Manmohan Desai was one of the most popular commercial directors of Hindi film industry. His films never had any pretension of art. Rather Manmohan Desai is one of those few Indian directors who loved presenting hardcore `masala` movies to entertain the masses as well as classes. He also produced a few movies. Manmohan was popular for his family centric, action-song-and-dance films which were very close to the hearts of millions of country people.
Early Life of Manmohan Desai
Manmohan Desai was born on 26th February 1937 to father Kikubhai Desai. Manmohan`s older brother Subhash Desai gave him his first break with the Hindi film Chhalia (1960). This film starred Raj Kapoor.
Career of Manmohan Desai
Desai found success with Kismet, an espionage thriller, starring Biswajeet. It was among the first films with a drag act by the leading man in the song "Kajra Mohabbat Wala."
Manmohan Desai`s next directorial venture was Sachcha Jhutha. In this film Manmohan Desai cast Rajesh Khanna in a double role which fetched the latter a Filmfare Award for Best Actor. This film, along with Rampur Ka Lakshman gave indications of Desai`s penchant for the mistaken identity and the lost and found themes.
The year 1977 was Manmohan Desai`s watershed year. He worked for the first time with Amitabh Bachchan in Amar Akbar Anthony. This romantic comedy turned out to be a major hit. This film had a mega star cast that included Pran, Nirupa Roy, Vinod Khanna, Shabana Azmi, Parveen Babi, Rishi Kapoor and Neetu Singh. In the same year, Desai`s Dharam Veer and Parvarish proved to be successful as well.
After Amar Akbar Anthony, Desai never made a film without Amitabh Bachchan. His most expensive film, Naseeb became the biggest hit of his career. He suffered a minor setback with the failure of Desh Premee but bounced back with Coolie. Desai`s last film, Ganga Jamuna Saraswati, was only moderately successful at the box office.
Personal Life of Manmohan Desai
This veteran director was married to Jeevanprabha Desai who died in April 1979. The couple were blessed with a 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 Manmohan committed suicide.
A filmography of Manmohan Desai would include the following films:
| Chhalia | Bhai Ho To Aisa | Amar Akbar Anthony | Naseeb |
| Bluff Master | Rampur Ka Lakshman | Chacha Bhatija | Desh Premee |
| Badtameez | Shararat | Dharam Veer | Coolie |
| Kismet | Aa Gale Lag Ja | Parvarish | Mard |
| Sachcha Jhutha | Roti | Suhaag | Ganga Jamuna Saraswati |
