Career
Manjrekar began his acting career with the Marathi film Jeeva Sakha (1991), in which he portrayed Inspector Jamdade. He made his directorial debut with the Marathi film Aai (1995), for which he received the Filmfare Award for Best Director. In 1999, Manjrekar directed Vaastav: The Reality, which became a critical and commercial success and earned him a Filmfare Award. In 2000, he directed Astitva, for which he received National Film Award for Best Marathi Feature Film and the Maharashtra State Film Award for Best Director. He also directed Nidaan, Kurukshetra and Jis Desh Mein Ganga Rehta Hai during this period. In 2002, Manjrekar appeared in Kaante, for which he won IIFA Award for Best Comedian. The same year, he directed Hathyar, a sequel to Vaastav: The Reality. In 2003, he produced and acted in Praan Jaye Par Shaan Na Jaye. In 2004, he appeared in Plan as Sultan, Run as Ganpat and Musafir as Lukka. In 2005, he appeared in the English-language film It Was Raining That Night as Brij Bhushan and made his Kannada film debut in Encounter: Daya Nayak, playing Yousuf Khaleel. He also directed Viruddh... Family Comes First and Vaah! Life Ho Toh Aisi! that year. He wrote the screenplay for the Marathi film Matichya Chuli, for which he received the Maharashtra State Film Award for Best Screenplay. He also participated as a contestant on the dance reality show Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa.
In 2007, he appeared in Dus Kahaniyaan and made his Telugu film debut with Okkadunnadu, in which he played Sona Bhai. He also appeared in Padmashree Laloo Prasad Yadav as Advocate Prasad and Deha as Madhav. In 2008, he appeared in Meerabai Not Out as Manoj Achrekar and in the Academy Award-winning film Slumdog Millionaire as Don Javed. He also appeared in the Telugu film Homam, playing Daddy. In 2009, Manjrekar wrote and starred in the Marathi film Mi Shivajiraje Bhosale Boltoy!, portraying Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj. The film became the highest-grossing Marathi film at the time, earning approximately ₹25 crore. He also appeared in the Hindi films Wanted as Talpade and 99 as AGM. In 2010, he appeared in the Telugu film Adhurs as Don Baba, as Teen Patti as Dagdu Sheth, and as Hariya Shetty in Dabangg. He also directed the Marathi comedy Shikshanachya Aaicha Gho. His directorial film Lalbaug Parel received critical acclaim, while he won the Zee Chitra Gaurav Puraskar for his work in Marathi cinema. That year, he also served as a judge on the Zee Marathi's Maharashtracha Superstar.
In 2011, Manjrekar appeared in Ready as Ram Kapoor, the Marathi film Fakta Ladh Mhana as Bababhai, which he also directed, and Bodyguard as Rajan Mhatre. He made his directorial debut in Bengali cinema with Ami Shubhash Bolchi. In 2012, he directed Kaksparsh, for which he received a Maharashtra State Film Award for Best Director. He also produced the Marathi film Shala, which received the National Film Award. As an actor, he appeared in OMG – Oh My God! as Lawyer Sardesai. In 2013, he directed Kokanastha. He also appeared in the Hindi films Mumbai Mirror, Himmatwala, Shootout at Wadala, Once Upon a Time in Mumbai Dobaara! and Rajjo, as well as the film Arrambam. In 2014, Manjrekar appeared in Jai Ho and portrayed Pradeep Sharma in the Marathi film Rege, for which he was nominated for the Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actor. He also played Chief Minister Vikram Adhikari in Singham Returns In 2015, he portrayed Shahujiraje Bhosale in Bajirao Mastani and appeared in the Telugu film Akhil as Divya's father. In 2016, he returned to directing after a three-year hiatus with the Marathi film Natsamrat, for which he received Filmfare Award Marathi and Zee Chitra Gaurav Puraskar. As an actor, he appeared as Bhanu Pratap Inamdar in Vrundavan, Jackie in the Telugu film Guntur Talkies, and Shyam Vahi in the Bengali film Badsha – The Don. In 2017, Manjrekar directed the youth-oriented film F.U.: Friendship Unlimited. He also appeared in Thank U Vitthala as Vitthal and Dhyanimani as Sadanand Pathak. He made his Tamil film debut with Velaikkaran, in which he played Madhav. In 2018, he appeared as himself in Sanju and played Inspector Pawar in the Marathi film Take Care Good Night. He also directed Me Shivaji Park. That year, he began hosting the first season of the Marathi reality television show Bigg Boss Marathi. In 2019, Manjrekar appeared in Mard Ko Dard Nahi Hota as Ajoba, Total Dhamaal as Chinnappa Swamy, Saaho as Prince, and the Marathi film Mulshi Pattern as Shirpya. He reprised his role as Hariya Shetty in Dabangg 3. He also directed Bhai: Vyakti Ki Valli, a biographical film based on the life of Marathi writer and humorist P. L. Deshpande. He hosted the second season of Bigg Boss Marathi.
In 2020, Manjrekar appeared in the Marathi film Kesari. He also directed the web series 1962: The War in the Hills. In 2021, he directed The Power and Antim: The Final Truth, the latter being a Hindi remake of Marathi film Mulshi Pattern. He also hosted the third season of Bigg Boss Marathi. In 2022, he appeared in the Telugu film Sarkaru Vaari Paata as the Finance Minister, the Marathi film De Dhakka 2 as Babbar Lohri, and the Hindi film Mister Mummy as Dr. Satsangi. He hosted the fourth season of Bigg Boss Marathi. He also directed the Marathi films Panghrun and Nay Varanbhat Loncha Kon Nay Koncha. In 2023, he appeared in the film Butterfly as Sahil and in the web series Taaza Khabar as Kismat Bhai. In 2024, Manjrekar directed and starred in the Marathi film Juna Furniture. He received the Filmfare Award for Best Actor for his performance. He also directed Hi Anokhi Gaath. In 2025, Manjrekar appeared in the Marathi film Devmanus as Keshav. He also appeared in the Tamil films Coolie as Kakkar and Thug Life as Sadanand Yadav, the Marathi film Dashavatar as Inspector D'Costa, and the Kannada film The Devil as Rajashekhar. In 2026, he appeared in the silent film Gandhi Talks as Premnath Gavli. He made cameo appearances in the Marathi films Raja Shivaji as Lakhuji Jadhav and Deool Band 2 as Sai Baba. He is also directing the Marathi film Bandkhor, scheduled for release on 23 September 2026. He is set to appear in the Marathi film Khashaba, scheduled for release on 1 January 2027.
