Manmohan Desai

Veteran actor Jackie Shroff paid tribute to the legendary filmmaker Manmohan Desai on his 69th birth anniversary. Shroff reminisced about Desai's iconic, larger-than-life cinema that brought immense joy to audiences. Desai, a pioneer of 'masala' films, was celebrated for his family-centered entertainers like 'Amar Akbar Anthony' and 'Coolie', known for their action, song-and-dance, and signature lost-and-found plots.

Yesterday, we brought you an exhaustive and exclusive interview with Prakash Mehra's son Puneet which was full of startling revelations. One such revelation was that Prakash Mehra and Manmohan Desai were not archrivals as it was projected those days.

Mard, the 1985 Bollywood action-drama film directed by Manmohan Desai, became a cult classic for its engaging storyline, impeccable performances and screenplay. As the film completed 39 years on November 8, Vindu Dara Singh opened up to ETimes about a fascinating behind-the-scenes moment involving his father, Dara Singh, who played Amitabh Bachchan's father in the film.

MKD Films, the banner under which Manmohan Desai, the father of Bollywood masala entertainers had produced hits like Amar Akbar Anthony, Naseeb, Coolie and Toofan is all set to make a comeback.

Maker of masala movies

As India prepares to play in the World Cup Final 2023, Bollywood celebrities including Shah Rukh Khan and Ajay Devgn celebrated the team's performance in the semi-finals. The love for cricket among Bollywood stars is not new, with filmmaker Manmohan Desai and actor Amitabh Bachchan being avid cricket fans. In the past, they would arrange TV sets on film sets to watch matches, and even participate in friendly charity matches. Nowadays, with the convenience of mobile phones, cricket can be watched anywhere.

Lavjibhai and Surekha Chaudhary's story seems to follow the script of a Manmohan Desai potboiler. Unfortunately, their story has ended in despair with Gujarat high court refusing to restore their child's custody to them because the child was already given in adoption by the orphanage where they had left him.

Two decades after her closest friend and beau Manmohan Desai passed away, yesteryear actress Nanda breathed her last at her home in Quarter Deck building, Versova, Mumbai, on Tuesday morning. She died of a massive heart attack.

Shah Rukh Khan announced his son Aryan Khan's directorial debut, The Ba*ds of Bollywood**, at the Next on Netflix event. Set to stream later this year, the series explores an outsider's journey in Bollywood. Anil Kapoor praised Aryan's work, comparing him to a young Manmohan Desai, expressing excitement for the project.

Rishi Kapoor’s Twitter timeline gives an entertaining sneak-peek of Bollywood from the black and white era. The actor stirs nostalgia with his throwback clicks and today Rishi Kapoor posted yet another memory from his collection.

Cinematographer Peter Pereira who passed away on 10 January created magic on screen from behind the screen. He shot six of Manmohan Desai’s biggest blockbusters beginning with Sachcha Jhutha in 1970, followed by Aa Gale Lag Jaa, Amar Akbar Anthony, Desh Premee, Coolie and Mard

The legendary music arranger and composer, who was the inspiration behind the track My Name Is Anthony Gonsalves, passed away on Wednesday at the Goa Medical College and Hospital.

Amitabh Bachchan is very active on social media. The megastar often shares his throwback pictures on social media. Recently, she shared a photo from the sets of 'Ganga Jamuna Saraswati'.

Here is how Manmohan Desai got his character from Amar Akbar Anthony.

Amitabh Bachchan on Thursday informed with rhyme and relish that he left for work early in the morning at 7am, wrapped up shoot and returned home.

The actor apologized to the peeved screenwriter, who felt that Big B never acknowledged his ‘angry young man’ invention...

Prakash Mehra was a genius. Not too long ago, people saw his superhits- 'Zanjeer', 'Hera Pheri', Khoon Pasina', 'Laawaris', 'Muqaddar Ka Sikandar', 'Sharabi'- and said they had become redundant or his style would not fit into today's cinema as today's films need to be real. But they had to chew their words. Today, the same people are saying that they want films that Prakash Mehra made - larger than life and full of nehle pe dehla dialogues.

An ode to the time when Manmohan Desai revealed he felt ‘Amar Akbar Anthony’ was a fluke hit for him. It featured a memorable scene where three men donate blood, catering to Manmohan Desai's audience's taste for masala entertainment. Desai's disapproval stemmed from considering it a stroke of luck rather than a crafted success.

Manmohan Desai's banner will be back with a Hindi film after a decade, son Ketan explains the reason for the sabbatical.

Amitabh’s character ‘Anthony’ was inspired by a real life character.

Trishla Singh, the eldest daughter of late Ram Singh Dhabai, was declared as head of the family after her mother Amrita Singh tied a ‘Pagdi’ on the 12th mourning day on Sunday. This was the first case in Rajasthan where women organized the ceremony of ‘Pagdi Ki Rasam’.

Best remembered for his comic capers, Kader Khan had all but vanished from B-town, only to immerse himself into a life of theatre and academics.

These are the makers who changed the face of Bollywood cinema in the last decade.

In 2022, the Hindi film industry was in a lot of trouble. Most of the big budget films were failing to live up to expectations, while the South films were doing better even in the Hindi circuits. Manoj Desai, the owner of G7 multiplex, said that the content, script, dialogues, music, editing - everything has to come together to make a successful film. Desai also shared that there is immense interest among the cinegoers about the advance booking of Pathaan. He also added that there is immense sincerity in the South film industry.

Manmohan Desai's 'Naseeb' starred Amitabh Bachchan, Rishi Kapoor, Shatrughan Sinha, Hema Malini and Reena Roy. The film was directed by Manmohan Desai..

Bobby Deol played young Dharmendra in Dharam Veer

In kickstarting black-from-the-past photographs by Jagdish Aurangabadkar, we bring you a special photograph every Wednesday.