai". IMDb. Retrieved 24 September 2022.
  7. ^ Tejaswini Ganti 2004, "Bollywood: A Guide to Popular Hindi Cinema", Routeledge Guidebooks, New York and London.
  8. ^ Connie Haham (2006) Enchantment of the Mind: Manmohan Desai's Films, Roli Books, New Delhi, p 182.
  9. ^ "Subhash Desai". IMDb. Retrieved 24 September 2022.
  10. ^ "Know less popular members of the Kapoor khandaan", The Times of India
  11. ^ Bawa, Jyoti Sharma. "With Nanda's death, I have lost a very good friend: Actor Mala Sinha". Hindustan Times. Archived from the original on 16 February 2015. Retrieved 8 August 2015.
  12. ^ "When Manmohan Desai called Amar Akbar Anthony 'least favourite film' of his career, was sure 'it would flop': 'It was a fluke hit'". The Indian Express. 26 February 2024.
  13. ^ Pothukuchi, Madhavi (26 February 2020). "The champion of masala films, Manmohan Desai made Bollywood what it is today". ThePrint. Retrieved 19 December 2022.
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