Rajkumar Santoshi
Rajkumar Santoshi is an Indian film director, producer and screenwriter of Hindi films. Having received several accolades including three National Film Awards and six Filmfare Awards, he made his directorial debut with the crime film "Ghayal" (1990), which won him the National Film Award for Best Popular Film Providing Wholesome Entertainment as well as the Filmfare Award for Best Director. He next directed the thrillers "Damini" (1993) and "" (1996). All these three financially successful films starred Sunny Deol, Amrish Puri and Meenakshi Seshadri; the second of these garnered him a second Filmfare Best Director Award and the latter  fetched him the Filmfare Best Screenplay Award as well as a Filmfare Best Director Award nomination. During this period, Santoshi also received praise for directing the comedy "Andaz Apna Apna" (1994), which though a box office flop has attained cult status, and the major success "Barsaat" (1995), that marked the film debut of Bobby Deol and Twinkle Khanna. In 2000, he wrote dialogues of the film "Pukar" which earned him the Nargis Dutt Award for Best Feature Film on National Integration. He followed it by directing two moderate commercial successes—the biopic "The Legend of Bhagat Singh" (2002) and the  action thriller "Khakee" (2004)—both of which earned him Best Director nominations at Filmfare. His highest-grossing film came in 2009 with over -earning romantic comedy "Ajab Prem Ki Ghazab Kahani" starring Ranbir Kapoor and Katrina Kaif. Personal life. He is the son of producer-director P. L. Santoshi, born from his second wife. Rajkumar was born in Chennai and currently lives with his wife Manila and children; Ram and Tanisha. Career. Santoshi started his career as an assistant director and worked with Govind Nihalani during the filming of "Ardh Satya" (1982) Santoshi made his directorial debut in 1990, with the  action flick "Ghayal", starring Sunny Deol and Meenakshi Sheshadri. The film tells the story of a person in search of his missing brother and the events that follow. It was critically and commercially very successful, and earned him the Filmfare Award for Best Director, Best film, and Best screenplay. "Ghayal" also won the National Film Award for Best Popular Film Providing Wholesome Entertainment. Santoshi's followup was the universally acclaimed film "Damini" (1993), which dealt with issues like the status of women in our society and the perspective of people towards women. He won his second Filmfare best director award  for it. After making two back-to-back serious films like "Ghayal" and "Damini", Santoshi wanted to make a light film. He then wrote and directed the ensemble comedy "Andaz Apna Apna" (1994). The film did not do too well commercially at the time of its release, but is now considered a cult classic. Santoshi received the Filmfare Award for Best Director nomination for it. Santoshi then went on to make "Barsaat" (1995), a successful romantic action drama film, which marked the debut of actors Bobby Deol and Twinkle Khanna. The following year he made "" (1996), an action film, marking  his third collaboration with Sunny Deol and Meenakshi Sheshadri. It also turned out to be a commercially successful and highly acclaimed film. "China Gate" (1998), an action film inspired from Akira Kurosawa's "Seven Samurai" (1954), was his next release. It follows the story of a village that hire a group of veterans to combat bandits who terrorise them. In 2000, Santoshi wrote and directed "Pukar", a film focusing on the Indian Army and court martial. It won the Nargis Dutt Award for Best Feature Film on National Integration. It was followed by "Lajja" (2001), a film about four Indian  women belonging to different strata of society. The film dealt with issues like gender inequality and the status of women in our society. "Lajja" was a box office failure in India, but was an overseas success. "The Legend of Bhagat Singh" (2002), his next directorial venture, was a biopic on the freedom fighter Bhagat Singh. The film won a National Film Awards. In 2004, Santoshi wrote and directed "Khakee", a multi-starrer action thriller about a group of cops who get embroiled in a mystery surrounding a terrorist attack. The film was a commercial success and reiterated Santoshi as one  of Bollywood's most sought-after directors. Derek Elley of "Variety" wrote: "Powerhouse casting, and equally powerhouse direction by Rajkumar Santoshi, makes this an above-average example of mainstream Bollywood thrillers." "Family" (2006), an action crime flick, was his next release. Raja Sen called it "utter tripe". It bombed at the box office. Santoshi's next directorial venture was "Halla Bol" (2008), a social film starring Ajay Devgan, Vidya Balan and Pankaj Kapur. The film was based on the life of activist Safdar Hashmi, who was killed by political rivals while performing in a street play (by the name of  Halla Bol) in 1989. It was shot in 75 days in over 65 locations. "Halla Bol" was panned by critics, with Khalid Mohamed calling it "downright awful" [..] "packed with mind-benders galore." During this period, his films were poorly received. In 2009, he wrote and directed "Ajab Prem Ki Ghazab Kahani", which emerged as the fourth highest-grossing Bollywood film of 2009. The film starring Ranbir Kapoor and Katrina Kaif and was a romantic comedy. Nikhat Kazmi in her review wrote that the film "has just a few moments of tedium", but "[It] takes you on a roller-coaster ride  as Raj Kumar Santoshi tries to retrack his way to his "Andaz Apna Apna" days". Santoshi came back after a three-year hiatus with the action comedy "Phata Poster Nikla Hero", (2013) starring Shahid Kapoor and Ileana D'Cruz. The film was a critical and commercial failure.