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 Ghatak: Lethal (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 grossing film came in 2009 with over ₹1.2 billion (US$17 million)-earning romantic comedy Ajab Prem Ki Ghazab Kahani starring Ranbir Kapoor and Katrina Kaif.

Rajkumar Santoshi
Santoshi in 2011
Born	17 August 1956 Madras, Madras State, India
Nationality	Indian
Occupation	Film director, producer, screenwriter

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.[1]

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 in lead roles. 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.[2] Ghayal also won the National Film Award for Best Popular Film Providing Wholesome Entertainment.[2] 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.[3]

After making two back-to-back serious films like Ghayal and Damini, Santoshi wanted to make a light film.[4] 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.[4] Santoshi received the Filmfare Award for Best Director nomination for it.[5]

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 Ghatak: Lethal (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.[6] 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.[7] 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.[8] Lajja was a box office failure in India, but was an overseas success.[9][10] 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.[11] 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.[12] Derek Elley of Variety wrote: "Powerhouse casting, and equally powerhouse direction by Rajkumar Santoshi, makes this an above-average example of mainstream Bollywood thrillers."[13]

Family (2006), an action crime flick, was his next release. Raja Sen called it "utter tripe".[14] It bombed at the box office.[15] 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.[16] It was shot in 75 days in over 65 locations.[16] Halla Bol was panned by critics, with Khalid Mohamed calling it "downright awful" [..] "packed with mind-benders galore."[17] 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.[18] 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".[19] 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.[20][21]

Filmography

Key

Denotes films that have not yet been released

Year	Film	Director	Credit	Notes
1982	Ardh Satya		Assistant director
1982	Vijeta		Assistant director
1990	Ghayal		writer
1993	Damini		Writer (Story & Screenplay) Producer
1994	Andaz Apna Apna		writer
1995	Barsaat		writer
1996	Ghatak		writer
1996	Halo		Actor
1998	China Gate		writer
1998	Vinashak – Destroyer		Writer (screenplay)
1998	Doli Saja Ke Rakhna		Co-producer
1999	Jaanam Samjha Karo		Writer (screenplay) Co-producer
2000	Pukar		writer
2001	Lajja		writer
2002	The Legend of Bhagat Singh		writer
2002	Dil Hai Tumhaara		Writer (screenplay)
2004	Khakee		writer
2006	Family		writer
2008	Halla Bol		writer
2009	Ajab Prem Ki Ghazab Kahani		writer
2013	Phata Poster Nikhla Hero		writer
2021	Bad Boy		writer
2022	Ek Aur Ghazab Kahani		writer

Awards and nominations

Year	Film	Ceremony	Category	Result
1991	Ghayal	National Film Awards	Best Popular Film	Won
		Filmfare Awards	Best Story
			Best Director
1994	Damini
			Best Film	Nominated
1995	Andaz Apna Apna		Best Director
1997	Ghatak		Best Director
			Best Screenplay	Won
1999	China Gate		Best Dialogue Writer
2001	Pukar	National Film Awards	Best Feature Film (National Integration)	Won
2003	The Legend of Bhagat Singh		Best Feature Film (Hindi)
		Filmfare Awards	Best Film (Critics)
			Best Film	Nominated
			Best Director
2005	Khakee

References

1. "I was not able to give my father even one meal with my money: Rajkumar Santoshi". The Times of India. Retrieved 5 February 2014.
2. Rishi, Tilak (2012). Bless You Bollywood!: A tribute to Hindi Cinema on completing 100 years. Trafford Publishing. ISBN 9781466939622.
3. "The Winners – 1993". The Times of India. Archived from the original on 9 July 2012. Retrieved 9 December 2010.
4. Chintamani, Gautam (12 April 2014). "From flop to cult film: The journey of Andaz Apna Apna". Firstpost. Retrieved 11 January 2016.
5. "Aamir Khan still a fan of 'Andaz Apna Apna', wears t-shirt with Crime Master Gogo's face". The Indian Express. 31 August 2015. Retrieved 24 January 2016.
6. Leon Hunt and Leung Wing-Fai (2010). East Asian Cinemas: Exploring Transnational Connections on Film. I.B.Tauris. ISBN 9780857736369.CS1 maint: uses authors parameter (link)
7. "48th National Film Awards" (PDF). Directorate of Film Festivals. Retrieved 13 March 2012.
8. Bora, Anita (31 August 2001). "Not just a slick chick flick!". Rediff.com. Retrieved 23 May 2015.
9. "Box Office 2001". Box Office India. Archived from the original on 15 January 2013. Retrieved 22 May 2015.
10. Pais, Arthur J (8 September 2001). "Lajja: a hit overseas". Rediff.com. Retrieved 1 July 2011.
11. "Devgan bags National Award for Bhagat Singh". The Tribune. 27 July 2003. Retrieved 9 December 2010.
12. Gangadhar, V. (27 February 2004). "Bollywood's favourite filmmaker". The Hindu. Retrieved 27 February 2004.
13. Elley, Derek (31 January 2004). "Review: 'Khakee'". Variety. Retrieved 30 August 2014.
14. Sen, Raja (13 January 2006). "Don't visit this Family". Rediff.com. Retrieved 20 January 2016.
15. "Box Office 2006". Box Office India. Archived from the original on 14 October 2013. Retrieved 8 January 2008.
16. "Halla Bol based on Safdar Hashmi: Rajkumar Santoshi". Hindustan Times. 12 July 2007. Retrieved 20 November 2012.
17. Mohamed, Khalid (11 January 2008). "Review: Halla Bol". Hindustan Times. Retrieved 9 January 2012.
18. "Box Office 2009". Box Office India. Archived from the original on 14 October 2013. Retrieved 28 January 2014.
19. Kazmi, Nikhat (5 November 2009). "Ajab Prem Ki Ghazab Kahani Movie Review". The Times of India.
20. "Critics' review: Phata Poster Nikla Hero disappoints, Shahid shines". Hindustan Times. 20 September 2013. Retrieved 5 July 2015.
21. "Phata Poster Nikla Hero flops, is Shahid Kapoor to be blamed?". The Indian Express. 24 September 2013. Retrieved 26 September 2013.

External links

• Rajkumar Santoshi at IMDb