Mahesh Kothare

Mahesh Kothare

File:Mahesh Kothare (Cropped).jpg

Kothare at Filmfare Awards Marathi 2014

Born
1953-9-28 (age 73)
Mumbai, Maharashtra, India

Occupation
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Mahesh Kothare (Template:IPA, born 28 September 1953), is an Indian actor, director, producer, and screenwriter widely regarded as a revolutionary figure in Marathi cinema. He began his career as a child actor in Hindi films during the 1960s, appearing in classics such as Raja Aur Runk, Chhota Bhai, and Ghar Ghar Ki Kahani. In the mid-1980s Kothare became a pioneering filmmaker in Marathi cinema, introducing several technological innovations such as Dolby Digital sound and 3D formats. Over a career spanning more than six decades, he has received numerous accolades, including the Maharashtra State Film Award and the National Film Award for Best Children's Film.

Kothare made his directorial debut with Dhum Dhadaka (1985), a box-office hit that set the tone for his signature style—mixing comedy, fantasy, and action. He followed it with successful films like Thartharat (1989), De Danadan (1987), Dhadakebaaz (1990), and Zapatlela (1993), which introduced the iconic villain Tatya Vinchu, a ventriloquist’s dummy that became a cultural phenomenon. His sequel Zapatlela 2 (2013) was the first Marathi film shot in 3D. Kothare is credited with pioneering several technological advancements in Marathi cinema, including the use of CinemaScope (Dhadakebaaz), Dolby Digital sound (Chimani Pakhar), and 3D filmmaking (Zapatlela 2). These innovations elevated the production standards of regional films and expanded their audience reach.

Over his career, Kothare has received numerous accolades, including the Maharashtra State Film Award and the National Film Award for Best Children's Film for Chimani Pakhar (2003). He is founder of Kothare Vision, a production company primarily focused on creating mythological television series. Kothare published autobiography Damn It Ani Barach Kahi in 2023.

Career

Kothare started his career in his teens, in Hindi movies with roles in Raja aur Runk and Ghar Ghar ki Kahani. He later switched to Marathi cinema, where he worked with well known stars and directors while continuing to make Hindi films without any noteworthy success. Kothare became a top Marathi director with hits including Dhum Dhadaka, Zapatlela, Zapatlela 2, Khatarnak and Khabardar.

In films Ghar Ka Bhedi and Lek Chalali Sasarla, he played negative character.

Kothare, along with, Laxmikant Berde, Sachin Pilgaonkar and Ashok Saraf formed a successful quartet, giving hits after hits in the Marathi Cinema Industry in the 1980s and 1990s.

He also owns the Kothare Vision production house.

In the mid-1980s, Kothare and another young actor, Sachin Pilgaonkar, helped to revolutionize the Marathi film industry with their directing. Pilgaonkar directed Navri Mile Navryala, while Kothare directed Dhoom Dhadaka. Both films became box office hits, but Dhum Dhadaka became a trendsetter which brought young audiences to recognize the Marathi style of movie-making. Kothare then went on to make comedies which also became major hits. He also made Dhadakebaaz, the first Marathi film shot in CinemaScope and brought a number of innovations such as Dolby Digital sound to Marathi cinema with the film Chimani Pakhar. He made Pachhadlela in 2004, which was the first Marathi film with computer-generated effects. Kothare was also the first Marathi filmmaker to produce science-fiction films.Template:Sfn

In the film Gupchup Gupchup and Thorali Jau he played supporting, character roles.

In the Marathi movies, he played supporting characters in films such as Devata, Jabardast, Majah Chakula, De Dandan, Khatarnak, Tharthrat, Zapatlela, Zapatlela - 2, Shubha Mangal.

In 2013, Kothare made the film Zapatlela 2 in 3D with his son Adinath Kothare in the lead. The film was the sequel to his 1993 box office hit Zapatlela, which has acquired a cult following amongst Marathi audiences and features a doll named Tatya Vinchu created by Ventriloquist and Puppeteer Ramdas Padhye and voiced by Dilip Prabhavalkar that comes to life. Kothare revived Tatya Vinchu with 3D, animatronics and state of the art CGI in the sequel Zapatlela 2, which was the first Marathi film shot in 3D using split beam technology produced by Spanish stereographer Enrique Criado. The film was shot at ND Studios, Karjat and released on 7Template:NbspJune 2013, going on to become a big hit over its 100-day run.

Personal life

Kothare is married to Nilima Kothare since 1980. His son Adinath Kothare is an actor married to Urmilla Kothare.

Filmography

Template:BLP unsourced section As an actor, Kothare appeared primarily as a Police Inspector with his first name Mahesh.

