He was an Indian Marathi actor & director. He was very popular between late seventies to mid eighties. He was known as ‘the Vinod Khanna of the Marathi film industry’. Due to his looks N.Chandra wanted him to feature in his ‘Ankush’ which Mahajani declined.
Earlier in his career he drove taxis & auditioned for films. He worked in Marathi theatre before debuting in films. ‘To Rajhans ek’ is just one of the dramas he worked in. Later he was cast in ‘Zoonj’ with Ranjana which broke all records.
His name became a fixture. His passing at the age of 77 is shocking. Born in 1949 in Pune & died on 13 July 2023 in pune, India. His guest appearance in ‘Deool Band’ was nostalgic. He got to play Gajanan Maharaj.
In 1969, he assayed a police inspector in ‘Saat Hindustani’. The film is a landmark as it is considered as Amitabh Bachchan’s debut film! ‘Aaram Haram Aahe’, ‘Duniya Kari Salam’,’Haldi Kunku’ a blockbuster then, has so many memories with ur family. All the guests had been to Circle theatre to watch the film. Just opposite our residence, ‘Circle & Vikas’ two theatres was our world then!
‘Teen Chehrey’, ‘Gondhalat Gondhal’ with Priya Tendulkar & the hit pair of Ranjana, Ashok Saraf made it a hoot. I wondered why they did not repeat the pair! Priya was a perfect foil for him.
‘Devta’ made in 1983, ‘Mumbaicha Faujdar’ in 1984 with Ranjana was memorable. As a village belle married to a Mumbai police was a cultural shock for her. ‘Sarja’ 1987, ‘Unad Maina’, Zoonj’ followed & improved his fan base,’Bolo He Chakradhari’ & the beautiful Smita Talwalkar’s ‘Kalat Nakalat’ had his guest appearance.
Then in 2015 ‘Kaay Rao Tumhi’, ‘Carry on Maratha’ & ‘Deool Band’ he appeared in his son’s Gashmeer’ s films. I saw him as Gajanan Maharaj in ‘Deool Band’. Last he appeared in Panipat’ as Malharrao Holkar.
He is labelled as ‘Shaapit Gandharva’. His lonely last days a proof of what can be. We all have lost our teenage heart throb forever. Those were the days…
The lost 90s. Goodbye.
Asian Entertainment 