MAHESH MANJREKAR: JAB TAK SACH KE SEEPAYE MAHESH JAISE HO , SACH KO KABHI AANCH NAHI AA SAKTI .... By Ali Peter John

In the 80s , there was a major crisis in a middle class areas of Mumbai where there were hundreds of mills in which thousands of people worked in three shifts in a day and their families depended on these mills for their livelihood - Ali Peter John

These mills which were considered to be the nerve center of life in the city suddenly came to a standstill , all the mills closed down and all the mill workers were jobless and most of the mills were replaced by multi -storeyed corporate offices and other industrial setups .

The women of the mill workers were forced to open small eateries in the same areas where their husbands who were once known as the "dadas" of Mumbai ruled even though they were ordinary workers .

(A bandh called by any party had no meaning if the mill workers didn't support it) . And the younger generation was left high and dry .

They had no schools and they had no mills to go to and follow in their fathers' footsteps and they were forced to take to theatre especially Marathi theatre which included writing plays , acting in them , producing and directing them and staging them in the open spaces left by the demolition of some of the most prestigious mills, some of them built and established during the British Raj .

There were many outstanding and talented young men who stood out as all - rounders and Mahesh Vaman Manjrekar , the handsome son of a mill worker was one of best of them .

He made a mark as an actor in Marathi tele-serials and then went on to write some of the most popular serials on Marathi Doordarshan after which he made a striking entry in Hindi films with " Vaastav" which gave a new life to the failing career of Sanjay Dutt .

And then he was one of the most talked about talents not only in Hindi films and Marathi films , but he even made a striking impact in films made in Hindi , Marathi , Malayalam , Bhojpuri and even English and he was seen at his best in Danny Boyle's " Slumdog Millionaire " which made him an internationally known actor .

He directed films based on relationships , on the underworld and the family and he was good in any subjects he tackled , especially in films in which he had to tell stories in which the truth ultimately triumphs and that is what gave him a status among Indian filmmakers that he still enjoys and only keeps growing as a better director and writer which makes his friend Nana Patekar who he directed him Natsaamrat in Marathi " one of the three most powerful directors in India " and for whom Nana is now willing to do any films and he wants Mahesh to direct "Sakharam Binder" one of the most powerful plays ever written by Vijay Tendulkar .

Mahesh has directed most of his films based on the subject of truth triumphing over hatred and evil and in a long list of powerful films , he has now directed "Antim" which has his friend Salman Khan and Salman's brother in-law Ayush Sharma and the lady boss of T series Divya Khosla Kumar who returns to films as an actress after seventeen years and a new comer called Asavari in key role ( incidentally Mahesh's daughter from his second wife Medha , Saiee is also a talented actress )

It speaks more than volumes for the courage and the confidence of Mahesh Manjrekar to have completed the shooting of "Antim" while he was going through painful chemotherapy sessions for prostate cancer while he was shooting for Antim.

And his courage to come up with another bitter truth seems to have paid off because he has completed all the shooting of Antim in a fighting spirit and any man who fights a battle against cancer and pain and survives and announces that he is "cancer free" has to have the brawn and the brain to make many more films with the same courage which is gifted by God to a very few

He has been a lively man . He knows the power of cinema . He knows how the philosophy of truth will survive even after the ant of the ant of all that is considered to be the antim ( the final truth in life .)

I had seen a bright future for Mahesh Manjrekar when he was making "Vaastav" , Amitabh Bachchan shared my opinion when he was working with him in "Virrudh" Sanjay Dutt expressed his faith in him during the making of Vaastav , Tabu had full faith in him when she worked with him in Astitva and the "dangerous" Nana Patekar who has completed Natsaamrat in Marathi with him and would love to work with him again and again .

And I believe that even the Big C has spared him because it knows that he stands for the truth and can make many more films to prove it .