Manmohan Desai
Encyclopedia
Manmohan Desai was a producer and director of Indian movies.
(1960). Subhash later went on to produce Bluff Master
, Dharam Veer
, and Desh Premee
with Manmohan as the director.
films.
He had a string of hits with Amitabh Bachchan
in the 70s and early 80s which helped cement Bachchan's status as a superstar
of Indian cinema. He worked with Amitabh on Amar Akbar Anthony
, Parvarish, Suhaag
, Naseeb
, Desh Premee
, Coolie
, Mard
and Ganga Jamuna Saraswati
; all but the last were box office successes. He was one of the directors who had a special working relationship with Amitabh Bachchan
, the others being Yash Chopra
, Prakash Mehra
, Ramesh Sippy
, and Hrishikesh Mukherjee
. Of these, only Yash Chopra
went on to make hits beyond the 1980s.
Apart from Bachchan, Manmohan Desai worked with such leading male stars as Raj Kapoor
in the 1960 film Chhalia
, Shammi Kapoor
in "Bluffmaster
" (1963), Rajesh Khanna
in Sachaa Jhutha
(1970), Randhir Kapoor
in Raampur Ka Lakshman
(1972), Shashi Kapoor
in "Aa Gale Lag Jaa" (1973), Dharmendra
and Jeetendra
in Dharam Veer
(1977) and Rishi Kapoor
in Coolie
(1983).
1977 was an exceptional year for him. All four of his films released that year were huge hits: Parvarish, Amar Akbar Anthony
, Chacha Bhatija
and Dharam Veer
. The first two were with Amitabh, and the latter two were with Dharmendra
.
Manmohan Desai worked with writers such as Prayag Raaj, K.K.Shukla and Kader Khan
and lyricists such as Anand Bakshi
, Sahir Ludhianvi
, Qamar Jalalabadi
, Gulshan Bawra, and Shailendra. Early in his career he worked with composers Kalyanji Anandji
, later with Laxmikant Pyarelal
and in the 1980s with music composer Anu Malik
.
Out of the 20 films that Desai directed in his career span of 29 years (1960–1989), as many as 13 films were stupendous hits. His success ratio was 65 percent in an industry where flops abound.
Towards the end of his career, Desai's previously successful stories and style began to lose favor with audiences. Critics accused him of self parody. His last film as a director Ganga Jamuna Saraswati
and the films he produced with his son Ketan Desai directing, Allah Rakha and Toofan, failed at the box office.
ancestry. 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
.
On 1 March 1994, an ailing Manmohan Desai committed suicide
at his home in Khetwadi by jumping from the building that he owned, near Grant Road, Mumbai. Very little is known about his death except that he was suffering from chronic back pain.
Background
His father, Kikubhai Desai,http://www.imdb.com/name/nm1509216/ was an Indian film producer and owner of Paramount Studios (later Filmalaya) from 1931 to 1941. His productions, mainly stunt films, included Circus Queen, Golden Gang, and Sheikh Challi. Manmohan Desai's older brother, Subhash Desai, became a producer in the 1950shttp://www.imdb.com/name/nm1194304/ and gave Manmohan his first break with the Hindi film ChhaliaChhalia
Chhalia is a 1960 Hindi film. Directed by Manmohan Desai it stars Raj Kapoor, Nutan, Pran, Rehman and Shobhna Samarth. Raj Kapoor plays his stereotyped "simple guy with a heart of gold" role yet again in this film....
(1960). Subhash later went on to produce Bluff Master
Bluff Master (film)
Bluff Master is a Bollywood movie released in 1963, starring Shammi Kapoor, Saira Banu, Pran, and Lalita Pawar. This film is not related to Rohan Sippy's 2005 film Bluffmaster! starring Abhishek Bachchan.The film was directed by Manmohan Desai.-Plot:...
, Dharam Veer
Dharam Veer (1977 film)
Dharam-Veer is a 1977 Indian Hindi film, produced and directed by Manmohan Desai. It was part of Desai's four big hits of the year based on the "separated and reunited" theme . The movie stars Dharmendra, Zeenat Aman, Jeetendra, Neetu Singh, Pran, Indrani Mukherjee, Jeevan and Ranjeet...
