Aanand L. Rai (born ) is an Indian film director and producer known for directing the romantic comedy-dramas '' Tanu Weds Manu'' (2011) and its sequel ''

Tanu Weds Manu Returns ''Tanu Weds Manu Returns'' is a 2015 Indian romantic comedy film directed by Aanand L. Rai, and is a sequel to the 2011 film ''Tanu Weds Manu''. R. Madhavan, Kangana Ranaut, Jimmy Sheirgill, Deepak Dobriyal, Swara Bhaskar, and Eijaz Khan repris ...

'' (2015), and the romantic drama ''

Raanjhanaa ''Raanjhanaa'' () is a 2013 Indian Hindi-language romantic drama film directed by Aanand L. Rai and written by Himanshu Sharma. The film is produced by Krishika Lulla under the banner of Eros International. It stars Dhanush (in his Hindi fil ...

'' (2013), with the latter two earning him nominations for the

Filmfare Award for Best Director The Filmfare Best Director Award is one of the main awards presented given by the annual Filmfare Awards to recognise directors working in Hindi cinema. It was first presented in 1954 in the inaugural year. Superlatives Bimal Roy has the re ...

. He then directed the big-budget romantic drama ''

Zero 0 (zero) is a number representing an empty quantity. Adding (or subtracting) 0 to any number leaves that number unchanged; in mathematical terminology, 0 is the additive identity of the integers, rational numbers, real numbers, and compl ...

''(2018), the romantic fantasy comedy-drama '' Atrangi Re'' (2021) and the family comedy-drama ''

Raksha Bandhan Raksha Bandhan Quote: m Hindi ''rakśābandhan'' held on the full moon of the month of Savan, when sisters tie a talisman (rakhi q.v.) on the arm of their brothers and receive small gifts of money from them. is a popular and traditionally Hin ...

'' (2022).

Early life and background

Rai was born and brought up in Delhi. After his schooling in Delhi, he did his computer engineering from

Aurangabad Aurangabad (), officially renamed as Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar in 2023, is a city in the Indian state of Maharashtra. It is the administrative headquarters of Aurangabad district and is the largest city in the Marathwada region. Located on a ...

Maharashtra Maharashtra () is a state in the western peninsular region of India occupying a substantial portion of the Deccan Plateau. It is bordered by the Arabian Sea to the west, the Indian states of Karnataka and Goa to the south, Telangana to th ...

. TNN His family's original surname was Raisinghani, and had shifted to

Dehradun Dehradun (), also known as Dehra Doon, is the winter capital and the List of cities in Uttarakhand by population, most populous city of the Indian state of Uttarakhand. It is the administrative headquarters of the eponymous Dehradun district, d ...

from

Sindh Sindh ( ; ; , ; abbr. SD, historically romanized as Sind (caliphal province), Sind or Scinde) is a Administrative units of Pakistan, province of Pakistan. Located in the Geography of Pakistan, southeastern region of the country, Sindh is t ...

, after

partition of India The partition of India in 1947 was the division of British India into two independent dominion states, the Dominion of India, Union of India and Dominion of Pakistan. The Union of India is today the Republic of India, and the Dominion of Paki ...

in 1947.

Career

Pre-film career

Rai started his career as an engineer, but soon left it and moved to Mumbai where he started assisting his elder brother television director Ravi Rai in various television series. After gaining substantial experience, he moved on to directing his own shows.

Early work (2007-2008)

He made his directorial debut with the psychological thriller ''

Strangers A stranger is a person who is unknown or unfamiliar to another person or group. Because of this unknown status or unfamiliarity, a stranger may be perceived as a threat until their identity (social science), identity and Character structure, chara ...

'' (2007) starring

Jimmy Shergill Jimmy Sheirgill (born Jasjit Singh Gill; 3 December 1970), also known as Jimmy Shergill, is an Indian actor and producer who primarily works in Hindi and Punjabi films. Sheirgill began his film career with the 1996 thriller '' Maachis''. His ...

