[2] In 1929 Desai joined Ranjit Film Company, where he initially worked as an assistant director for Chandulal Shah's Rajputani and Nandlal Jaswantlal's Pahadi Kanya.
His first independent directorial work was the 1930 film Noor-e-Watan (Translation: Glory of the nation).
A few films he had directed while working as an assistant director at Ranjit Film company were Do Badmash (1932), Char Chakram (1932) and Bhutio Mahal (1932) featuring Ghory and Dixit who were called the Indian Laurel and Hardy.
[7] In the film Ambar, Tanuja played the role of Nargis' character's childhood.
[10] As an independent producer, he founded Jupiter Films and Hemlata Pictures in the early 1960s.