, and Desh Premee
Desh Premee
Desh Premee is a 1982 Hindi film directed by Manmohan Desai. This film is the fifth collaboration between director Manmohan Desai and Amitabh Bachchan after Amar Akbar Anthony , Parvarish , Suhaag and Naseeb .-Synopsis:Master Dinanth is a freedom fighter and led the war against the...
with Manmohan as the director.
Career
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 masalaMasala (film genre)
Masala is a term given to films of Indian cinema that mix various genres in one film. Typically these films freely mix action, comedy, romance, and drama or melodrama. These films tend to be musicals that include songs filmed in picturesque locations...
films.
He had a string of hits with Amitabh Bachchan
Amitabh Bachchan
Amitabh Bachchan is an Indian film actor. He first gained popularity in the early 1970s as the "angry young man" of Hindi cinema, and has since appeared in over 180 Indian films in a career spanning more than four decades...
in the 70s and early 80s which helped cement Bachchan's status as a superstar
Superstar
A superstar is a widely acclaimed celebrity.Superstar or superstars may also refer to:-People:* Warhol Superstar, associates of Andy Warhol* WWE Superstar, the term used to refer to entertainers from the WWE...
of Indian cinema. He worked with Amitabh on Amar Akbar Anthony
Amar Akbar Anthony
Amar Akbar Anthony is a 1977 Bollywood film about three brothers separated during their childhood who grew up in three homes, adopting three religions...
, Parvarish, Suhaag
Suhaag (1979 film)
Suhaag is a 1979 Indian Hindi film directed by Manmohan Desai. A box-office success, the film became the highest earning film of 1979.The movie stars Amitabh Bachchan, Shashi Kapoor, Rekha and Parveen Babi in lead roles. Amjad Khan, Nirupa Roy and Jeevan play supporting roles...
, Naseeb
Naseeb (1981 film)
Naseeb is a 1981 Hindi film produced and directed by Manmohan Desai. The film is a typical Manmohan Desai film with his regular star Amitabh Bachchan and a large cast, lavish sets, memorable music and the lost and found theme...
, Desh Premee
Desh Premee
Desh Premee is a 1982 Hindi film directed by Manmohan Desai. This film is the fifth collaboration between director Manmohan Desai and Amitabh Bachchan after Amar Akbar Anthony , Parvarish , Suhaag and Naseeb .-Synopsis:Master Dinanth is a freedom fighter and led the war against the...
, Coolie
Coolie
Historically, a coolie was a manual labourer or slave from Asia, particularly China, India, and the Phillipines during the 19th century and early 20th century...
, Mard
Mard
Mard is a 1985 Hindi film, starring Amitabh Bachchan and Amrita Singh and directed by Manmohan Desai.The film was remade in Tamil by Rajnikant as Maaveeran and was a huge success and further dubbed in Telugu...
and Ganga Jamuna Saraswati
Ganga Jamuna Saraswati
Ganga Jamuna Saraswati is 1988 Hindi film directed by Manmohan Desai and starring Amitabh Bachchan as Ganga, Meenakshi Sheshadri as Jamuna, and Jaya Prada as Saraswati...
; all but the last were box office successes. He was one of the directors who had a special working relationship with Amitabh Bachchan
Amitabh Bachchan
Amitabh Bachchan is an Indian film actor. He first gained popularity in the early 1970s as the "angry young man" of Hindi cinema, and has since appeared in over 180 Indian films in a career spanning more than four decades...
, the others being Yash Chopra
Yash Chopra
Yash Raj Chopra is an Indian filmmaker, film director, screenwriter, and a highly successful Bollywood producer. Waqt, Deewar, Kabhi Kabhie, Silsila, Lamhe, Chandni, Darr, Dil To Pagal Hai, and Veer-Zaara are some of his highly popular movies...
, Prakash Mehra
Prakash Mehra
-Career:Born on 13 July 1939 at Bijnor, Uttar Pradesh, India, Mehra started in the late 1950s as a production controller. In 1968, he directed Shashi Kapoor who played a double role in Haseena Maan Jayegi. This was followed by the 1971 hit Mela starring the Khan brothers together. In 1973, he...
