Ayan Mukerji

Ayan Mukerji (born 15 August 1983) is an Indian film director, screenwriter and producer who works in Hindi films. Mukerji made his directorial debut at the age of 26 with the coming-of-age comedy-drama Wake Up Sid (2009). The film opened to strong reviews and box-office returns. His next directorial, the 2013 romantic comedy-drama, Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani, ranks among the highest-grossing Hindi films. He then directed the fantasy action-adventure Brahmāstra: Part One – Shiva, which is the first in a planned trilogy of a cinematic universe named Āstraverse created by him. His next project as director is War 2 which itself is a part of the YRF Spy Universe.
Mukerji is from a prominent Mukherjee-Samarth family of Indian cinema.
Early life and background
Mukerjee was born in a Bengali Hindu family in Kolkata, West Bengal, India, the son of Bengali film actor Deb Mukherjee. His family was steeped in the Indian film industry since the 1930, when his grandfather, Sashadhar Mukherjee, first ventured by chance into the field. Sashadhar Mukherjee was a pioneering film producer who was one of the founding partners of Filmistan Studio in Mumbai, and produced films like Dil Deke Dekho (1959), Love in Simla (1960), Ek Musafir Ek Hasina (1962) and Leader (1964). The studio is still run by Ayan's extended family.
Ayan's grandmother, Satidevi Mukherjee (née Ganguly), wife of Sashadhar Mukherji, was the sister of pioneer actor Ashok Kumar, Anup Kumar and singer Kishore Kumar. Ayan's grandfather's brothers were film producer Prabodh Mukherjee, director Subodh Mukherjee and Ravindra Mohan Mukherjee, grandfather of actress Rani Mukherjee. Ayan's father's brothers were actors Joy Mukherjee, Subir Mukherjee and Shomu Mukherjee, who is the husband of actress Tanuja and he made 3 movies and father of actresses Kajol and Tanisha Mukherjee.
Mukerji studied at Jamnabai Narsee School in Vile Parle, Mumbai. He later attended Rajiv Gandhi Institute of Technology but dropped out after the first year to assist Ashutosh Gowariker as clapper boy on Swades (2004).
Career
Mukerji started his career as an assistant to Ashutosh Gowariker, his brother-in-law, on Swades, and later to Karan Johar on Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna (2006). After taking a short break from filmmaking, Mukerji wrote the screenplay for Wake Up Sid and directed it. The film released on 2 October 2009, starring Ranbir Kapoor and Konkona Sen Sharma in the lead roles and went on to become a critical and commercial success. The film earned him the Filmfare Award for Best Debut Director and his first nomination for the Filmfare Award for Best Director.
Mukerji's second film, also under Johar's banner Dharma Productions, was Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani, with Ranbir Kapoor and Deepika Padukone in lead roles, released on 31 May 2013. It was a massive commercial success. The film grossed Rs. 1 billion at the box-office in just 7 days. It became the third highest-grossing Indian film of all time. The film earned him his second nomination for the Filmfare Award for Best Director.
Mukerji's third film, Brahmāstra: Part One – Shiva, starring Amitabh Bachchan, Ranbir Kapoor, Alia Bhatt, Mouni Roy, Nagarjuna Akkineni in lead roles, released on 9 September 2022 under Johar's banner Dharma Productions. It is the first installment of this trilogy. The cinematic universe known as the Astraverse. The film emerged as a commercial success, with an estimated gross of over worldwide, making it ultimately the highest-grossing Hindi film of 2022, fourth highest grossing Indian film of 2022 and one of the highest-grossing Indian films of all time. Box Office India in their year-end report gave Brahmāstra: Part One – Shiva a ‘‘hit’’ verdict. The film earned him his third nomination for the Filmfare Award for Best Director.
Upcoming projects
As of October 2023, Mukerji is currently shooting for the sixth installment of YRF Spy Universe titled War 2, which stars Hrithik Roshan reprising his role as Kabir Dhaliwal from 2019 film War with Telugu film actor N. T. Rama Rao Jr. and Kiara Advani are the new additions to the starcast. It will mark his debut in Hindi cinema of Jr NTR. The film is scheduled to be released sometime in 2025. He is also set to direct the second installment titled Brahmа̄stra: Part Two – Dev and the third installment titled Brahmāstra: Part Three. Both films are scheduled to release in December 2026 and 2027.
Filmography
Awards
References
External links
Brahmastra at Bollywood Hungama
"Somewhere in Wake up Sid, are bits and pieces of my life" – Ayan Mukerji
Film directors from Kolkata
Hindi-language film directors
Bengali film directors
Living people
1983 births
Filmfare Awards winners
Zee Cine Awards winners
21st-century Indian film directors