# Varun Grover (writer)

Varun Grover (born 26 January 1980) is an Indian lyricist, writer, stand-up comedian and filmmaker. He won the award for Best Lyricist at the 63rd National Film Awards in 2015. He co-created the political satire group Aisi Taisi Democracy, and his debut film, All India Rank, closed the 52nd Rotterdam International Film Festival, in 2023. Grover also performs stand-up comedy, writes poetry and acts.

## Early life and education

Grover was born in Sundernagar, Himachal Pradesh, to a school-teacher mother and army engineer father, and belongs to a Punjabi Hindu family. His paternal grandfather originally lived in Faisalabad, a city in the Punjab Province of British India. After the partition of India, Faisalabad became a part of the West Punjab province of Pakistan, due to which he moved to Jagadhri in present-day Haryana, where he settled and eventually started a business of sign painting for shops. In the early 1950s, a cinema hall opened in Jagadhri wherein he went on to design posters for the hall. He instructed his two elder sons, Varun's uncles and his father's brothers, to also make such posters. This led the family to gain an interest in watching movies, many of which they watched at the same cinema hall, in which Varun's grandfather also took his father. Varun accredits this for his interest in films, as he "inherited the same addiction from [his] father". Varun spent his initial years in Dehradun, Uttarakhand and Sundernagar, before moving to Lucknow for his adolescent years. He studied civil engineering at Indian Institute of Technology (BHU) Varanasi, graduating in 2003.

### Music

In 2017, Varun Grover released Beete Dino Ke Geet, a song in collaboration with US-based producer Krishna Chetan.

## Filmography
### Films

| Year | Title | Credited as | Credited as | Credited as | Credited as | Credited as |
| Year | Title | Lyricist | Writer | Director | Actor | Notes |
| 2006 | Ghoom | No | Dialogues | No | No | |
| 2009 | Accident on Hill Road | No | Dialogues | No | No | |
| 2011 | That Girl in Yellow Boots | Yes | No | No | No | |
| 2012 | Peddlers | Yes | No | No | No | |
| 2012 | Gangs of Wasseypur – Part 1 | Yes | No | No | No | |
| 2012 | Gangs of Wasseypur – Part 2 | Yes | No | No | No | |
| 2013 | Prague | Yes | No | No | No | |
| 2014 | Katiyabaaz | Yes | No | No | No | |
| 2014 | Ankhon Dekhi | Yes | No | No | No | |
| 2015 | Dum Laga Ke Haisha | Yes | No | No | No | Won National Film Award for Best Lyrics |
| 2015 | Bombay Velvet | Yes | No | No | Yes | |
| 2015 | Masaan | Yes | Yes | No | No | |
| 2016 | Zubaan | Yes | No | No | No | |
| 2016 | Fan | Yes | No | No | No | |
| 2016 | Raman Raghav 2.0 | Yes | No | No | No | |
| 2016 | Udta Punjab | Yes | No | No | No | |
| 2017 | Newton | Yes | No | No | No | |
| 2018 | Kaala | Yes | No | No | No | |
| 2018 | Sui Dhaaga | Yes | No | No | No | |
| 2019 | Sonchiriya | Yes | No | No | No | |
| 2021 | Sandeep Aur Pinky Faraar | No | Yes | No | No | |
| 2022 | RRR | Yes | No | No | No | Lyricist for the Hindi version |
| 2022 | Badhaai Do | Yes | No | No | No | |
| 2022 | Monica, O My Darling | Yes | No | No | No | |
| 2022 | Samrat Prithviraj | Yes | No | No | No | |
| 2022 | Kiss | No | Yes | Yes | No | Short film |
| 2022 | Qala | Yes | No | No | Yes | |
| 2023 | Dunki | Yes | No | No | No | |
| 2024 | Merry Christmas | Yes | No | No | No | |
| 2024 | All India Rank | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Feature directorial debut |
| 2024 | Jigra | Yes | No | No | No | |
| 2025 | Superboys Of Malegaon | No | Yes | No | No | |

### Television

| Year | Title | Credited as |
| 2004–2006 | The Great Indian Comedy Show | Writer |
| 2007 | SAB Ka Bheja Fry | Writer |
| 2007–2008 | Ranvir Vinay Aur Kaun? | Writer |
| 2008–2009 | Oye! It's Friday! | Writer |
| 2008–2009 | 10 Ka Dum | Writer |
| 2009 | Ghar Ki Baat Hai | Writer |
| 2009–2013 | Jay Hind! | Writer |
| 2018–2019 | Sacred Games | Writer and Executive producer |

## Books

* Paper Chor (2018), Jugnoo Prakashan
* Biksu (2019), Ektara India
* Karejwa (2020), Bakarmaxindia

## Awards and nominations

| Award | Year | Work | Category | Result |
| Apsara Film & Television Producers Guild Award | 2013 | "Womaniya"–Gangs of Wasseypur – Part 1 | Best Lyrics | Nominated |
| Apsara Film & Television Producers Guild Award | 2016 | "Moh Moh Ke Dhaage"–Dum Laga Ke Haisha | Best Lyrics | Won |
| Filmfare Awards | 2016 | "Moh Moh Ke Dhaage"–Dum Laga Ke Haisha | Best Lyricist | Nominated |
| Filmfare Awards | 2022 | Sandeep Aur Pinky Faraar | Best Story | Nominated |
| Filmfare Awards | 2022 | Sandeep Aur Pinky Faraar | Best Screenplay | Nominated |
| Filmfare Awards | 2022 | Sandeep Aur Pinky Faraar | Best Dialogue | Won |
| Global Indian Music Academy Awards | 2016 | "Moh Moh Ke Dhaage"–Dum Laga Ke Haisha | Best Lyricist | Won |
| Global Indian Music Academy Awards | 2016 | "Moh Moh Ke Dhaage"–Dum Laga Ke Haisha | Best Film Song | Nominated |
| Mirchi Music Awards | 2014 | "Aayi Bahar"–Ankhon Dekhi | Raag-Inspired Song of the Year | Nominated |
| Mirchi Music Awards | 2016 | "Moh Moh Ke Dhaage"–Dum Laga Ke Haisha | Lyricist of the Year | Won |
| Mirchi Music Awards | 2017 | Udta Punjab | Album of the Year | Nominated |
| National Film Awards | 2016 | "Moh Moh Ke Dhaage"–Dum Laga Ke Haisha | Best Lyrics | Won |
| Times of India Film Awards | 2016 | Dum Laga Ke Haisha | Best Lyrics | Won |
| Zee Cine Awards | 2016 | "Moh Moh Ke Dhaage"–Dum Laga Ke Haisha | Best Lyricist | Won |