Mahesh Vaman Manjrekar (Marathi pronunciation: ]; born 16 August 1958) is an Indian actor, film director, screenwriter and producer who works primarily in Hindi, Marathi and Telugu films. He is best known for directing ' (1999), Astitva (2000) and Viruddh... Family Comes First (2005). He won a National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Marathi for Astitva and two Star Screen Awards. He was also the host of the reality show, Bigg Boss Marathi from 2018 until 2023.
Mahesh Manjrekar was born on 16 August 1958 in Bombay, Bombay state.
Manjrekar was married to Deepa Mehta, a costume designer, with whom he has two children - Satya and Ashwami.; the couple later divorced. He subsequently married Medha Manjrekar, with whom he has a daughter, actress Saiee Manjrekar. He has a stepdaughter from Medha's first husband, Gauri Ingawale, who is also an actress.
Manjrekar has acted in several films, including some of his own productions. He was first seen in the Doordarshan 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 police 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.
In 2011, he launched his own production company with Aniruddha Deshpande called Great Maratha Entertainment LLP Productions.
The first film made under the banner was the Fakta Ladh Mhana which is one of the most expensive Marathi films.