Subhash Ghai

Born: 24 January, 1945 in Nagpur

Biography: Ghai is an Indian director, producer and screenwriter who graduated in Commerce from Haryana and finished a course at Film and Television Institute of India, Pune. He began his career with cameo performances in films like Taqdeer and Aradhana. He made his directorial debut with the film Kalicharan(1976) which became a big hit. He also started a company Mukta Arts Pvt. Ltd. (1982) named after his wife.

Ghai has a lot of films to his credit, many of which are critically acclaimed. Ghai has directed films like Karz, Krodhi, Karma, Ram Lakhan, Khalnayak, Pardes, Taal, Yaadein, Kisna: The Warrior Poet, Yuvraaj and many others. While Karz was quite a success, Saudagar won him the Filmfare Best Director Award. His other film Khalnayak arose many controversies especially for the song ‘Choli Ke Peeche Kya Hai…’ His anti-terrorism film Karma won him a National Award. His 1997 release Pardes which starred Shah Rukh Khan and new comer Mahima Chaudhari was a moderate success. In 1999, his film Taal was featured in the top 20 movies at the US box office. This film did quite well commercially; its songs carried the signature mark of A. R. Rehman and became very popular.

Also known as the ‘showman’ or ‘dream merchant’, Ghai took a 3-year break from directing before he made a comeback in 2008 with the film Black and White and later the musical film Yuvraaj. Ghai has also produced many films like Trimurti, Joggers’ Park, Aitraaz, Apna Sapna Money Money and others. He is also involved in creating a film institute known as Whistling Woods International in Mumbai to train students in film making. The institute is currently being looked after by his elder daughter Meghna.