Birthday Special: Five must watch movies of Mahesh Manjrekar

Actor-director Mahesh Manjrekar is one of the renowned and respected names in the Marathi and Bollywood film industry, who gained name, fame, and love of the audience by his phenomenal performances. He has been a part of some super blockbuster movies both as an actor and as a director. And either way he has always won the heart of the audience. On the occasion of his 61st birthday today, we bring you a rundown of five movies of which the actor was a part of that you should simply not miss!

Mahesh Manjrekar directorial 'Natsamrat' is Marathi super hit film which depicts the life of a stage actor, Ganpat Belwalkar (played by Nana Patekar), who has retired from acting but is unable to forget his fond memories of theatre and the stage even after his retirement. It is a screen adaptation of a legendary play written by Kusumagraj. The film starred Nana Patekar, Medha Manjrekar, Vikram Gokhale, Sunil Barve and Mrunmayee Deshpande. The film is undoubtedly one of the milestones in the Marathi film industry.

'Me Shivajiraje Bhosale Boltoy' directed by Santosh Manjrekar was released in 2009. The film is about an ordinary, laid-back middle-class middle-aged Maharashtrian man by the name of Dinkar Bhosale (Sachin Khedekar). Everywhere he goes he finds that 'outsiders' are prospering. Shivaji Maharaj (Mahesh Manjrekar) wakes Dinkar Bhosle out of his lethargy and tells him to take responsibility for his life. Manjrekar has done commendable work with his role. The film starred Mahesh Manjrekar, Sachin Khedekar, Makarand Anaspure, Siddarth Jadhav, Suchitra Bandekar, Priya Bapat and Abhijeet Kelkar. The movie was a blockbuster and is definitely worth watching.

This Mahesh Manjrekar directional is yet another Marathi hit movie. ‘Kaksparsh' is set in the pre-independence era in the regions of Konkan, Maharashtra. The film starred Sachin Khedekar, Priya Bapat, Medha Manjrekar, Savita Malpekar and Ketaki Mategaonkar. ‘Kaksparsh’ speaks about hidden feelings which no matter how pure, they are always labelled as forbidden. The scene where Priya Bapat depicts her pain and tragedy is epic. 'Kaksparsh' is a moving saga which will surely interest the audience. Its powerful plot and a great ensemble of actors, the film turned out to be a winner at the box-office.

The Marathi movie 'Bandh Nylon Che' is a content-based film, which showcases the current times of living in a world of a highly competitive market and its tech-savvy generation. Directed by Jatin Wagle and produced by Suji Nair and Sunil Nair, the film tells an emotional tale at the same time raising some valid current issues. Actor Mahesh Manjrekar, who is playing role Raghunath, (Father of Subodh Bhave) in the film, has done justice to his role with his act. The film has Subodh Bhave, Mahesh Manjrekar, Medha Manjrekar and Shruti Marathe in lead roles, while Sanjay Narvekar, Sunil Barve, and Pranjal Parab feature in supporting roles. This family drama is thus, worth the watch.

The Marathi film 'Lalbaug Parel', directed by Mahesh Manjrekar, is based on the life of mill workers and how the shrewd mill owners, with the support of the Government played their cruel game to exploit the poor mill workers. The film revolves around the nexus of politician and mill workers for the closure of mills. The filmmaker Mahesh Manjrekar goes deep into details of the issues to highlight the impact of the strike. He has very skillfully shown the politics behind the whole issue and as director has done a commendable job to capture the minds of the audience with the emotional scenes. Manjrekar has shown how the government exploited the poor mill workers through this film. ‘Lalbaug Parel’ is a good, realistic and hard-hitting film and worth the watch.