Rajkumar Santoshi is a noted Hindi film director, screenwriter and producer. He has written and directed some of the most popular and acclaimed films of Hindi cinema, which have also been huge money spinners at the box office, such as "Ajab Prem Ki Ghazab Kahani", "Ghayal", "Damini - Lightning", "Ghatak: Lethal", "Andaz Apna Apna" and "The Legend of Bhagat Singh". He has thus established himself as one of the most successful commercial film directors in Bollywood.

Career of Rajkumar Santoshi
Rajkumar Santoshi began his film career as an assistant director, under filmmaker Govind Nihalani, and worked on his directorial projects "Vijeta" (1982), "Ardh Satya" (1983) and "Party" (1984).

He later started his own directorial career with the Hindi film "Ghayal", starring Sunny Deol. The film released in 1990 and was declared a "Super Hit" at the box office. It went on to become the second highest grossing film of that year and also won 7 Filmfare Awards, including the Filmfare Award for Best Director for Rajkumar Santoshi. Since then, he has been recognised as one of the most versatile Hindi film directors, having directed films of all genres except science fiction. His movies are fascinating and appealing, often characterized by their inherent realism and fine direction. While the film "Damini - Lightning" focussed on the justice and law of India, "Pukar" portrayed Indian army and court martial. Film "Lajja" depicted womanhood with four central woman characters belonging to different strata of Indian society. Film "The Legend of Bhagat Singh" vividly depicted the freedom struggle of the revolutionaries, with Bhagat Singh played by Ajay Devgn. It won the National Award for Best Feature Film in Hindi and also the Filmfare Critics" Award for Best Film.

After working on two serious projects in "Ghayal" and "Damini - Lightning", he directed a light-hearted comedy film "Andaz Apna Apna", which went on to become a popular cult classic. His next venture "Barsaat" was a romantic action drama, introducing actor Bobby Deol. He subsequently worked with Sunny Deol again, writing, directing and also producing the film "Ghatak: Lethal", for which he was awarded the Filmfare Award for Best Screenplay. He wrote and directed films "China Gate", "Pukar", "Lajja", "The Legend of Bhagat Singh", "Khakee", "Family - Ties of Blood" and "Halla Bol", while also producing few films in between.

His most recent works include comedies "Ajab Prem Ki Ghazab Kahani" released in 2009, featuring Ranbir Kapoor and Katrina Kaif and "Phata Poster Nikhla Hero" released in 2013, featuring Shahid Kapoor and Ileana D"Cruz. While the former was a major commercial success, the latter failed critically and commercially.

Awards won by Rajkumar Santoshi
Rajkumar Santoshi, in his filming career, has been recognised with the following National Film and Filmfare awards, amongst others:


•Filmfare Award for Best Director for "Ghayal" in 1991
•Filmfare Award for Best Story for "Ghayal" in 1991
•Filmfare Award for Best Director for "Damini" in 1994
•Filmfare Award for Best Screenplay for "Ghatak" in 1997
•Filmfare Award for Best Dialogue for "China Gate" in 1999
•Nargis Dutt Award for Best Feature Film on National Integration (for 2000) for "Pukar"
•Filmfare Critics" Award for Best Film for "The Legend of Bhagat Singh" in 2003
•National Award for Best Feature Film in Hindi (for 2002) for "The Legend of Bhagat Singh"

Personal Life of Rajkumar Santoshi
Rajkumar Santoshi is the son of yesteryears" producer and director P. L. Santoshi and his second wife. Born in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, he stays with his wife Manila and their daughter Tanisha and son Ram.

Filmography of Rajkumar Santoshi
Rajkumar Santoshi, in his career, has wrote, directed and produced the films highlighted hereunder.