, Ramesh Sippy
Ramesh Sippy
Ramesh Sippy is an Indian film director, probably best-known for directing the popular and critically acclaimed film Sholay ....
, and Hrishikesh Mukherjee
Hrishikesh Mukherjee
Hrishikesh Mukherjee ) was a famous Indian film director known for a number of films, including Satyakam, Chupke Chupke, Anupama, Anand, Abhimaan, Guddi, Gol Maal, Aashirwad, Bawarchi, and Namak Haraam.Popularly known as Hrishi-da, he directed 42 films during his career spanning over four decades,...
. Of these, only Yash Chopra
Yash Chopra
Yash Raj Chopra is an Indian filmmaker, film director, screenwriter, and a highly successful Bollywood producer. Waqt, Deewar, Kabhi Kabhie, Silsila, Lamhe, Chandni, Darr, Dil To Pagal Hai, and Veer-Zaara are some of his highly popular movies...
went on to make hits beyond the 1980s.
Apart from Bachchan, Manmohan Desai worked with such leading male stars as Raj Kapoor
Raj Kapoor
Known as Ranbir Raj Kapoor Rāj Kapūr, 14 December 1924 – 2 June 1988), also known as The Show-Man, was an Indian film actor, producer and director of Hindi cinema. He was the winner of nine Filmfare Awards, while his films Awaara and Boot Polish were nominated for the Palme d'Or at the...
in the 1960 film Chhalia
Chhalia
Chhalia is a 1960 Hindi film. Directed by Manmohan Desai it stars Raj Kapoor, Nutan, Pran, Rehman and Shobhna Samarth. Raj Kapoor plays his stereotyped "simple guy with a heart of gold" role yet again in this film....
, Shammi Kapoor
Shammi Kapoor
Shammi Kapoor was an Indian film actor and director. He was a prominent lead actor in Hindi cinema from the late 1950s until the early 1970s....
in "Bluffmaster
Bluffmaster
Bluffmaster! is a 2005 Bollywood film, a remake of the Argentine film Nine Queens. Starring Abhishek Bachchan, Ritesh Deshmukh and Priyanka Chopra. Boman Irani and Nana Patekar have supporting roles in the film. This film is not related to Manmohan Desai's film Bluff Master released in 1963.The...
" (1963), Rajesh Khanna
Rajesh Khanna
Rajesh Khanna is an Indian actor of from Hindi films, and has been Hindi film producer and an Indian politician....
in Sachaa Jhutha
Sachaa Jhutha
Sachaa Jhutha is a 1970 Indian Hindi film directed by Manmohan Desai. The movie was a box-office blockbuster. The movie stars Rajesh Khanna as a simple villager, who has a look alike who is a crook. It also stars Mumtaz and Vinod Khanna...
(1970), Randhir Kapoor
Randhir Kapoor
Randhir Kapoor is a Bollywood actor, producer and director. His nickname is Daboo.-Early life:Randhir Kapoor hails from the legendary Kapoor family. He is the eldest son of Raj Kapoor. He is a fourth generation Kapoor and comes from a distinguished Punjabi Hindu family who have been part of the...
in Raampur Ka Lakshman
Raampur Ka Lakshman
- Synopsis :Kedarnath Bhargav, his wife, Laxmi, and two sons, Ram and Lakshman, are homeless. While traveling, their train derails and the family is separated into three groups. While Laxmi works as a maidservant in the house of Bombay's mayor and his daughter, Rekha; Ram has been abducted by a...