Kay Kay Menon Krishna Kumar Menon (born 2 October 1966), known professionally as Kay Kay Menon, is an Indian actor who works predominantly in Hindi cinema, and occasionally in Gujarati, Tamil, Marathi and Telugu films. He is best known for his roles in fil ...

Nandana Sen Nandana Dev Sen is an Indian-born American actress, screenwriter, children's author, and child-rights activist. Her first film role in Bollywood was Sanjay Leela Bhansali's ''Black'' (2005), starring Amitabh Bachchan and Rani Mukherjee, in ...

Sonali Kulkarni Sonali Kulkarni (born 3 November 1974) is an Indian actress, producer, and writer who primarily appears in Marathi, Hindi and few Tamil films. Kulkarni is considered as one of the most accomplished and highest-paid actresses in Marathi cinema, ...

. The film was based on

Alfred Hitchcock Sir Alfred Joseph Hitchcock (13 August 1899 – 29 April 1980) was an English film director. He is widely regarded as one of the most influential figures in the history of cinema. In a career spanning six decades, he directed over 50 featu ...

's '' Strangers on a Train'' (1951). The film received negative reviews from critics, and emerged as a commercial disaster at the box-office. Similar was the fate of his next film, '' Thodi Life Thoda Magic'' (2008) starring

Jackie Shroff Jaikishan Kakubhai Shroff (born 1 February 1957), known by his screen name Jackie Shroff, is an Indian actor and former model from Mumbai, Maharashtra, who primarily works in the Hindi film industry. In a career spanning over four decades, he ...

and

Parmeet Sethi Parmeet Sethi is an Indian actor. He is best known for portraying Kuljeet Singh in his debut in Aditya Chopra's directorial debut ''Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge'' (1995). Sethi has also acted in films such as '' Dhadkan'' (2000), '' Om Jai Jaga ...

Breakthrough and success (2011-2015)

In 2011, he started his production house, Colour Yellow Productions, which helmed all his future production ventures. The same year, he achieved his breakthrough with the romantic comedy-drama '' Tanu Weds Manu'' (2011) starring R. Madhavan and

Kangana Ranaut Kangna Amardeep Ranaut (; born 23 March 1986) is an Indian actress, filmmaker, and politician serving as a Member of Parliament, Lok Sabha from Mandi Lok Sabha constituency, Mandi since June 2024. Known for her portrayals of strong-willed, u ...

in lead roles. The film emerged as his first commercial success, grossing ₹56 crore worldwide. It received mixed-to-positive reviews from critics upon release, with particular praise for its novel concept and screenplay. The film was the first instalment of the ''Tanu Weds Manu'' franchise. In 2013, he directed the romantic drama ''

'', starring

Dhanush Venkatesh Prabhu Kasthuri Raja (born 28 July 1983), known professionally as Dhanush, is an Indian actor, filmmaker, lyricist and playback singer who primarily works in Tamil cinema. Having starred in Dhanush filmography, 50 films over his car ...

in his Bollywood debut alongside

Sonam Kapoor Sonam Kapoor Ahuja (; born 9 June 1985) is an Indian actress who works in Hindi films. She has received List of awards and nominations received by Sonam Kapoor, several awards, including a National Film Awards, National Film Award and a Filmf ...

, Abhay Deol and Swara Bhasker in lead roles. The film emerged as his second consecutive commercial success at the box-office, grossing ₹94 crore worldwide, ranking as the tenth highest-grossing Hindi film of the year. It received mixed-to-positive reviews from critics upon release, with particular praise for its writing and direction. ''Raanjhanaa'' earned Rai his first nomination for the

. In 2015, Rai directed the romantic comedy-drama ''

'', the sequel to ''Tanu Weds Manu'', with all the cast members reprising their roles from the first instalment. The film opened to widespread critical acclaim upon release, and emerged as his third consecutive commercial success. It grossed ₹243.6 crore worldwide and emerged as a blockbuster at the box-office, ranking as the fifth highest-grossing Hindi film of the year, and was the highest-grossing female-lead film in India at the time of its release. ''Tanu Weds Manu Returns'' earned Rai his second nomination for the Filmfare Award for Best Director.

