Meenakshi Sheshadri (real name Shashikala) made her debut with the film, Painter Babu which was produced and directed by Manoj Kumar.
The film is about a young artist Sham who is disowned by his family after refusing an arranged marriage leading him through a spiral of false killing charge and heartbreak.
It was the debut film of Meenakshi who had won the Eve’s Weekly Miss India contest in 1981 at the age of 17. Manoj Kumar gave her the screenname “Meenakshi” which was also the character name of Hema Malini in his film Kranti.
Manoj Kumar produced this film primarily to launch his brother Rajiv Goswami. Rajiv was so nervous about the reception and low audience expectation that he asked Manoj Kumar not to hold a formal premiere of the film.
Manoj Kumar had the script idea from 20 years. He wanted to act in it and direct it in the early 70s. He decided to put the script aside and worked on Roti Kapda Aur Makaan instead.
Also, cameraman Munir Khan was very much frustrated during the production due to heavy interference of Manoj Kumar who kept demanding extra shooting dates from the technical crew.
The film flopped badly and the major break through in Meenakshi career came in the same year with Subhash Ghai’s “Hero”.
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