Mahesh Manjrekar

Mahesh Vaman Manjrekar (Marathi pronunciation: [məɦeːʃ maːɲd͡zɾekəɾ]; born 16 August 1958)^[1] is an Indian actor, film director, screenwriter and producer who works primarily in Hindi films, alongside Marathi and Telugu films.^[4] He is credited with directing the critically acclaimed films Vaastav: The Reality (1999), Astitva (2000) and Viruddh... Family Comes First (2005). He has won a National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Marathi for Astitva and two Star Screen Awards. He is also the host of the reality show, Bigg Boss Marathi since 2018.^[5]

Mahesh Manjrekar
Manjrekar in 2021
Born	(1958-08-16) 16 August 1958 (age 66)[1] Bombay, Bombay State, India
Occupations	Actor director screenwriter producer
Years active	1975–present
Spouse	Deepa Mehta ​ ​ (m. 1987; div. 1995)​ [2] Medha Manjrekar ​ (m. 1995)​ [3]
Children	3 (including Saiee Manjrekar)

Early life

Mahesh Manjrekar was born on 16 August 1958 in Bombay, Bombay state.

Personal life

Manjrekar with family

Manjrekar was married to Deepa Mehta, a costume designer, with whom he has two children - Satya and Ashwami.^[6]; they were later divorced.^[7] Later, he married Medha Manjrekar. They have a daughter, Saiee Manjrekar, who is an actress.^[8] He has a stepdaughter from Medha's first husband - Gauri Ingawale who is also an actress.^[9]

Career

Manjrekar has acted in several films, including some of his own productions. He was first seen in the Door darshan Marathi series named Kshitij, in which he played a leprosy patient. He first gained acclaim as an actor for his performance in the 2002 film Kaante, and later played negative roles in the Tamil film Arrambam (2013), Telugu film Okkadunnadu (2007) and as the gangster Javed in the film Slumdog Millionaire (2008). He played Chatrapati Shivaji Maharaj in the Marathi film Me Shivajiraje Bhosale Boltoy. He also played the role of Harpeez Dongara in the Aakhri Chunauti series of episodes in the Indian TV series C.I.D.. Manjrekar was acclaimed for the role as inspector D.R. Talpade in the movie Wanted.

He was a MNS candidate from Mumbai North West in the 2014 Lok Sabha Elections but lost to Gajanan Kirtikar of Shiv Sena.^[10][11]