(1972), Shashi Kapoor
Shashi Kapoor
Shashi Kapoor , born Balbir-Raj Prithviraj Kapoor on 18 March 1938 in Calcutta , is an award-winning Indian film actor and film producer. He has also been film director and assistant director in Hindi Films. He is a member of the Kapoor family, a film dynasty in India's Bollywood cinema...
in "Aa Gale Lag Jaa" (1973), Dharmendra
Dharmendra
Dharmendra Singh Deol |Punjab]]), better known as Dharmendra, is an award-winning Hindi film actor who has appeared in more than 247 Hindi-language films as of 2011. In 1997, he received the Filmfare Lifetime Achievement Award for his contribution to Hindi cinema and also another Lifetime...
and Jeetendra
Jeetendra
Jeetendra born Ravi Kapoor is an Indian actor and television producer...
in Dharam Veer
Dharam Veer (1977 film)
Dharam-Veer is a 1977 Indian Hindi film, produced and directed by Manmohan Desai. It was part of Desai's four big hits of the year based on the "separated and reunited" theme . The movie stars Dharmendra, Zeenat Aman, Jeetendra, Neetu Singh, Pran, Indrani Mukherjee, Jeevan and Ranjeet...
(1977) and Rishi Kapoor
Rishi Kapoor
Rishi Kapoor is an Indian Bollywood actor, film producer and director.-Early life:Born in Chembur Mumbai, Kapoor is the second son of film director and star Raj Kapoor. He did his schooling with his brothers at Campion School,Mumbai. His brothers are well-known actors: Randhir Kapoor and Rajiv...
in Coolie
Coolie
Historically, a coolie was a manual labourer or slave from Asia, particularly China, India, and the Phillipines during the 19th century and early 20th century...
(1983).
1977 was an exceptional year for him. All four of his films released that year were huge hits: Parvarish, Amar Akbar Anthony
Amar Akbar Anthony
Amar Akbar Anthony is a 1977 Bollywood film about three brothers separated during their childhood who grew up in three homes, adopting three religions...
, Chacha Bhatija
Chacha Bhatija
Chacha Bhatija is a 1977 Indian Hindi film directed by Manmohan Desai. It was the year's fourth hit for Manmohan Desai . It was his second film with Dharmendra...
and Dharam Veer
Dharam Veer (1977 film)
Dharam-Veer is a 1977 Indian Hindi film, produced and directed by Manmohan Desai. It was part of Desai's four big hits of the year based on the "separated and reunited" theme . The movie stars Dharmendra, Zeenat Aman, Jeetendra, Neetu Singh, Pran, Indrani Mukherjee, Jeevan and Ranjeet...
. The first two were with Amitabh, and the latter two were with Dharmendra
Dharmendra
Dharmendra Singh Deol |Punjab]]), better known as Dharmendra, is an award-winning Hindi film actor who has appeared in more than 247 Hindi-language films as of 2011. In 1997, he received the Filmfare Lifetime Achievement Award for his contribution to Hindi cinema and also another Lifetime...
.
Manmohan Desai worked with writers such as Prayag Raaj, K.K.Shukla and Kader Khan
Kader Khan
Kader Khan is an Indian film actor, comedian, script and dialogue writer. He graduated from Ismail Yusuf College affiliated to Mumbai University .-Early life:...
and lyricists such as Anand Bakshi
Anand Bakshi
Anand Bakshi was a popular Indian poet and lyricist.-Early days:Anand Bakshi was born in Rawalpindi, now in Pakistan, on 21 July 1930. His ancestors were from Kurree, near Rawalpindi, and had origins in Kashmir. His mother, Sumitra, died 1940, when he was 10...
, Sahir Ludhianvi
Sahir Ludhianvi
Sahir Ludhianvi was a popular Urdu poet and Hindi lyricist and songwriter. Sahir Ludhianvi is his pseudonym...
, Qamar Jalalabadi
Qamar Jalalabadi
Qamar Jalalabadi , also known as Qamar Jalabadi , was a writer, particularly of soundtracks of Bollywood movies.-Early life:...
, Gulshan Bawra, and Shailendra. Early in his career he worked with composers Kalyanji Anandji
Kalyanji Anandji
Kalyanji Anandji is a name used by Indian composer duo known for its work on Hindi film soundtracks, particularly action potboilers in the 1970s. The name comes from first names of the two Gujarati brothers that formed the duo, Kalyanji Virji Shah and Anandji Virji Shah...
