Manmohan Desai, the true father of the Hindi masala movie, was born on February 26, 1936 and died on March 1, 1994. Born into a family which had strong links with the Hindi film industry – his father directed a film in the 1930s and was the owner of Paramount Studios, Desai received his first break as director when his brother Subhash became a producer.
Debut
Together, they made Chhalia (1960), which starred Raj Kapoor and Nutan. Desai's younger brother went on to produce many more films for him like Bluffmaster, Dharam Veer, Amar Akbar Anthony and Desh Premee.
Desai was only 23 when he directed Chhalia. Despite the presence of Raj Kapoor and Nutan the film did not do very well, but its music which was composed by Kalyanji Anandji, did exceptionally well.
The director then tried hard to establish himself with films like Bluffmaster and Budtameez, starring his good friend Shammi Kapoor. However, success continued to elude him. One of the films that he had penned, the 1964 costume drama Rajkumar, however did go on to do very well.
Breakthrough
But it was the year 1970 that saw Desai come into his own. He delivered the hit Saccha Jhoota, which starred the then-reigning superstar Rajesh Khanna in a double role. It was the first time that he used his formula to success—the film had a lost-and-found brother-sister track which really drew in the audiences. This formula was repeated in later years with even more success. But in the meantime he continued with tear-jerkers like Aa Gale Lag Ja (1973, starring Sharmila Tagore and Shashi Kapoor). He continued to collaborate successfully with actors like Rajesh Khanna (Saccha Jhoota & Roti), Jeetendra (Bhai Ho To Aisa & Dharam Veer), Randhir Kapoor(Rampur Ka Laxman) and Dharamendra (Chacha Bhatija & Dharam Veer), but once Amar Akbar Anthony (1977) happened, he never really looked at any other hero but Amitabh Bachchan.
Connection with Amitabh Bachchan would be no exaggeration to say that Manmohan Desai rightly shares some of the credit for the creation of the phenomenon that is the Big B. The other directors who had a hand in cementing Bachchan's position were Hrishikesh Mukherjee, Yash Chopra,Prakash Mehra and Ramesh Sippy.
In Bachchan, Desai found an ideal actor who could deliver emotions and still be at complete ease with the flights of fantasy that the director cooked up, which were in turn, lapped up by the public. The duo delivered a string of hits in the period between the 70s and the early 80s, like Parvarish, Amar Akbar Anthony, Suhaag, Naseeb, Desh Premee, Coolie, Mard and Ganga Jamuna Saraswati. All except the last were super-duper hits. The film also starred other heroes like Rishi Kapoor, Shashi Kapoor, Shatrughan Sinha, Vinod Khanna and Mithun Chakraborty, but the emphasis was always on Bachchan alone.
Amar Akbar Anthony One film which truly defines Manmohan Desai or "Man," as he was affectionately called by friends, was Amar Akbar Anthony. The lost and found plot; the blind mother Nirupa Roy regaining her eyesight due to a miracle wrought by Shirdi Sai Baba; her lost son singing the quawaali, unaware that his devotion is actually saving his mother, of whose existence too he is unaware; as also the manner in which she is saved from the villains by the sudden appearance of a snake -- there is hardly any other filmmaker under the sun who can get away with so much unrealistic melo-drama with such flair and panache as he did. Of course, the public lapped this up and Man's masala worked wonders at the box office. His films were pure entertainment like no other. Of the 20 films that Manmohan Desai directed in a 29 year-long career, as many 13 were super hits.
Downslide
Post 1983, the downward slide began for the maverick filmmaker, when Desh Premee failed to click at the box office. He bounced back with Coolie and Mard, but things were never the same as Ganga Jamuna Saraswati failed to click. Times had changed. His son, Ketan, who is married to Kanchan, Shammi Kapoor and Geeta Bali's daughter, also tasted failure with his directorial ventures, Allah Rakha and Toofan, both starring Bachchan. Desai's slide from fame was matched by Bachchan's fall as well.
Tragic Death
This man, who brought smiles to million faces with his brand of comedy; a man whose films always provided hope to many, ended his life on March 1, 1994. Just before his death, he is believed to have got engaged to actress Nanda. She continues to live out her life as a recluse. Very little is known of Manmohan Desai's death, except that he was said to be suffering from a chronic back problem. He was only 58 years old.
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