Veteran actor Ravindra Mahajani no more: A great personality who ruled the golden age of Marathi cinema

The Marathi film industry woke up to a somber morning with the news of the demise of esteemed Marathi actor Ravindra Mahajani. His untimely death has left his fans and industry colleagues in shock. The veteran actor was 77 and was found dead at his rented apartment in Pune's Ambi village, Maval. He was residing there alone for several months.

Ravindra Mahajani was born in Belgaum. His father H.R Mahajani was a well-known journalist. but as he migrated to Mumbai from Belgaum, he spent his childhood in Mumbai.

Rising Actor

Since he was fond of acting, he played many roles in school. He worked as a taxi driver in Mumbai for three years before entering the film industry. He used to drive a taxi at night and used to search for jobs in the film industry at that time. He used to meet different directors every day to find out where he could get work. Finally, his fight was successful as he got a role in Madhusudhan Kalekar's play "JANATA-AJANATA".


Coincidentally famous director of the Indian film industry V. Shantaram had come to see his play. V Shantaram impressed by his work, he offered him a role in his film Zunj in 1975. He rose to fame in the Marathi film industry for his role as 'Arjun Nangre' in the film Zunj. After the success of his first film, he never turned back. Later on, he played various roles in successful films one after another.

A Great Equation of Good Looks and Fabulous Acting Skills

Between 1975 to 1990, Ravindra Mahajani was a unique combination of good looks and extraordinary acting skills. He had created his different charisma on everyone's mind due to his excellent Dialogue Delivery skills. After the film Zunj he played prominent roles in popular Marathi films like Aaram Haram Hai, Laxmichi Pavale, Devta, and Mumbaicha Fauzdar. After 1990, he entered the field of direction with the movie, 'Sattesathi Kahihi'. Along with that, he played various characters in Marathi cinema including of Raja, politician, etc.

One Wrong Decision and Everything Changed

Ravindra Mahajani decided to invest in the construction sector in order to have some other source of income besides the film industry, and that was his decision which turned out to be a very unfortunate one. His business partner cheated him and after that, he got into terrible debt. The bank took confiscation action on his residence. His son and now famous actor Gashmeer Mahajani was only one years old at that time. When Ravindra Mahajani was in a severe depression of losing everything, his son Gashmeer had to take responsibility of saving the house.

Gashmeer Mahajani started a dance class. and at the same time, he started working in the film industry. In the next two years, Gashmeer's dance class became famous in Mumbai city. Following this, the financial condition of the Mahajani family got on track. Later, Gashmeer became famous in Indian cinema as a good actor. In his films like Carry On Maratha, and Panipat, Ravindra Mahajani worked with his son.