Legendary actor Mac Mohan’s daughter Manjari Makijany opened up about her future endeavours all the while explaining that she honors and respects her father’s profound legacy in Bollywood.
Manjari is a writer and a filmmaker. She shared that her hopes are to explore the cinematic world instead of directing all of her talents in one region. Her desire to explore explains her absence from mainstream Bollywood.
“As a filmmaker, I don’t believe I need to be restricted to any one place to tell stories. Stories are universal and I hope to tell stories that transcend borders, cultures and have a universal appeal,” Manjari expanded upon her ideas.
She is currently engrossed in projects that exhibit her connection with her Indian roots while also mixed with a touch of universal appeal, such as Skater Girl— a film set in a remote village of Rajasthan.
Manjari, who has previously taken on big projects such as Wake Up Sid! (2009) and Saat Khoon Maaf (2011), shared that a film like Skater Girl is far from conventional and there was no way it would have been financed if she was still in India.
“It would have been a risky and unconventional decision for many reasons,” she added. “It’s been a wonderful journey of learning through this past decade — from making short films, to assisting on Hindi films and international productions to being selected as a director to participate in Hollywood studio workshops and labs that give importance to diversity in film.”
The filmmaker also shared that she feels deep pride running in her bones to carry forward her legendary father’s legacy. She said:
“We still meet people today that have the most beautiful stories to share about him. The goodwill he has in the industry and outside, doesn’t fail to inspire us, every single day. He taught us values and ethics that stuck with us and he always told us to approach our work with a sense of integrity.”
