Danish Aslam is a filmmaker based in Mumbai, India, with a career spanning over two decades. He has worked in various mediums, including films, web series, music videos and television.
Career
Before making his directorial debut, Danish worked as an assistant on several notable Bollywood films, including "
Fanaa," "
Ta Ra Rum Pum
''Ta Ra Rum Pum'' is a 2007 Indian Hindi-language sports drama film directed by Siddharth Anand and written by Habib Faisal. Produced by Aditya Chopra under the Yash Raj Films banner, the film stars Saif Ali Khan and Rani Mukerji, alongside ...
," "
Thoda Pyaar Thoda Magic
''Thoda Pyaar Thoda Magic'' (transl. ''A Little Love, A Little Magic'') is a 2008 Indian Hindi-language fantasy comedy-drama film directed by Kunal Kohli and produced by Aditya Chopra under the Yash Raj Films banner. The film stars Saif Ali Khan ...
," "
Being Cyrus
''Being Cyrus'' is a 2005 Indian English-language dark comedy film directed by Homi Adajania. The film revolves around a dysfunctional Parsi family. The film was originally titled '' Akoori'', a reference to a traditional Parsi scrambled eggs-l ...
," "
Salaam Namaste
''Salaam Namaste'' (transl. ''Hello Greetings'') is a 2005 Indian Hindi-language romantic comedy film written and directed by Siddharth Anand, in his directorial debut, and produced by Aditya Chopra under the Yash Raj Films banner. The film star ...
," "
Lakshya," and "
Swades
''Swades'' () is a 2004 Indian Hindi-language drama film co-written, directed and produced by Ashutosh Gowariker. The film stars Shah Rukh Khan, alongside Gayatri Joshi, Kishori Ballal, Daya Shankar Pandey, Rajesh Vivek, and Lekh Tandon.
T ...
".
Directorial Debut
Danish made his directorial debut with the 2010 film "
Break Ke Baad
''Break Ke Baad'' () is a 2010 Indian Hindi-language romantic comedy film directed by Danish Aslam and produced by Kunal Kohli under the banner of Kunal Kohli Productions. It stars Deepika Padukone and Imran Khan, with supporting performances fr ...
," a comedy-drama starring Deepika Padukone and Imran Khan. The film received mixed reviews but was praised as "a 'rom-com' that gets it right" and for "its surprisingly modern depiction of young adult relationships"
Television and Web Series
Between 2013-15, Danish directed several television shows for various networks.
* "Yeh Hai Aashiqui" (2013-2014): A romantic drama series for
Bindass
Bindass was an Indian Hindi language music pay television channel owned by Disney Star. Originally launched as a youth channel, it was a more dedicated music channel. Bindass was discontinued on 15 March 2025.
History
UTV Software Communica ...
channel
* "Love by Chance" (2014): A series for
Bindass
Bindass was an Indian Hindi language music pay television channel owned by Disney Star. Originally launched as a youth channel, it was a more dedicated music channel. Bindass was discontinued on 15 March 2025.
History
UTV Software Communica ...
channel
* "Siyaasat" (2014-2015): A historical drama series for
Epic
Epic commonly refers to:
* Epic poetry, a long narrative poem celebrating heroic deeds and events significant to a culture or nation
* Epic film, a genre of film defined by the spectacular presentation of human drama on a grandiose scale
Epic(s) ...
channel
* "Kabhi Aise Geet Gaya Karo" (2015): A mini-series for
Disney
The Walt Disney Company, commonly referred to as simply Disney, is an American multinational mass media and entertainment industry, entertainment conglomerate (company), conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios (Burbank), Walt Di ...
channel
Danish began working on web series in 2016 with "
It's Not That Simple
''It's Not That Simple'' is a 2016 Indian comedy-drama web series starring Akshay Oberoi, Vivan Bhatena, Karan Veer Mehra, Swara Bhaskar, Sumeet Vyas, Purab Kohli, Manasi Rachh, Neha Chauhan, Rohan Shah and Devika Vatsa in the lead rol ...
," marking his entry into the digital space at a time when the medium was still relatively new in India. Danish directed two seasons of this show, which was critically acclaimed for its "sharp writing and plotting curves, not to mention a certain maturity in the level of some of the performances".
Since then, he has directed and co-written several critically acclaimed web series:
* "Time Out" (2017): A Voot original series starring
Tahir Raj Bhasin and
Sarah Jane Dias. The show made the
GQ India list of 'Best Indian Web Series of 2017' and the
Firstpost
Firstpost is an Indian news website owned by Network18 Group, which also runs CNN-News18 and CNBC TV18. It has posted misinformation on multiple occasions.
The Network 18 group was originally owned by Raghav Bahl. In January 2012, the gro ...
list of 'Best Web Series of 2017'.