, later with Laxmikant Pyarelal
Laxmikant Pyarelal
Laxmikant-Pyarelal were a popular Indian composer duo, consisting of Laxmikant Shantaram Kudalkar and Pyarelal Ramprasad Sharma . They composed music for about 635 Hindi movies from 1963 to 1998, working for almost all notable filmmakers including Raj Kapoor, Dev Anand, Feroze Khan, B.R...
and in the 1980s with music composer Anu Malik
Anu Malik
Anu Malik , born Anwar Sardaar Malik, is a famous music director in the Hindi film industry. Son of veteran music director Sardar Malek, Anu Malik made his debut as a music composer in the year 1977. After a considerable period of struggle, the 90's welcomed Anu with hits like 'Phir Teri Kahani...
.
Out of the 20 films that Desai directed in his career span of 29 years (1960–1989), as many as 13 films were stupendous hits. His success ratio was 65 percent in an industry where flops abound.
Towards the end of his career, Desai's previously successful stories and style began to lose favor with audiences. Critics accused him of self parody. His last film as a director Ganga Jamuna Saraswati
Ganga Jamuna Saraswati
Ganga Jamuna Saraswati is 1988 Hindi film directed by Manmohan Desai and starring Amitabh Bachchan as Ganga, Meenakshi Sheshadri as Jamuna, and Jaya Prada as Saraswati...
and the films he produced with his son Ketan Desai directing, Allah Rakha and Toofan, failed at the box office.
Personal
Manmohan Desai was of GujaratiGujarati people
Gujarati people , or Gujaratis are an ethnic group that is traditionally Gujarati-speaking and can trace their ancestry to the state of Gujarat in western India...
ancestry. His wife was Jeevanprabha Desai. She died in April 1979. He was engaged to actress Nanda
Nanda (actress)
- Early life :Nanda was born in a show-business family to Vinayak Damodar Karnataki, a successful Marathi actor-director and Marathi actress, Meenakshi Shirodkar . Minakshi's granddaughters are actresses Namrata Shirodkar and Shilpa Shirodkar. Shirodkars belong to Gomantak Maratha Samaj or Nutan...
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
Shammi Kapoor
Shammi Kapoor was an Indian film actor and director. He was a prominent lead actor in Hindi cinema from the late 1950s until the early 1970s....
and Geeta Bali
Geeta Bali
Geeta Bali was a popular film actress from Bollywood.-Early life:Bali was born in a Mohyal family in pre-partition Punjab as Harkirtan Kaur, a Sikh. Her family moved to Bombay and were living in near poverty when she started to get breaks in films.-Career:Bali became a star in the 1950s...
.
On 1 March 1994, an ailing Manmohan Desai committed suicide
Suicide
Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Suicide is often committed out of despair or attributed to some underlying mental disorder, such as depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, alcoholism, or drug abuse...
at his home in Khetwadi by jumping from the building that he owned, near Grant Road, Mumbai. Very little is known about his death except that he was suffering from chronic back pain.
Filmography
- Toofan (1989) (producer only)
- Ganga Jamuna SaraswatiGanga Jamuna SaraswatiGanga Jamuna Saraswati is 1988 Hindi film directed by Manmohan Desai and starring Amitabh Bachchan as Ganga, Meenakshi Sheshadri as Jamuna, and Jaya Prada as Saraswati...
(1988) - MardMardMard is a 1985 Hindi film, starring Amitabh Bachchan and Amrita Singh and directed by Manmohan Desai.The film was remade in Tamil by Rajnikant as Maaveeran and was a huge success and further dubbed in Telugu...
(1985) - CoolieCoolie (1983 film)Coolie is a 1983 Indian Bollywood film directed by Manmohan Desai. The film starsAmitabh Bachchan, Rishi Kapoor, Rati Agnihotri, Kader Khan, Suresh Oberoi and Puneet Issar...
(1983) - Desh PremeeDesh PremeeDesh Premee is a 1982 Hindi film directed by Manmohan Desai. This film is the fifth collaboration between director Manmohan Desai and Amitabh Bachchan after Amar Akbar Anthony , Parvarish , Suhaag and Naseeb .-Synopsis:Master Dinanth is a freedom fighter and led the war against the...
