Manmohan Desai

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. Desai was an influential and sought-after film director of Bollywood and a pioneer of making Masala films. His most successful films are Amar Akbar Anthony, Dharam Veer, Chacha Bhatija, Parvarish, Suhaag, Naseeb, Coolie and Mard.

Family background Manmohan Desai was of Gujarati ancestry. His father, Kikubhai Desai, 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 elder brother, Subhash Desai, became a producer in the 1950s 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 actor Shammi Kapoor and actress Geeta Bali.

On 1 March 1994, as per news Manmohan Desai fell from the balcony in Girgaon and died. There are doubts that he jumped to his death due to health issues

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 masala films. A common theme in his films were the lost and found plot where family members would be separated and reunited.

Filmography Year Movie name Cast Notes 1957 Janam Janam Ke Phere: Alias Sati Anapurna 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 Chacha Bhatija Dharmendra, Hema Malini, Randhir Kapoor, Yogeeta Bali, Rehman Amar Akbar Anthony Amitabh Bachchan, Vinod Khanna, Rishi Kapoor, Parveen Babi, Neetu Singh, Shabana Azmi, Pran Dharam Veer Dharmendra, Zeenat Aman, Jeetendra, Neetu Singh, Pran Parvarish Amitabh Bachchan, Vinod Khanna, Shammi Kapoor, Neetu Singh, Shabana Azmi 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