* "Flesh" (2020): A critically acclaimed series for Eros Now, starring
Swara Bhasker and
Akshay Oberoi
Akshay Oberoi (born 1 January 1985) is an American actor of Indian descent, who works in Hindi films. After making his acting debut as a child in the 2002 comedy-drama '' American Chai'', Oberoi played his first leading role in Rajshri Product ...
. It was praised for a "gripping and tight" screenplay while Danish was commended for being "masterful of his direction and tone".
* "The Reunion - Chal Chalein Apne Ghar" (2021): A Zoom Studios production featuring Veer Rajwant Singh,
Kashmira Irani
Kashmira Irani is an Indian film, television and theatre actress known for playing Amber in '' Amber Dhara'', Draupadi in '' Dharmakshetra'' and Samaira Khanna in '' Dosti... Yaariyan... Manmarziyan'', Rajkumari Sonali in '' Zangoora''. She has ...
, and
KK Raina, that was described as "a well-told story of a dysfunctional family".
* "Feels Like Ishq" (2021): Danish directed an episode of this Netflix anthology series, which starred
Saba Azad
Saba Azad (born Saba Singh Grewal, 1 November 1985) is an Indian actress, theatre director and musician. She is one half of Mumbai-based electro funk duo Madboy/Mink. She made her Bollywood debut as one of the leads Raaga in the indie film ''Di ...
. Critics described his episode as one of the "stand-outs among the lot" and having the "innocence of a love story while also dealing with the complications that come with a LGBTQI+ romance".
Music Videos
Danish directed the music video for the song "Baadshah" (2017), performed by
Pratyul Joshi and released by
T-Series. The video was shot in
Mauritius
Mauritius, officially the Republic of Mauritius, is an island country in the Indian Ocean, about off the southeastern coast of East Africa, east of Madagascar. It includes the main island (also called Mauritius), as well as Rodrigues, Ag ...
and features actress
Pallavi Sharda
Pallavi Sharda (born 5 March 1992) is an Australian actress and Bharathanatyam dancer of Indian descent. She won the Miss India Australia beauty pageant in 2010. As an actress she is best known for her role in the Academy Award nominated film ...
alongside Joshi.
Danish also directed the music video for "Jiya Laage Na" (2024), a romantic single sung by
Mohit Chauhan
Mohit Chauhan (born 11 March 1966) is an Indian playback singer, known for his work in Hindi films. He was a part of the Silk Route (band), Silk Route band. Chauhan has received two Filmfare Award for Best Male Playback Singer and three Zee Ci ...
and
Shilpa Rao
Shilpa Rao (born Apeksha Rao; 11 April 1984) is an Indian singer who primarily records songs in Hindi, Telugu language, Telugu and Tamil language, Tamil languages. During her college days, composer Mithoon offered her to record the song "Javeda ...
, with music by
Rochak Kohli
Rochak Kohli is an Indian music director for Bollywood films. He is famous for writing the song 'Karan's Saddle Point'. He made his music debut in Shoojit Sircar's romantic comedy '' Vicky Donor'' with " Pani Da Rang". The song was made in col ...
, released by
Universal Music India
Universal Music India Pvt. Ltd. (UMI) was launched in 1999; it is a part of the Universal Music Group, an American-based, Dutch-listed multinational music corporation. Universal Music India is registered with the Indian Music Industry, a tru ...
Pvt. Ltd. under their
VYRL Originals label. The video features
Parth Samthaan
Parth Laghate (born 11 March 1991) known professionally as Parth Samthaan is an Indian actor. He began his acting career by starring in '' Gumrah: End of Innocence'' as Siddharth and '' Best Friends Forever?'' as Prithvi Sanyal in the same year ...
and
Isha Malviya in a simple yet heartwarming story of a newly married couple finding love in a joint family setting.
Recent Work
Danish's most recent film, "
Khwaabon Ka Jhamela," starring Prateik Babbar, Sayani Gupta, and Kubbra Sait, was released on JioCinema in 2024. It has received generally positive reviews from critics, who praised its visual appeal, performances and its refreshing take on modern relationships.
Filmography
Films
Web Series and Television
Music Videos
Acting
Future Projects
As of November 2024, Danish has confirmed that he is working on a new project with actor
Imran Khan
Imran Ahmed Khan Niazi (born 5 October 1952) is a Pakistani politician, philanthropist, and former cricketer who served as the 19th prime minister of Pakistan from August 2018 until April 2022. He was the founder of the political party Pak ...
, with whom he previously collaborated on "Break Ke Baad". While details are yet to be officially announced, Danish has stated that the project is still a work-in-progress.
References
External links
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Aslam, Danish
Living people
21st-century Indian people
Film directors from Mumbai
Jamia Millia Islamia alumni
1979 births