Rajkumar Santoshi
Template:Short description Template:EngvarB Template:Use dmy dates Template:Infobox person
Rajkumar Santoshi is an acclaimed award-winning Indian film director, producer and screenwriter of Hindi films. A recipient of several accolades including three National Film Awards and six Filmfare Awards, he made his directorial debut with the action drama Ghayal (1990), starring Sunny Deol, Meenakshi Sheshadri and Amrish Puri. The film emerged as a blockbuster and critical success,<ref name=GhayalBoI/> making Santoshi a household name in Hindi cinema. The film also won him the National Film Award for Best Popular Film Providing Wholesome Entertainment as well as his first Filmfare Award for Best Director.
His next film, the universally acclaimed social drama Damini (1993), which again starred Deol, Sheshadri, and Puri, also emerged as a blockbuster.<ref name=D-SD>Template:Cite web</ref> It is widely considered the best movie made by Santoshi, garnering him the Filmfare Award for Best Screenplay and his second consecutive Filmfare Award for Best Director. During this period, Santoshi also received praise for directing the comedy Andaz Apna Apna (1994) starring Aamir Khan and Salman Khan together, which despite being a box-office flop has attained cult status. Later, he directed the successful action romance film Barsaat (1995), which marked the film debut of Bobby Deol and Twinkle Khanna. His next action drama Ghatak (1996), again emerged as a commercial blockbuster and critical success.<ref name=GL/> Both Andaz Apna Apna and Ghatak earned him nominations for the Filmfare Award for Best Director.
Although his next film, the 2000 action thriller Pukar, was not successful, his work was appreciated and he won the Nargis Dutt Award for Best Feature Film on National Integration for it. 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 nominations for the Filmfare Award for Best Director. His highest-grossing film of the decade came in 2009 with the romantic comedy Ajab Prem Ki Ghazab Kahani starring Ranbir Kapoor and Katrina Kaif, which grossed Template:INRConvert worldwide.
Personal life
He is the son of producer-director P. L. Santoshi and his second wife. Rajkumar was born in Chennai (then Madras) and currently lives with his wife Manila and children; Ram and Tanisha.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
Career
Early work and breakthrough (1982-1990)
Santoshi started his career in 1982 as an assistant director on Govind Nihalani on the coming-of-age film Vijeta (1982) and the crime drama Ardh Satya (1983).
Santoshi made his directorial debut with the action drama Ghayal (1990), starring Sunny Deol and Meenakshi Seshadri in lead roles. The film tells the story of a person in search of his missing brother and the events that follow. It emerged as a blockbuster hit and a critical success,<ref name=GhayalBoI>Template:Cite web</ref> ranking as the second highest-grossing Hindi film of the year. Ghayal earned Santoshi his first Filmfare Award for Best Director, the Filmfare Award for Best Story, and the National Film Award for Best Popular Film Providing Wholesome Entertainment.<ref name="bless">Template:Cite book</ref>
Critical and commercial success (1991-1999)
Santoshi followed it up with was the crime drama thriller Damini (1993), which dealt with themes considered bold at the time, such as the status of women in our society and the perspective of people towards women. The film starred Seshadri in the lead role, alongside Deol, Rishi Kapoor and Amrish Puri. It opened to universal critical acclaim, with widespread praise for its storyline, execution and theme. Damini also emerged as a blockbuster at the box-office and earned Santoshi his second consecutive Filmfare Award for Best Director, after Ghayal, thus becoming the only director to have won the award for his first two films.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> The film is now considered a cult feminist film and important for portraying women empowerment in cinema.<ref>*Template:Cite web
- Template:Cite web
- Template:Cite web
- Template:Cite web</ref> The pathbreaking film was praised for breaking social taboos and handling the subject of rape with sensitivity; a rarity in Bollywood at the time.<ref>Template:Cite web
- Template:Cite web
- Template:Cite web
- Template:Cite web
- Template:Cite web</ref>
After making two back-to-back serious films, Santoshi decided to make a light film. He then wrote and directed the comedy Andaz Apna Apna (1994), starring an ensemble cast of Aamir Khan, Salman Khan, Raveena Tandon, Karisma Kapoor, Paresh Rawal (in a dual role) and Shakti Kapoor in lead roles. The film received critical acclaim upon release but emerged as a commercial failure at the box-office. It earned Santoshi his third nomination for the Filmfare Award for Best Director.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> However over the years, it is considered a cult classic comedy, with its lexicon having become a part of everyday and ordinary language.<ref name="aaa">Template:Cite web</ref>
Santoshi then went on to make the action romance Barsaat (1995), which marked the debut of actors Bobby Deol and Twinkle Khanna. The film emerged as a commercial success at the box-office, ranking as the fourth highest-grossing Hindi film of the year.