(1982) - NaseebNaseeb (1981 film)Naseeb is a 1981 Hindi film produced and directed by Manmohan Desai. The film is a typical Manmohan Desai film with his regular star Amitabh Bachchan and a large cast, lavish sets, memorable music and the lost and found theme...
(1981) - SuhaagSuhaag (1979 film)Suhaag is a 1979 Indian Hindi film directed by Manmohan Desai. A box-office success, the film became the highest earning film of 1979.The movie stars Amitabh Bachchan, Shashi Kapoor, Rekha and Parveen Babi in lead roles. Amjad Khan, Nirupa Roy and Jeevan play supporting roles...
(1979) - Amar Akbar AnthonyAmar Akbar AnthonyAmar Akbar Anthony is a 1977 Bollywood film about three brothers separated during their childhood who grew up in three homes, adopting three religions...
(1977) - Chacha BhatijaChacha BhatijaChacha Bhatija is a 1977 Indian Hindi film directed by Manmohan Desai. It was the year's fourth hit for Manmohan Desai . It was his second film with Dharmendra...
(1977) - Dharam VeerDharam Veer (1977 film)Dharam-Veer is a 1977 Indian Hindi film, produced and directed by Manmohan Desai. It was part of Desai's four big hits of the year based on the "separated and reunited" theme . The movie stars Dharmendra, Zeenat Aman, Jeetendra, Neetu Singh, Pran, Indrani Mukherjee, Jeevan and Ranjeet...
(1977) - Parvarish (1977)
- RotiRoti (film)Roti is a 1974 Indian Hindi language film directed by Manmohan Desai which stars Rajesh Khanna, Mumtaz, Om Prakash, Vijay Arora, and Nirupa Roy. The music is by Laxmikant Pyarelal.-Plot:...
(1974) - Bhai Ho To AisaBhai Ho To AisaBhai Ho To Aisa is a 1972 Bollywood Superhit action-packed film directed by Manmohan Desai. The film stars Jeetendra, Hema Malini, Shatrughan Sinha.-Cast:*Jeetendra ... Bharat Singh*Hema Malini ... Roopa*Shatrughan Sinha ... Ram Singh...
(1973) - Aa Gale Lag Jaa (1973)
- Raampur Ka LakshmanRaampur Ka Lakshman- Synopsis :Kedarnath Bhargav, his wife, Laxmi, and two sons, Ram and Lakshman, are homeless. While traveling, their train derails and the family is separated into three groups. While Laxmi works as a maidservant in the house of Bombay's mayor and his daughter, Rekha; Ram has been abducted by a...
(1972) - Sachaa JhuthaSachaa JhuthaSachaa Jhutha is a 1970 Indian Hindi film directed by Manmohan Desai. The movie was a box-office blockbuster. The movie stars Rajesh Khanna as a simple villager, who has a look alike who is a crook. It also stars Mumtaz and Vinod Khanna...
(1970) - KismatKismat (1968 film)- Track listing :Originally, the film consisted of 6 soundtracks .- Additional tracks :In mid-2000, two additional tracks were added known as revival versions for Aao Huzoor Tum Ko and Kajra Mohabbat Wala songs...
(1968) - BudtameezBudtameezBudtameez is a 1966 Bollywood film produced by Jagdish Varma and directed by Manmohan Desai. The film stars Shammi Kapoor, Sadhana and Manorama. The films music is by Shankar Jaikishan.-Cast:*Shammi Kapoor ... Shyam Kumar Saxena...
(1966) - Bluff MasterBluff Master (film)Bluff Master is a Bollywood movie released in 1963, starring Shammi Kapoor, Saira Banu, Pran, and Lalita Pawar. This film is not related to Rohan Sippy's 2005 film Bluffmaster! starring Abhishek Bachchan.The film was directed by Manmohan Desai.-Plot:...
(1963) - ChhaliaChhaliaChhalia is a 1960 Hindi film. Directed by Manmohan Desai it stars Raj Kapoor, Nutan, Pran, Rehman and Shobhna Samarth. Raj Kapoor plays his stereotyped "simple guy with a heart of gold" role yet again in this film....
(1960)