Manish Makhija

Manish Makhija
Born	(1968-10-07) October 7, 1968 (age 56) Delhi, India
Other names	Munish Makhija
Occupation	Video jockey
Years active	1997–present
Known for	Udham Singh (Channel V)
Spouse	Pooja Bhatt (separated)
Relatives	Masumeh Makhija (niece)

Manish Makhija (7 October 1968), sometimes spelled Munish Makhija, is an Indian video jockey who is most known for his characters Udham Singh on Channel V's The Udham Singh Show (1997), and Munna on UTV Bindass's Cash Cab – Meter Chalu Hai.^[1][2][3]

Early life and education

Makhija was born and brought up in Delhi where his father and mother worked for the Indian Postal Department.^[4]

He received his B.A. political science degree from Delhi's Kirori Mal College. He subsequently studied for an L.L.B. at Delhi University, but dropped out.^[5]

Career

Makhija first gained popularity with Channel V show, 'The Udham Singh Show', where he anchored the show as Udham Singh in Hariyanvi style. The show started as an offshoot of an ad campaign launched by the channel during the general elections in the late 1990sz asking youngsters to cast their vote. Later a campaign to persuade watchers to vote for the Viewers' Choice Award, featured a caricature of a Haryanvi Jat election officer from Meham in Haryana.^[5]

In 2003, he started working alongside Pooja Bhatt in her directorial debut Paap (2004), for which he sourced two soundtracks from the Pakistani band, Junoon.^[4] Then he appeared in small roles in films like Rog and Dhoka (2007), and he assisted her in Rog (2005).^[6]

Later in 2008, he also hosted a reality quiz show for UTV Bindass called Cash Cab – Meter Chalu Hai.^[7][8]

He was also featured in the film Luv Shuv Tey Chicken Khurana in the role of a local mafia figure in the UK.^[9]

Personal life

In August 2003 Makhija married Pooja Bhatt, whom he had met a few months earlier while working with her in her film Paap (2004), in which he also had a small role. In December 2014 the couple separated.^[10][11][12]

Awards and nominations

Year	Category	Song and Film	Result	Ref.
Screen Awards
1998	Special Award		Won	[13]
Mirchi Music Awards
2012	Upcoming Lyricist of The Year	"Abhi Abhi" from Jism 2	Nominated	[14]

References

1. "Udham talks: Munish Makhija is back for a reality show". The Hindu. 30 September 2008. Archived from the original on 21 November 2010.
2. "Pooja Bhatt and Manish Makhija on films, TV and manners: 'Mediocrity has crept into all spheres'". The Hindu. 4 September 2007. Archived from the original on 6 June 2011.
3. "Screen On & Off: Munish Makhija with wife Pooja Bhatt: Poll talk: Makhija mayhem". The Telegraph (Kolkata). 29 January 2005. Archived from the original on 4 February 2013.
4. "My Name Udham Singh, Pooja Bhatt Husband". Indian Express. 19 August 2003. Archived from the original on 9 September 2003.
5. Joshi, Namrata (8 December 1997). "Rustic Appeal: The LLB-dropout plays the crude but funny VJ Udham Singh with uncommon flair". India Today.
6. Filmography Bollywood Hungama.
7. Munish Makhija is 'different': Bindaas' new reality quiz show just reaffirms the fact^{[dead link‍]} Buzz18.com, 23 September 2008.
8. "Talking point with Munish makhija". Indian Express. 22 September 2008.
9. Sharma, Sanjukta (31 October 2012). "Film Review | Luv Shuv Tey Chicken Khurana". mint. Retrieved 3 March 2021.
10. "Pooja Bhatt, husband Manish Makhija call it quits after 11 years of marriage". The Indian Express. 19 December 2014. Retrieved 3 March 2021.
11. "News18.com: CNN-News18 Breaking News India, Latest News Headlines, Live News Updates". News18. Archived from the original on 30 December 2014.
12. "Of Pyaar and Paap: Pooja Bhatt and Manish Makhija bring out the best in each other". The Hindu. 14 February 2005. Archived from the original on 27 February 2005.
13. "Award Winners". Screen. Archived from the original on 22 October 1999. Retrieved 2 October 2019.
14. "Nominations – Mirchi Music Award Hindi 2012". www.radiomirchi.com. Retrieved 27 April 2018.

External links

• Manish Makhija at IMDb