South Asian Business news and information

Rajkumar Hirani:
Rajkumar Hirani has proven that movies can be powerful means to take message to the people. A Nagpur citizen, Rajkumar Hirani used to work in theatres in his early life. In 1987, he completed a Diploma in Cinema from Film & Television Institute, Pune and went to Mumbai.

Before coming into the movies, Rajkumar used to produce TV commercials. He worked as an editor in Vidhu Vinod Chopra’s Mission Kashmir. As a director, his first movie was Munna Bhai M.B.B.S. Munna Bhai (Sanjay Dutt) is a gagster living in Mumbai. His parents know that their son has become a big doctor and opened a hospital in his father's name. In fact, it is a fake hospital. One day, his parents find out his real identity and stop talking with him. Munna then decides to become a doctor. Munna Bhai M.B.B.S is a comedy movie with beautiful display of human emotions. In 2006, the sequel of the movie, Lage Raho Munna Bhai was released. Not only the film became a run away hit but it was highly praised both by the critics and the audience. The second film deals with Mahatma Gandhi and his ideals. Although a serious subject, with Rajkumar Hirani’s directorial talent, the movie presented the whole subject in a very comical yet acceptable manner. Lage Raho Munna Bhai is the third most commercially successful movie of 21^st century. It earned Rs. 699 million in India.      

Ashutosh Gwarikar:
He is the “Jack of all trade” in movie making. Acting, producing, directing, writing, Ashutosh Gwarikar has done everything. Born in 1968, Ashutosh Gwarikar started his career by working in TV commercials made by Govind Nihalani and Jenny Pinto. His debut movie as an actor was Holi (1984) directed by Ketan Mehta. Then he appeared in movies like Naam (1986), West Is West (1987), Salim Langde Pe Mat Ro (1989), Goonj (1989), Gawahi (1989), Kabhi Haan Kabhi Naa (1993). He also acted in two award winning Marathi movies: Vazir (1994) and Sarkarnama (1998). Along with movies, Ashutosh also worked in many famous TV serials such as Circus, C.I.D. As a director, his first film was Pehla Nasha (1993); a thriller movie. Pehla Nasha did not do well in box office but his next movie, Baazi (1995), was an average hit. Amir Khan and Mamta Kulkarni played the lead roles in Baazi. In 2001, he again worked with Amir Khan in Lagaan: Once Upon a Time in India (2001). Lagaan: Once Upon a time in India is a mile stone movie in Indian cinema like Sholay. The story is about a small village in British India. How the villagers used cricket as a means of protest against the oppression of British Raj that is the story of the movie. It was the first movie produced by Amir Khan. The film won nomination in Best Foreign Language Film category in Academy Award. In 2004, Ashutosh Gwarikar directed Swades. Though the movie did poorly in the box office it was highly praised by the critics. This year, Ashutosh is directing Jodha-Akbar, a historical movie. Hrithik Roshan and Aishwarya Bachchan are playing the lead roles in the movie.

Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra:
I found two spellings for his name: Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra and Rakesh Omprakash Mehra. He is a renowned ad film maker. A resident of Delhi, Rakesh Omprakash Mehra moved in Mumbai in the 80’s and established Flicks Motion Picture Company Private Limited. He then made more than two hundred television commercials. His list of clients  includes names like Pepsi, Reliance, Dabur, Bajaj Auto, BPL, Wills, Toyota and ICICI. Rakesh even directed shows for MTV and did a documentary film for Amul, the largest co-operative Dairy milk company in India. Under his direction, Amitabh Bachchan did his first TV commercial for BPL and first music video, Eir Bir Pathe. In 2001, Rakesh directed his first movie Aks starring Amitabh Bachchan and Manoj Bajpai. The movie got critical acclaim and won many awards. Rakesh’s second movie was released in 2006; Rang De Basanti. Rakesh wanted to make a film on armed revolution of India. So he took the story of Bhagat Singh, and presented it in a suitable manner for the present generation. Rang De Basanti is a serious movie intended to urge the youth of India to come forward and take their responsibilities toward their country and society. In the first week after its release, the movie collected Rs. 510.7 million making it one of the most successful movies of 2006. After Rang De Basanti Rakesh is directing a comedy movie Delhi 6.

Sanjay Gadhvi:
He has only four films under his credit but Sanjay Gadhvi can be referred as one of best directors Bollywood has ever produced. He started as an assistant director of Anant Balani. His first movie, Tere Liye, was released in 2000. The movie was a disaster in the box office. Then one day, out of the blue he got proposal from Aditya Chopra to direct another film titled, Mere Yaar Ki Shaadi Hai. Sanjay Gadhvi himself was a big fan of Aditya Chopra’s Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge. In an interview with Rediff he admitted to watch the movie 200 times. So it was the most memorable event of Gadhvi’s life when he got the offer. In 2002,  Mere Yaar Ki Shaadi Hai  was released. A clean family entertainer, Mere Yaar Ki Shaadi Hai did average business. In 2004, Sanjay Gadhvi came to lime light with his movie Dhoom. Starring John Abraham, Abhishek Bachchan, Rimi Sen, Uday Chopra, and Esha Deol, the movie was the biggest hit of 2004.  The movie revived the career of the actors and actresses and created a major craze among the youngsters. The music of the movie was also very successful. “Dhoom Machale Dhoom” was the hit song of the year. In 2006, the sequel of Dhoom was released. Titled Dhoom 2, the sequel was even more successful than Dhoom. Within the first fifty days of its release, Dhoom 2 collected more than $32 million. The kissing scene of Hrithik and Aishwarya Bachchan in this movie created serious controversy. Now, Sanjay is planning to bring out Dhoom 3 in 2008.  

Madhur Bhandarkar:
Before coming solo Madhur Bhandarkar used to work as an assistant for Ram Gopal Varma. In 1999, he came up with his directorial debut Trishakti. The movie was a flop but it did not stop Madhur. He then went on and made Chandni Bar in 2001. The movie tells the story of the struggle of a simple village girl Mumtaz (Tabu). Chandni Bar was a critical success and not only the movie established Tabu but also won Madhur his first National Award. From 2005 to 2007, Madhur made a trilogy: Page 3, Corporate and Traffic Signal. The common factor in all these movies is that all three movies reveal the true nature of three different worlds. Page 3 deals with celebrities. It reveals the true world of the celebrities through the eyes of a journalist Madhvi Sharma (Konkona Sen Sharma). Corporate shows the illegal practices of the multi national companies. Traffic Signal is about the lives of a group of people who work around a traffic signal in Mumbai. Madhur Bhandarkar is a director who likes to show the true picture of the society through his movies. Madhur says that his movies are like mirrors that reflect what is going on in the society today. Madhur Bhandarkar’s movies do not have high profile actors and actresses or costly sets like those of Karan Johar but his movies contain very good stories and serious messages.