The following year, Santoshi wrote and directed the action drama Ghatak (1996), marking his third collaboration with Deol and Sheshadri. The film received highly positive reviews from critics upon release, and emerged as a blockbuster at the box-office.<ref name=GL>Template:Cite web</ref> It earned Santoshi the Filmfare Award for Best Screenplay, in addition to his fourth nomination for the Filmfare Award for Best Director.
His next venture was the action film China Gate (1998), inspired from Akira Kurosawa's epic drama Seven Samurai (1954).<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> It follows the story of a village that hire a group of veterans to combat bandits who terrorise them. The film received mixed-to-negative reviews from critics upon release, with criticism for its story, screenplay and execution, and emerged as an average commercial success at the box-office, ranking as the tenth highest-grossing Hindi film of the year. However, it won Santoshi the Filmfare Award for Best Dialogue.
Established filmmaker (2000-2005)
Santoshi began the new millennium with writing and directing another action thriller Pukar (2000) starring Anil Kapoor and Madhuri Dixit in lead roles. The film tells the story of a notorious terrorist who manipulates an Indian army major's jilted lover into helping him obtain a classified military code. The film received mixed-to-positive reviews from critics upon release and emerged as an average grosser at the box-office.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Nonetheless, it won Santoshi the Nargis Dutt Award for Best Feature Film on National Integration.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
He followed it up with the social drama Lajja (2001), which told the story of 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.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The film starred an ensemble cast of Manisha Koirala, Madhuri Dixit, Rekha, Mahima Chaudhary, Anil Kapoor, Ajay Devgn and Jackie Shroff in lead roles. Lajja opened to mixed reviews from critics upon release, with criticism for Santoshi's story and screenplay. It emerged as a commercial failure at the Indian box-office, but was successful in overseas markets.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
His next venture was The Legend of Bhagat Singh (2002), a biopic on the freedom fighter Bhagat Singh, portrayed by Devgn. The film opened to positive reviews upon release, with praise for its direction, story and screenplay. It released alongside another film based on Bhagat, 23 March 1931: Shaheed, which featured Bobby Deol as the revolutionary. Despite hype prior to release, the film emerged as a commercial failure at the box-office.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The film's failure was attributed to its release on the same day as 23rd March 1931: Shaheed, with "the two Bhagats eating into each other's business". It, however, won Santoshi the National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Hindi.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Since its release, The Legend of Bhagat Singh has been considered one of Santoshi's best works.<ref>Template:Cite web
Template:Cite news
Template:Cite news</ref> In 2016, the film was included in Hindustan Times's list of "Bollywood's Top 5 Biopics".<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Santoshi wrote and directed the ensemble neo-noir crime thriller Khakee (2004), starring Amitabh Bachchan, Akshay Kumar, Devgn, Aishwarya Rai and Tusshar Kapoor in lead roles. The film told the story of a group of cops who get embroiled in a mystery surrounding a terrorist attack. It opened to critical acclaim upon release, with Derek Elley of Variety writing: "Powerhouse casting, and equally powerhouse direction by Rajkumar Santoshi, makes this an above-average example of mainstream Bollywood thrillers."<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> The film emerged as an average success at the box-office, ranking as the fifth highest-grossing Hindi film of the year. Khakee reiterated Santoshi as one of Bollywood's most sought-after directors, and earned him his fifth nomination for the Filmfare Award for Best Director.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
