Rahul Dholakia is an acclaimed Indian film director, producer and screenwriter, best known for his 2007 drama film "Parzania", which earned him the National Film Award for Best Direction. Apart from feature films, he has also made documentaries, such as "Teenage Parents" and "New York Taxi Drivers". His upcoming project is the Shah Rukh Khan-starrer action thriller "Raees", slated for a 2017 Republic Day release.

Early Life and Education of Rahul Dholakia
Rahul Dholakia was born in Mumbai, Maharashtra, to mother Raksha Dholakia and father Parry Dholakia, an advertising professional. He has an elder sister named Moha. He completed his schooling from Campion School and Jamnabai Narsee School both in Mumbai, following which he completed his graduation in Bachelors of Science from St. Xavier`s College, Mumbai.

Career of Rahul Dholakia
During his college days, Rahul Dholakia had begun working in his father"s advertising agency, Mora Ava. He later worked as a production assistant with producer Babla Sen for a project for Channel 4, a British public service television broadcaster, in London, and 10 documentaries later, he became a producer himself. Subsequently, he began working as an assistant with Everest Advertising in Mumbai and gradually ventured into feature film production.

In the year 1990, he moved to New York and did his Masters in filmmaking from the New York Institute of Technology. Since then, he has been in India and Corona, California in the United States. He made a couple of documentaries and commercials, even running a TV station called TV Asia for a brief phase, before making his debut feature film project.

Rahul Dholakia made his cinematic debut as a director with the Hindi-English bilingual, "Kehtaa Hai Dil Baar Baar", released in the year 2002, starring Paresh Rawal, Jimmy Shergill and Kim Sharma in lead roles. It was also credited as the first Hindi film which was entirely shot in America. His second feature film, "Parzania", was a drama film which he also co-wrote and co-produced. Based on the real life story of a 10-year-old Parsi boy, Azhar Mody, known as Parzaan, who disappeared during the February 28, 2002 Gulbarg Society massacre that occurred during the communal riots in Gujarat in 2002, the film featured actors Naseeruddin Shah and Sarika in the lead. Tracing the journey of the Pithawala family trying to locate their missing son, the film premiered at the 36th India International Film Festival in Goa in November 2005, before being released nationwide in January 2007, in English, Gujarati and Parsi languages. The film won Rahul Dholakia the National Film Award for Best Direction, and the National Film Award for Best Actress for Sarika, in 2006.

Rahul"s next directional venture was a segment in the 2010 anthology film "Mumbai Cutting", released in 2010 in India. The film, comprising 11 short films with the short film "Bombay Mumbai Same Shit" written and directed by Dholakia, had its world premiere in April 2008 at ArcLight Hollywood as the closing film of 2008 Indian Film Festival of Los Angeles. Thereafter, it was also the closing film at the 10th Osian Film Festival in July 2008. His next directorial was "Lamhaa", a Bollywood action thriller featuring Sanjay Dutt and Bipasha Basu in the lead roles. The film, also written by Dholakia, depicted a story about an army officer and his love interest, in the midst of issues that Kashmir had faced over the years. It released in 2010 in positive to mixed reviews from critics. Rahul Dholakia also directed the first episode of STAR Plus biographical TV series which premiered in 2012. The episode showcased the story of Janaki Aralikar. He wrote and directed the drama film "Society Kaam Se Gayi", which released in October 2013 in India.

Rahul Dholakia"s next project is the Bollywood action thriller film "Raees", starring Shah Rukh Khan in the lead alongside Nawazuddin Siddiqui and Mahira Khan. Produced by Red Chillies Entertainment and Excel Entertainment, the film is slated for a release on January 26, 2017.

Filmography of Rahul Dholakia
The feature films directed by Rahul Dholakia are highlighted below alongside their respective years of release.