Time and again, popular actor and Padma Shri winner, actor Manoj Joshi has proved his versatility through his body of work. He started his career as a theatre actor and over the years has made left an unforgettable mark in the Indian entertainment industry. Be it Bhagat Ji in ‘Vivah’ (2006) or Chanakya in ‘Chakravartin Ashoka Samrat’ (2015-2016), he takes on various roles effortlessly and that makes him one of the best onscreen performers.
This new year, we once again watch him all set to win the hearts of the audiences in MX Player’s youth drama ‘Campus Diaries’. He is seen playing the role of a college dean at Excel University. In this coming-of-age drama that promises to answer all your questions about campus life. While he’s running behind these young college goers, he shows a deep sense of understanding and empathy for the students and always comes with good advice that helps shape their lives.
While we can’t wait to see him in this brand-new avatar, here’s a quick look at his top five roles that you should not miss.
Chanakya
In the historical drama series ‘Chakravartin Ashoka Samrat’, he brought life to the character of Chanakya. He played the role with such authenticity that it has made an ever-lasting impression on his audience. His body language, expressions and interactions with other characters make him the best onscreen Chanakya.
Kachra Seth
In the iconic movie ‘Phir Hera Pheri’ (2006), Manoj Joshi plays the character of Kachra Seth. Though the role is a scrapper by profession, his antics made it very funny along with nerdy glasses and an over-sized coat. The funny dialogues between Babu Bhaiyaa (Paresh Rawal), Raju (Akshay Kumar), Ghanshyam (Suniel Shetty), Pappu (Rajpal Yadav), and Kachra Seth are perfect meme material for millennials.
Badrinarayan Chaturvedi
Manoj Joshi in the psychological horror movie ‘Bhool Bhulaiyaa’ (2007), portrays the role of a Pujari. Badrinarayan is the head of the family, who is religious, superstitious and wants to protect his family at all cost. His traditional avatar, serious looks and acting does justice to the role.
Devesh Solanki
Manoj Joshi plays the role of the father of Meeta (Parineeta Chopra) and Karsihma (Adah Sharma) in the rom-com ‘Hasee Toh Phasee’ (2014). Though his role was of a regular Bollywood father, his unique style and dialogue delivery makes the character special.
Dwijdas Mukherjee
In the epic romantic drama ‘Devdas’ (2002), Manoj Joshi plays the role of a typical Indian brother, who is torn between his family’s happiness and wife’s ambitions that lead to the tragic end of his brother. Even though his role was short, he made a significant difference.
Coming back to his stint as dean Amrit Sir in ‘Campus Diaries’, this series is the show teens should watch before embarking on their own college journeys, to know how cool college life is and the rest will have a trip down memory lane, reminiscing all the goof ups, heart breaks, bad decisions one made, back in their college days.
This not-your-regular-college-drama goes beyond the routine ‘masti’ (fun) and ‘dosti’ (friendship) plots that quintessential youth dramas portray and tackles relevant yet lesser discussed issues like ragging, discrimination based on societal bias’, one sided love stories, rampant drug abuse and toxic relationships that mould your personality and ready you to face the real world.
The series stars Harsh Beniwal, Ritvik Sahore, Saloni Gaur, Salonie Patel, Abhinav Sharma and Srishti Ganguli Rindani amongst others and is created by Prem Mistry and Abhishek Yadav.
