“When my daughter went to school, her last name was mine. The school insisted that her father's name be added to hers, not her mother's. The fact that the mother kept her in her womb for nine months is forgotten. Women don't have an identity. She has her father's name today and will have her husband's tomorrow.”

Indian actor, film director, screenwriter and producer

Mahesh Vaman Manjrekar is an Indian actor, film director, screenwriter, and producer who works mainly in Hindi, Marathi, and Telugu cinema. He is best known for directing Vaastav: The Reality (1999), Astitva (2000), and Viruddh... Family Comes First (2005). His career spans acting as well as filmmaking, and he has received a National Film Award, seven Maharashtra State Film Awards, four Filmfare Awards Marathi, a Filmfare Award, four Zee Chitra Gaurav Puraskar, four MFK Awards, and two Star Screen Awards. In 2023, he received the V. Shantaram Award, Maharashtra’s highest honour in cinema. He also hosted Bigg Boss Marathi from 2018 until 2023.