Manju Singh

Some Lesser Known Facts About Manju Singh

• Manju Singh was an Indian actor and producer, who was one of the pioneers of television content in India.

• She started her career in 1983, with the first sponsored programme on television, ‘Show Time’.

• Later, she produced several TV shows ranging from serials to children’s shows during the era of Doordarshan.

• She advocated against the national, social, and cultural issues in her shows such as Adhikar, which was based on women’s legal rights.

• She also produced the serial Swaraj to commemorate fifty years of Indian Independence.

• She anchored the kids’ show ‘Khel Khilone’ which aired on TV for around 7 years.

• Apart from being a producer, Manju was also an actress. She was introduced to acting by prominent filmmaker, Hrishikesh Mukherjee, when he offered her the role of Ratna Sharma, the sister of the main lead Ramprasad D. Sharma (Amol Palekar) in his film, Golmaal, in 1979.

• Some of her acting projects include ‘Hanky Panky’ (1979), ‘Ladies Tailor’ (1981), and ‘Screen Two’ (1985).

• She produced the film, Samyaktva: True Insight, which was based on the relevance of spirituality and ancient Indian wisdom in the 21st century.

• Manju found a not-for-profit organisation called the WorldKids Foundation in 2007. The aim of the foundation was to encourage children to form healthy opinions on important issues through the medium of films.

• Manju was also the chairperson of her foundation, which had the motto, ‘Entertainment With a Purpose’.

• She believed that children’s films should not be unnecessarily preachy or frivolous. In an interview, she said,
  

  As mothers, we have the power to influence our children positively. We are hoping that our efforts will create awareness about critical subjects and encourage women to play a more constructive role in shaping the younger generation’s values”

• In 2012, she was invited as a resource person to the Sahyodya Conferences that deal with innovative ideas on inculcation and evaluation of life skills and values among students by the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE).

• In recognition of her contribution to TV, films, creative arts, and academics, she was nominated to become a member of the Central Advisory Board of Education (CABE) in 2015.

• After her demise, her family waited for her granddaughter to arrive from New York to attend her last rites on 16 April 2022.

• Her colleagues from the industry expressed their grief on social media.