Filmography

Actor

Year	Films	Role	Language	Ref.
1999	Vaastav: The Reality	Himself	Hindi	[citation needed]
2001	Ehsaas: The Feeling	Michael		[12]
2002	Kaante	Raja "Balli" Yadav		[13]
2003	Pran Jaye Par Shaan Na Jaye	Munna Bhai Hatela		[14]
2004	Plan	Sultan		[15]
	Run	Ganpat Chowdhury		[16]
	Musafir	Lukka		[17]
2005	It Was Raining That Night	Brij Bhushan	English	[18]
	Encounter Daya Nayak	Yousuf Khaleel	Kannada	[19]
2006	Zinda	Joy Fernandes	Hindi	[20]
	Jawani Diwani: A Youthful Joyride	Chappu Bhai		[21]
2007	Dus Kahaniyaan	Mahesh		[22]
	Okkadunnadu	Sona Bhai	Telugu	[23]
	Padmashree Laloo Prasad Yadav	Advocate Prasad Pritam Pradyuman	Hindi	[24]
	Deha	Madhav		[25]
2008	Meerabai Not Out	Manoj Anant Achrekar		[26]
	Slumdog Millionaire	Don Javed	English	[27]
	Homam	Daddy	Telugu	[28]
2009	Me Shivajiraje Bhosale Boltoy	Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj	Marathi	[29]
	Wanted	Senior Inspector Daulat R. Talpade	Hindi	[30]
	99	AGM (Aatmaram Gyanshekhar Machve)		[31]
	Fruit and Nut	Khandar Zala		[32]
2010	Adhurs	Don Baba	Telugu	[33]
	Teen Patti	Dagdu Seth	Hindi	[34]
	Dabangg	Hariya Shreshawat		[35]
	Don Seenu	Mukesh Duggal / Duggal Saab	Telugu	[36]
2011	Ready	Ram Kapoor (Prem's father)	Hindi	[37]
	Fakta Ladh Mhana	Bababhai	Marathi	[38]
	Bodyguard	Ranjan Mhatre	Hindi	[39]
2012	Tukkaa Fitt			[40]
	OMG: Oh My God!	Lawyer Sardesai		[41]
	Jai Jai Maharashtra Majha		Marathi	[42]
2013	Mumbai Mirror	ACP Gaitonde	Hindi	[43]
	Himmatwala	Sher Singh		[44]
	Shootout at Wadala	Inspector Bhinde		[45]
	Once Upon a Time In Mumbaai Dobara	Local gangster Rawa		[46]
	Arrambam	Mahadev Rane	Tamil	[47]
	Rajjo	Begam	Hindi	[48]
2014	Jai Ho	Auto-Rickshaw Driver	Hindi	[49]
	Rege	Pradeep Sharma	Marathi	[50]
	Singham Returns	Chief Minister Vikram Adhikari	Hindi	[51]
	Ardhangini by Abhishek Mukherjee		Bengali	[52]
2015	Bajirao Mastani	Shahuji Raje Bhosale	Hindi	[53]
	Akhil	Divya's father	Telugu	[54]
2016	Vrundavan	Bhanupratap Inamdar	Marathi	[55]
	Guntur Talkies	Jakie	Telugu	[56]
	Badsha – The Don	Shyam Vhai	Bengali	[57]
2017	Thank U Vitthala	Vitthala	Marathi
	Dhyanimani	Sadanand Pathak
	FU: Friendship Unlimited	Chilly's father		[58]
	Velaikkaran	Madhav Kurup	Tamil	[59]
2018	Sanju	Himself	Hindi	[60]
	Take Care Good Night	Inspector Pawar	Marathi	[61]
2019	Mard Ko Dard Nahi Hota	Ajoba	Hindi	[62]
	Vinaya Vidheya Rama	Chief Minister of Bihar	Telugu	[63]
	Total Dhamaal	Chinnappa Swamy	Hindi	[64]
	Saaho	Prince	Telugu	[65]
	Mulshi Pattern	Shirpya	Marathi	[66]
	Dabangg 3	Hariya Shreshawat	Hindi	[67]
	66 Sadashiv		Marathi	[68]
2020	Kesari[69]	Vastad Mehman	Marathi	[70]
	Taxi No. 24		Hindi	[71]
2021	The White Tiger	The Stork	English Hindi	[72]
	The Power	Kaalidas Haridas Thakur	Hindi	[73]
	Boss	Baba Khan	Bhojpuri
	Mumbai Saga	Chief Minister Bhau	Hindi
	Antim: The Final Truth	Satyavan "Satya" Vichare	Hindi
2022	Katha Kanchiki Manam Intiki		Telugu
	Sarkaru Vaari Paata	Finance minister	Telugu	[74]
	De Dhakka 2	Babbar Lahori	Marathi
	Mister Mummy	Dr. Satsangi	Hindi
2023	Butterfly	Sahil	Marathi	[75]
2024	Juna Furniture	Govind Shridhar Pathak
2025	Thug Life	TBA	Tamil
	Devmanus	TBA	Marathi

