Television He is often called "the Father of
Indian Soap Operas" being the writer of India's first television soap opera,
Hum Log. Made in 1982, when television was still a luxury item for the majority of Indians, the serial dealt with the everyday struggles of the middle-class India, making it an instant hit, especially because every Indian could identify with it. Another popular creation was
Buniyaad (1987–1988), directed by Ramesh Sippy, a serial based around the life a family displaced by the Partition of India in 1947; both went on to deeply influence an entire generation of Indians as well as the Indian television industry. In the following years he wrote many more long running serials like
Mungeri Lal Ke Hasin Sapney,
Kakaji Kahin,
Humrahi,
Zameen Aasman and
Gatha.
Novels Manohar Shyam Joshi is also known for his novels which have dealt with topics ranging from love, in
Kasap, described as one of the greatest love stories in Hindi, to devastating political satire like
Netaji Kahin. He was a prominent post-modernist authors in modern Hindi literature, as amiably demonstrated by his cult novel
Kuru kuru Swaahaa and his novella
Hariya Hercules ki Hairaani. He was awarded the prestigious
Sahitya Akademi Award in 2005 for Hindi, for his novel
Kyap, an allegory of modern India, known for its sensitive portrayal of the
Kumaoni traditions of his home state of
Uttarakhand.
Films He had a penchant for romance, subtle comedy and satire alike. This allowed him to write for cinema on a variety of subjects, like
Hey Ram,
Appu Raja,
Papa Kahte Hain and
Brashtachar. He was a dubbing expert of much ability and dubbed for films like
Appu Raja and
Hey Ram.
Journalism He had a long stint as a journalist in broadcast and the print media. He worked first with
All India Radio, New Delhi, in the Hindi news section and then with the
Films Division of India in Mumbai, where he wrote the scripts for many documentaries. This is when he started writing his famous landmark interviews with ordinary folks, which were serialised in the
Sarika magazine. It was not long before he was handpicked by
Sachchidananda Hirananda Vatsyayan Agyeya for a new Hindi news magazine
Dinaman, being brought out by the
Times of India group. Agyeya was to be the editor and Joshi the assistant editor. Later, he edited the leading Hindi magazine
Saptahik Hindustan, concurrently with the English
Weekend Review and, in late 70s, the
Morning Echo weekly all brought out by the
Hindustan Times. His journalistic writings have covered a wide range of topics from popular science and scintillating travelogues to astute political analyses. Until his death, he wrote an opinion column for
Outlook Saptahik,
Hindi magazine from
Outlook India. ==Literary works==