Manoj Muntashir gives a glimpse of his new Andheri office, designed by wife Neelam, which features memorabilia, artwork and personal touches

Lyricist-writer Manoj Muntashir has moved his production house into a sprawling new office in Andheri, housed in one of filmmaker and real estate developer Anand Pandit’s premium commercial projects. For a man who once slept on the footpaths of Mahakali Caves Road, the new address is less about square footage and more about the distance he has travelled.

Owning a large office had long felt like a distant aspiration. It was filmmaker Ashoke Pandit who persuaded him to take the leap despite his reservations about the cost. Manoj shares, “Ashoke Pandit ji was instrumental in making this happen. The office was expensive, but he kept encouraging me and one thing led to another. We moved in June. Life has truly come full circle. There was a time when I slept on the footpaths of Mahakali, and today I live in a 10-bedroom duplex in Andheri.”

The journey began in March 1999, when Manoj arrived in Mumbai from Gauriganj in Uttar Pradesh’s Amethi district with a one-way train ticket that cost Rs 350. His farmer father gave him another Rs 350 for the return journey, convinced his son would soon come back. He recalls, “I had started writing in Class 6, though it was random scribbling then. By Class 12, I knew I wanted to become a writer. One day, I read Sahir Ludhianvi’s life story and connected with it. I wanted to become like him. After graduation, I asked my father for Rs 350 to travel to Mumbai, but he gave me Rs 700, certain that his son would be back soon. I didn’t know anyone here, but I felt the city was calling me. That’s how my journey on the footpaths began.”

With nowhere to stay, Manoj spent the next 13 months sleeping on Mahakali Caves Road alongside a group of beggars.

He says, “There is no sob story here. I had a wonderful time living with those beggars. Mere paas uss waqt ek paisa nahi raha hai, par jitne din main unn bhikhaariyon ke saath footpath par raha hoon, na main bhookha soya, na mujhe gareebi ka ehsaas hua.”

Today, seated in his 2,600 sq ft office in Andheri, designed by his wife Neelam, Manoj says, “What I bought was just an empty shell with four walls. Neelam transformed it completely. As you step out of the elevator, you’re greeted by a figure of Ganesha, with lines from one of my songs handwritten above it. One wall is dedicated to canvas prints of posters from my films. A floor-to-ceiling video wall showcases my work, including my ongoing play, Krishna Radha Se Ranbhoomi Tak. The office also has an 11-seat theatre, along with artwork from different parts of the world.”

On the professional front, Manoj has won his second National Award for Best Lyrics for Jaane Do from Maidaan (2024), following Parinda from Sania (2021).

He says, “Six years ago, I decided I would accept no award other than the National Award. Today, I have two, for which I feel grateful. Two National Awards bring greater responsibility: to write better and to create benchmarks for the generations that follow. From scribbling random words and trying to make sense of them, to performing at kavi sammelans for Rs. 200, to receiving the highest national honour for my craft, this journey has been deeply humbling and inspiring. If there’s one takeaway from my story, it is this: nothing is impossible.”

The latest honour also found an unexpected place in the new office. He shares, “Who would believe that while designing our new office, Neelam had already left a space for the second National Award? And then, within days, not even months, that empty space had its reason to exist. Never knew God would listen to us this quickly. Some manifestations take years, while some arrive before you have even finished making room for them.”