Film credits

Year	Title	Director	Producer	Writer	Ref.
1999	Vaastav: The Reality	Yes	No	No	[76]
2000	Astitva	Yes	No	Yes	[77]
	Kurukshetra	Yes	No	Yes	[78]
	Nidaan	Yes	No	Yes	[79]
	Jis Desh Mein Ganga Rehta Hai	Yes	No	Yes	[80]
2001	Ehsaas: The Feeling	Yes	No	Yes	[81]
	Tera Mera Saath Rahen	Yes	No	Yes	[82]
2002	Hathyar	Yes	No	Yes	[83]
	Pitaah	Yes	No	Yes	[84]
2003	Pyaar Kiya Nahin Jaatha	Yes	No	Yes	[85]
	Pran Jaye Par Shaan Na Jaye	No	Yes	No	[14]
2004	Rakht	Yes	No	Yes	[86]
2005	It Was Raining That Night	Yes	Yes	Yes	[87]
	Viruddh... Family Comes First	Yes	No	Yes	[88]
	Vaah! Life Ho Toh Aisi!	Yes	No	Yes	[89]
2006	Matichya Chuli	No	No	Yes	[90]
2009	Me Shivajiraje Bhosale Boltoy	No	No	Yes	[91][better source needed]
2010	Shikshanachya Aaicha Gho	Yes	No	Yes	[92]
2010	City of Gold	Yes	No	Yes	[93]
2011	Ami Shubhash Bolchi	Yes	No	Yes	[94]
	Fakt Ladh Mhana	Yes	Yes	Yes	[95]
2012	Kaksparsh	Yes	No	No	[96]
	Shala	No	Yes	No	[97]
2013	Kokanastha	Yes	No	Yes [98]
2016	Natsamrat	Yes	No	Yes	[99]
2017	FU: Friendship Unlimited	Yes	Yes	Yes	[100]
2018	Me Shivaji Park	Yes	Yes	Yes	[101]
2018	Shikari	No	Yes	Yes	[102]
2019	Bhai: Vyakti Ki Valli	Yes	Yes	No	[103]
2021	The Power	Yes	No	No	[104]
	Antim: The Final Truth	Yes	No	No	[105]
2022	Panghrun	Yes	Yes	Yes	[106]
	Nay Varan Bhat Loncha Kon Nay Koncha	Yes	No	No	[107]
2024	Hi Anokhi Gaath	Yes	Yes	Yes	[108]
	Juna Furniture	Yes	No	Yes	[109]
	Vedat Marathe Veer Daudle Saat †	Yes	Yes	Yes	[110]
2025	Ek Radha Ek Meera †	Yes	Yes	No	[111]
TBA	Niravadhi †	Yes	No	No	[112]

Television

Year	Show	Role	Ref.
2006	Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa 1[broken anchor]	Contestant	[113]
2009	Monica Mogre	Criminal in Case File No. 1	[114]
	Specials @ 10	Director of Har Kadam Par Shaque	[115]
	Arre Deewano Mujhe Pehchano	Himself (contestant)	[116]
2010	Maharashtracha Superstar 1	Himself (Judge)	[117]
	Forest	HD (Harpeez Dongra)	[118]
2015	Agent Raghav – Crime Branch	Dilip Chauhan	[119]
2018	Bigg Boss Marathi 1	Host	[120]
	Selection Day	Sir Tommy	[121]
2019	Bigg Boss Marathi 2	Host	[122]
	TVF Cheesecake	Mirza	[citation needed]
2020	1962: The War in the Hills	Director	[123]
2021	Bigg Boss Marathi 3	Host	[124]
2022- 2023	Bigg Boss Marathi 4		[125]
2023	Taaza Khabar	Kismat Bhai

Web series

Year	Title	Direction	Role	Language	Notes
2019	Kaale Dhande	No	Anna Bhai	Marathi	ZEE5 Originals[126]
2020	Forbidden Love	Yes	Sudha's Husband	Hindi	ZEE5 Originals[127]

Production

In 2011, he launched his own production company with Aniruddha Deshpande called Great Maratha Entertainment LLP Productions.^[128]

The first film made under the banner was the Fakta Ladh Mhana which is one of the most expensive Marathi films.^[38]

