Mahesh Kothare

Mahesh Kothare
Mahesh Kothare in Feb 2013
Born	Mahesh Kothare Mumbai, Maharashtra, India
Other names	Master Mahesh
Occupation	Film producer, Film director, Actor
Years active	1985 – present
Spouse(s)	Medha Kothare
Children	Adinath Kothare
Relatives	Urmila Kanitkar (daughter-in-law)

Mahesh Kothare is an Indian actor, film director and producer of Marathi and Hindi films. He has worked in Indian cinema from a young age and acted in well-known movies such as Raja Aur Rank, Chhota Bhai, Mere Laal, and Ghar Ghar ki Kahani. The well known Hindi song Tu kitni achhi hai tu kitni bholi hai o maa from the film Raja Aur Rank features Kothare as Master Mahesh.

Considered a revolutionary figure in the Marathi film industry, he began his directorial career with the groundbreaking Dhumdhadaka (1985) and has since delivered many box office hits over a period of 20 years. Kothare's films are known for their technical nuances and fantasy concepts and he is one of the few Indian film makers who have made successful films in the fantasy genre.

Kothare made the first Marathi film in true 3D, Zapatlela 2, a box office hit which was released on 7 June 2013 and was the sequel to his 1993 box office block buster Zapatlela. In the original horror comedy a doll named Tatya Vinchu comes to life while the sequel adds animatronics and state of the art CGI.

Kothare started his career in Hindi movies with roles in Raja aur Runk and Ghar Ghar ki Kahani. He later switched to Marathi cinema, where he worked with well known stars and directors while continuing to make Hindi films without any noteworthy success. Kothare became a top Marathi director with hits including Dhoom Dhadaka, Zapatlela, Zapatlela 2, Khatarnak and Khabardar.

He also owns the Kothare Vision production house.

In the mid-1980s, Kothare and another young actor, Sachin Pilgaonkar, helped to revolutionize the Marathi film industry with their directing. Pilgaonkar directed Navri Mile Navryala while Kothare directed Dhumdhadaka. Both films became box office hits but Dhumdhadaka became a trendsetter which brought young audiences to recognize the Marathi style of movie-making. Kothare then went on to make comedies which also became major hits. He also made Dhadakebaaz, the first Marathi film shot in CinemaScope and brought a number of innovations such as Dolby Digital sound to Marathi cinema with the film Chimni Pakhara. He made Pachadlela in 2004, which was the first Marathi film with computer-generated effects. Kothare was also the first Marathi filmmaker to produce science-fiction films.