Manjari and Vinati Makijany, daughters of Sholay’s star Mac Mohan set for Bollywood debut

Treading the path of their late father, Mac Mohan, known for his iconic role in the all-time favourite, Sholay as Sambha, daughters Manjari and Vinati Makijany are all set to enter Bollywood with a feature film on skateboarding titled, Desert Dolphin. The movie reportedly narrates the story of a 16-year-old village girl Prerna, who finds courage to pursue her dreams in skateboarding despite all the odds until she meets a 34-year-old graphic artist Jessica, 34, from Los Angeles who turns her life around for the better.

“Living in Los Angeles, I was exposed to the skate culture and skaters all the time but when I stumbled upon a video online and watched how a small village in Madhya Pradesh was transformed through skateboarding, I sat up and took notice,” Manjari said.

Vinati, the producer and sister added, “Keeping in mind that this was India’s first film based on skateboarding, the idea was to involve as many real skateboarders as we can. During the auditioning process, we reached out to the skateboarding communities in India. I traveled to Madhya Pradesh, Delhi, villages in Rajasthan and Mumbai and spent a few days workshopping with over 3000 kids. Personally, it was important for us to workshop with the local kids from the village and involve them in the film."

Writer-director Manjari, the daughter of the legendary actor who died of lung cancer in 2010 have even assisted Christopher Nolan’s Oscar winning movie, Dunkirk, The Dark Knight Rises and Patty Jenkins on Wonder Woman. As an LA-based filmmaker, she has worked for nearly 12 years in the industry, and directed three short films herself.