Year	Title	Actor	Director	Producer	Role	Notes	Language	Template:Reference column heading
1964	Chota Jawan	Template:Yes	Template:No	Template:No	Jawan		Marathi
1967	Upkar	Template:Yes	Template:No	Template:No	Younger Bharat		Hindi
1968	Raja Aur Runk	Template:Yes	Template:No	Template:No	Yuvraj Narendradev / Raja		Hindi
1970	Safar	Template:Yes	Template:No	Template:No	Feroz Khan's Younger Brother Montu
1971	Ghar Ghar Ki Kahani	Template:Yes	Template:No	Template:No	Ravi
1975	Prit Tuzi Mazi	Template:Yes	Template:No	Template:No	Ravi		Marathi
1982	Sant Gyaneshwar	Template:Yes	Template:No	Template:No	Dnyaneshwar
	Thorli Jaau	Template:Yes	Template:No	Template:No	Avinash
	Chandane Shimpit Ja	Template:Yes	Template:No	Template:No
1983	Devta	Template:Yes	Template:No	Template:No	Sunil
	Paaygoon	Template:Yes	Template:No	Template:No	Dhanaji Jadhav/Nagesh Patil
	Gupchup Gupchup	Template:Yes	Template:No	Template:No	Ashok
1984	Sage Soyare	Template:Yes	Template:No	Template:No	Hemant
	Gharcha Bhedi	Template:Yes	Template:No	Template:No	Ramesh
	Lek Chalali Sasarla	Template:Yes	Template:No	Template:No	Vilas Inamdar
1985	Dhum Dhadaka	Template:Yes	Template:Yes	Template:Yes	Mahesh Javalkar
1987	De Danadan	Template:Yes	Template:Yes	Template:Yes	Sub-Inspector Mahesh Danke
1989	Thartharat	Template:Yes	Template:Yes	Template:Yes	CID Inspector Mahesh Jadhav
1990	Dhadakebaaz	Template:Yes	Template:Yes	Template:Yes	Mahesh Nemade
1992	Jiwlaga	Template:Yes	Template:Yes	Template:Yes		Guest appearance
1993	Zapatlela	Template:Yes	Template:Yes	Template:Yes	CID Inspector Mahesh Jadhav
1994	Majha Chakula	Template:Yes	Template:Yes	Template:Yes	Inspector Mahesh Jadhav
1996	Masoom	Template:No	Template:Yes	Template:No		Guest appearance
1998	Dhangad Dhinga	Template:Yes	Template:Yes	Template:Yes	Advocate Mahesh Mithare
1999	Lo Main Aagaya	Template:No	Template:Yes	Template:No			Hindi
2000	Khatarnak	Template:Yes	Template:Yes	Template:No	CID Inspector Mahesh Choudhary		Marathi
2001	Chimani Pakhar	Template:No	Template:Yes	Template:No
2004	Pachhadlela	Template:Yes	Template:Yes	Template:Yes	Inspector Mahesh Jadhav	Cameo
2005	Khabardar	Template:Yes	Template:Yes	Template:Yes	Mahesh Kothare (Himself)
2006	Shubh Mangal Savdhan	Template:No	Template:Yes	Template:No
2007	Zabardast	Template:Yes	Template:Yes	Template:No	Professor Bramhanand Bharadwaj	Cameo
2008	Full 3 Dhamaal	Template:Yes	Template:Yes	Template:No	Mahesh Kothare (Himself)	Guest appearance
2010	Ved Laavi Jeeva	Template:No	Template:Yes	Template:No
2010	Ideachi Kalpana	Template:Yes	Template:No	Template:No	Commissioner Mahesh Thakur
2011	Dubhang	Template:No	Template:Yes	Template:No
2013	Zapatlela 2	Template:Yes	Template:Yes	Template:Yes	Mahesh Jadhav
	Welcome to the Jungle	Template:Yes	Template:No	Template:No	IB Chief		English
2024	Paani	Template:No	Template:No	Template:Yes			Marathi

Awards and recognition

Year	Award	Category	Work
1986	Filmfare Awards Marathi	Best Film	Dhum Dhadaka
		Best Director
1994	Maharashtra State Film Awards	Best Film	Majha Chakula
		Best Director
	Screen Awards	Best Film - Marathi
		Best Director - Marathi
2000		Best Director - Marathi	Khatarnak
2005	Maharashtra State Film Awards	Best Film	Khabardar
		Best Director
		Best Screenplay
2009		V. Shantaram Special Contribution Award	Overall Contribution
2018	3rd Filmfare Awards Marathi	Limelight Award
2021	5th Filmfare Awards Marathi	Excellence in Marathi cinema

See also

• Ashok Saraf
• Laxmikant Berde
• Sachin Pilgaonkar

References

Cited works

• Undergraduate Research in Mass Media UgRIMM 2021{{#if:Srinivas|, Srinivas}. Shineeks Publishers(2022). ISBN 9781632789341

External links

• Template:IMDb name