'Mahesh went mad after a hit'

We've had many instances of frustrated actors turning directors, for example Subhash Ghai, Rakesh Roshan and Ashutosh Gowariker.

But what about a not-too-successful director returning to his first love, acting?

Mahesh Manjrekar's career as a filmmaker has suffered some serious setbacks in recent times.

Manjrekar who started his career as an actor in Marathi theatre hasn't had a directorial release since Wah Life Ho To Aisi and Viruddh in 2005. The former, a sci-fi kiddies film with Manjrekar's best friend Sanjay Dutt playing a modernday Yamaraj was a wash-out.

With Viruddh Manjrekar had promised to mend his creatively damaging ways. Though well-intended it was a boxoffice disappointment in spite of the AB Corp Ltd badge.

A close friend of Manjrekar says, "Mahesh went mad. After Vaastav he signed any film that came his way. Over-work and too little focus finished off his career."

Three of his ready-for-release directorial undertakings Deha, It Was Raining That Night and Struggler are in the cans for the want of buyers. Deha features Jaya Prada –Dino Morea as mismatched lovers.

It Was Raining That Night is Manjrekar's English-language take on his classic study of marital guilt Astitwa with Sushmita Sen in Tabu's role. Struggler is a one-actor satire with Manjrekar cast as a wannbe who wants to meet Amitabh Bachchan.

Mr Bachchan made a guest appearance at the end of this experimental film that Manjrekar hoped to take to Cannes. Alas it ended up only in the cans.

Surprisingly there has been an inverse boom in Mahesh's career as an actor. After playing a gangster in the Telugu film Okkadunadu earlier this year, he's being resurrected as an actor by none other than the guy who gave him two of his biggest breaks as a film actor.

Says Sanjay Gupta, "I gave Mahesh Manjrekar pivotal roles in my Kaante and Musafir. I think he's a really good actor. And if one has to choose between Mahesh Manjrekar the actor and director I'd go for the former. In fact he plays one of the leads in our production Pankh with Bipasha Basu and Lilette Dubey.

The film is almost 50 percent complete. I also directed him in one of the stories in my Dus Kahaniyan. The story was called Strangers In The Night. It's a beautiful story featuring Mahesh and Neha Dhupia as husband and wife."

Manjrekar who has become a recluse after his divorce (he doesn't even meet his best buddy Sanjay Dutt any longer) was unavailable for comment.