Setbacks and resurgence (2006-2009)
His next venture was the action thriller family drama Family – Ties of Blood (2006) starring Bachchan, Kumar and Bhumika Chawla in lead roles. The film opened to negative reviews from critics upon release, and emerged as a commercial disaster at the box-office.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
He next wrote and directed the social action drama Halla Bol (2008) starring Devgn, Vidya Balan and Pankaj Kapur in lead roles. 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.<ref name="bol">Template:Cite news</ref> It was shot in 75 days in over 65 locations.<ref name="bol" /> Halla Bol was panned by critics, with Khalid Mohamed calling it "downright awful" [..] "packed with mind-benders galore."<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> The film emerged as his second consecutive commercial disaster at the box-office.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Santoshi's career prospects improved when he wrote and directed the romantic comedy Ajab Prem Ki Ghazab Kahani (2009) starring Ranbir Kapoor and Katrina Kaif in lead roles. The film opened to positive reviews from critics upon release, with particular praise for its direction, story, screenplay, dialogues. It emerged as a commercial success at the box-office, grossing ₹103.21 crore (US$12.4 million) worldwide, ranking as the third highest-grossing Hindi film of the year, and is currently the highest-grossing film of Santoshi's career.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Intermittent work (2010-2023)
After a 4-year hiatus, Santoshi made a comeback with the action comedy Phata Poster Nikhla Hero (2013) starring Shahid Kapoor and Ileana D'Cruz in lead roles. The film received mixed reviews from critics upon release and emerged as a commercial failure at the box-office.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> After another 10-year hiatus, Santoshi made a comeback in 2023 with two diverse ventures – the historical Gandhi Godse – Ek Yudh and the romantic comedy Bad Boy. Both the films opened to mixed-to-negative reviews upon release, and emerged as commercial disasters at the box-office.
Present work (2024-present)
Since 2024, he is directing an ambitious big budget period drama film, Lahore 1947 starring Sunny Deol, Preity Zinta and Shabana Azmi. The film is produced by Aamir Khan.
He will next direct the upcoming film Jaat 2, starring Sunny Deol. Its shooting will begin in 2026 and it will be released in 2027.<ref name=J2>Template:Cite web</ref>
Filmography
As film director
As writer/producer only
This is a list of films that Santhoshi did not direct.
| Year | Title | Writer | Producer | Notes | Template:Refh |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1998 | Vinashak | Template:Partial | |||
| Template:Lang | Template:Partial | ||||
| 1999 | Template:Lang | Template:Partial | Template:Partial | ||
| 2002 | Template:Lang | Template:Partial |
Other credited roles
| Year | Title | Role | Template:Refh |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1982 | Template:Lang | Assistant director | |
| Template:Lang | |||
| 1996 | Halo | Actor |
Awards and nominations
References
External links
Template:Rajkumar Santoshi Template:FilmfareAwardBestDirector Template:FilmfareAwardBestDialogue Template:FilmfareAwardBestStory Template:FilmfareAwardBestScreenplay
- Living people
- Hindi-language film directors
- Filmfare Awards winners
- Indian male screenwriters
- Film directors from Chennai
- Hindi-language screenwriters
- Screenwriters from Chennai
- Hindi film producers
- Film producers from Chennai
- 20th-century Indian dramatists and playwrights
- 21st-century Indian dramatists and playwrights
- 20th-century Indian male writers
- 21st-century Indian male writers
- Directors who won the Best Popular Film Providing Wholesome Entertainment National Film Award
- Directors who won the Best Film on National Integration National Film Award
- 1956 births