Career decline (2018-present)

His next directorial was the big-budget romantic drama ''Zero'' (2018) starring

Shah Rukh Khan Shah Rukh Khan (; born 2 November 1965), also known by the initialism SRK, is an Indian actor and film producer who works in Hindi cinema. Referred to in the media as the "Padishah, Baadshah of Bollywood" and "King Khan", he has Shah Rukh K ...

Anushka Sharma Anushka Sharma (; born 1 May 1988) is an Indian actress who works in Hindi films. She has won many awards including Filmfare Awards and IIFA Awards. Sharma has appeared in ''Forbes India''s Celebrity 100 in the 2010s and was featured by ''F ...

and

Katrina Kaif Katrina Kaif (; born Katrina Rosemary Turcotte, 16 July 1983) is a British actress who works in Hindi-language films. One of the highest-paid actresses in India, she has received numerous accolades, including four Screen Awards and four Zee C ...

in lead roles. The film tells the story of a love triangle between a dwarf man, a scientist with

cerebral palsy Cerebral palsy (CP) is a group of movement disorders that appear in early childhood. Signs and symptoms vary among people and over time, but include poor coordination, spasticity, stiff muscles, Paresis, weak muscles, and tremors. There may b ...

, and an alcoholic actress. Despite high hype prior to release due to its

A-list An A-list actor is a major movie star, or one of the most bankable actors in a film industry. The A-list is part of a larger guide called ''The Hot List'', which ranks the bankability of 1,400 movie actors worldwide, and has become an industry ...

star-cast and Rai's previous successful ventures, the film emerged as a commercial disaster at the box-office, and received mixed-to-negative reviews from critics. In 2021, he directed the romantic fantasy comedy-drama '' Atrangi Re'' starring Dhanush, Sara Ali Khan and

Akshay Kumar Akshay Hari Om Bhatia (born Rajiv Hari Om Bhatia; 9 September 1967), known professionally as Akshay Kumar (), is an Indian actor and film producer working in Hindi cinema. Referred to in the media as "Khiladi Kumar", through his career span ...

in lead roles. Delayed due to the

COVID-19 pandemic in India The COVID-19 pandemic in India is a part of the COVID-19 pandemic, worldwide pandemic of COVID-19, coronavirus disease 2019 () caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). As of , according to Indian government ...

and rescheduled multiple times due to the nationwide lockdown due to the pandemic, the film was released on

Disney+ Hotstar Disney+ Hotstar, also known as JioHotstar or simply Hotstar, is an Indian subscription video-on-demand over-the-top streaming service owned by Disney Star. The brand was introduced as Hotstar for a streaming service carrying content from Di ...

, bypassing theatrical release. It opened to mixed reviews from critics upon release, with praise for its unconventional plot, but criticism for its incoherent screenplay and execution of overall storyline. In 2022, he directed Kumar again alongside

Bhumi Pednekar Bhumi Pednekar ( born 18 July 1989) is an Indian actress who works in Hindi films. Known for her portrayals of headstrong small-town women, she is the recipient of several awards, including three Filmfare Awards. After working as an assistant ...

in the family comedy-drama ''

''. The film received mixed-to-negative reviews from critics, and emerged as a commercial disaster at the box-office. Rai is next set to direct the standalone sequel to ''Raanjhanaa'', titled ''Tere Ishk Mein'', which is set to release in 2025.

Filmography

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Rai, Aanand L. 1970s births Date of birth missing (living people) Living people Hindi-language film directors Film directors from Delhi Film producers from Delhi 21st-century Indian people Mass media people from Delhi