Nikhil Advani is an Indian movie director who works primarily for Hindi film industry. Apart from direction, he has also worked as a screenwriter. He stepped into the film world as an assistant director and gradually moved to the field of film direction. His very first venture Kal Ho Na Ho proved to be a big hit, soon rendering him a strong footing amongst the film directors. Nikhil Advani has also written the screenplay for a number of Bollywood flicks. A staunch supported of 3D, he is also credited for directing the first Indian 3D animated film.

Early Life of Nikhil Advani
Nikhil Advani was born on 28th April 1971 in Mumbai to a Sindhi father and Maharashtrian mother. His father owns a pharmaceutical business and his mother is an advertising professional. He completed his schooling from Green Lawns High School, Breach Candy and did his Masters from St. Xavier`s College, Mumbai in chemistry.

Career of Nikhil Advani
Nikhil Advani began his career with Sudhir Mishra`s movie Is Raat Ki Subah Nahin as an assistant director in the year 1996. He also co-wrote the screenplay for the film. Afterwards he bagged projects with Dharma Productions, which is the production house of late Yash Johar, the father of Karan Johar. He once again worked as an assistant director and assisted Karan Johar in his two directional ventures Kuch Kuch Hota Hai and Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham. In the premier film Nikhil also did a cameo role during the sequence of Neelam Show.

Nikhil Advani marked his directional debut in the year 2003 under Dharma Productions with the film Kal Ho Na Ho featuring Shahrukh Khan, Saif Ali Khan, Preity Zinta and Jaya Bachchan. The movie went on to become one of the biggest hits of the year rendering him recognition as a potent film director. His first venture gathered huge success and won six Filmfare Awards. However it missed out the award in the best director category. Subsequently Nikhil Advani wanted to direct his next film without Dharma Productions. Although the script was ready, many actors were dropping out the film due to which the movie got delayed. He finally announced the title of film in October as Salaam-e-Ishq: A Tribute To Love. The movie featured a huge star cast including Salman Khan, Vidya Balan, Sohail Khan, Priyanka Chopra, Ayesha Takia, Anil Kapoor, Juhi Chawla, Govinda, Akshaye Khanna, John Abraham, Shannon Esra and Anjana Sukhani. The film released on 25 January 2007 under the production of Sunil Manchanda, Mukesh Talreja and Chetan Motiwalla and received mixed reviews.

Nikhil Advani`s next venture, Chandni Chowk To China, released in 2009 starring Akshay Kumar and Deepika Padukone. The film however could not perform well at box office. Even after its failure he made another film with Akshay Kumar as the male lead and Anushka Sharma as the female lead. The film titled Patiala House commercially opened in New York. India`s first stereoscopic 3D animation film, named Delhi Safari, was also directed by Nikhil Advani. He also directed an action spy thriller film D-Day in 2013. He worked as a screenwriter for the films Is Raat Ki Subah Nahin, Salaam-e-Ishq: A Tribute To Love, Patiala House, Delhi Safari and D-Day.

Filmography of Nikhil Advani