Awards and nominations

Mahesh Manjrekar awards and nominations

Manjrekar with Nana Patekar and Malhar Patekar at Zee Cine Awards 2016
Awards and nominations Award Wins Nominations Filmfare Awards 1 3 IIFA Awards 1 2 Screen Awards 2 3 Zee Cine Awards 1 1 Filmfare Marathi Awards 2 3 National Film Awards 1 1 Zee Chitra Gaurav Puraskar 3 4 Maharashtra State Film Awards 4 6 Pune International Film Festival 1 1 MICTA 1 1 Maharashtracha Favourite Kon? 4 5 Sanskruti Kaladarpan 0 2 Colors Marathi Awards 2 3 Sakal Premier Awards 2 2
Totals[a]
Wins	22
Nominations	31
Note Certain award groups do not simply award one winner. They acknowledge several different recipients, have runners-up, and have third place. Since this is a specific recognition and is different from losing an award, runner-up mentions are considered wins in this award tally. For simplification and to avoid errors, each award in this list has been presumed to have had a prior nomination.

National Film Awards

Year	Work	Category	Result	Ref.
2000	Astitva	Best Feature Film in Marathi	Won	[129]

Filmfare Awards

Year	Work	Category	Result	Ref.
2000	Vaastav: The Reality	Best Director	Nominated	[130]
		Best Scene of the Year	Won
2003	Kaante	Best Comedian	Nominated	[131]

IIFA Awards

Year	Work	Category	Result	Ref.
2000	Vaastav: The Reality	Best Director	Nominated	[132]
2003	Kaante	Best Comedian	Won	[133]

Screen Awards

Year	Work	Category	Result	Ref.
2001	Astitva	Best Story	Won	[134]
		Best Screenplay	Nominated
		Special Jury Award	Won

Filmfare Marathi Awards

Year	Work	Category	Result	Ref.
1994	Aai	Best Director	Won
2016	Natsamrat		Nominated	[135]
		Best Director (Critics)	Won	[136]

Zee Cine Awards

Year	Work	Category	Result	Ref.
2016	Natsamrat	Best Marathi Film	Won	[137]

Zee Gaurav Puraskar

Year	Work	Category	Result	Ref.
2010	Me Shivajiraje Bhosale Boltoy	Best Story	Won	[138]
		Best Screenplay	Won
2012	Kaksparsh	Best Director	Nominated	[139]
2016	Natsamrat		Won	[140]

Maharashtra State Film Awards

Year	Work	Category	Result	Ref.
2000	Astitva	Best Second Film	Won
		Best Second Director	Won
2012	Kaksparsh	Best Film	Won	[141]
		Best Director	Won
2022	Panghrun	Best Film	Nominated	[142]
		Best Director	Nominated

Pune International Film Festival

Year	Work	Category	Result	Ref.
2012	Kaksparsh	Best Marathi Feature Film	Won	[143]

Marathi International Cinema & Theatre Awards

Year	Work	Category	Result	Ref.
2012	Kaksparsh	Best Director	Won	[144]

Maharashtracha Favourite Kon?

Year	Work	Category	Result	Ref.
2010	Me Shivajiraje Bhosale Boltoy	Best Film	Won	[145]
2011	Lalbaug Parel	Best Director	Won
2012	Kaksparsh	Best Film	Won
		Best Director	Won
2016	Natsamrat		Nominated

Sanskruti Kaladarpan

Year	Work	Category	Result	Ref.
2012	Kaksparsh	Best Director	Nominated	[146]
2016	Natsamrat		Nominated	[147]

Colors Marathi Awards

Year	Work	Category	Result	Ref.
2019	Bigg Boss Marathi 1	Best Host	Won	[148]
2021	Bigg Boss Marathi 2		Nominated
2022	Bigg Boss Marathi 3		Won

Sakal Premier Awards

Year	Work	Category	Result	Ref.
2019	Panghrun	Best Film	Won	[149]
		Best Director	Won