Anil Sharma

Anil Sharma is a prolific and renowned filmmaker of the Indian Cinema.[1] He is best known for his big vision, action, patriotism, emotions and periodic dramas. His films have always stood out because of their huge canvas and broken new ground.

He was brought up in Mathura, Uttar Pradesh, India, where he grew up with religious tales and fables. His grandfather, Pt. Dalchand, was a renowned astrologer there and he made Anil imbibe the knowledge and stories of Hindu culture. These stories have left a deep impact on him and have been instrumental in making him a fine storyteller. Then after finishing school, he moved to Mumbai and did his B.Sc. degree at Khalsa College.[2]

Thereafter he dabbled with theater, poetry and even wrote for radio, when he finally got his first break in the Hindi film industry thanks to Baldev Raj Chopra at the age of 18 as an Assistant Director. He assisted Baldev Raj Chopra on films such as 'Pati Patni Aur Woh', 'The Burning Train' and 'Insaf Ka Tarazu.’[2]

In 1980, at the age of 21 he debuted as a director with an outstanding film ‘Shradhanjali’ starring Raakhee, the top actress of Indian cinema at the time. His first film brought him tremendous recognition and acclaim as the movie proved to be a huge success at the box office.[3] In 1983, he Directed ‘Bandhan Kuchchey Dhaagon Ka’ ; a film based on the intriguing relationships of married life. It was acclaimed critically. After that, he made a number of magnificent films and carved a niche for himself as a successful filmmaker in the Indian Film Industry with blockbusters ranging from Hukumat’ to ‘Tahalka.’ Then, in 2001, the movie, ‘Gadar: Ek Prem Katha’, turned out to be a milestone in his career as it created history at the box office and is rated amongst the greatest ever blockbusters of Indian cinema.

Overtime, his success continued to be bigger and better and he got the opportunity to work with many artists of Bollywood. He has worked with various established artists like Amitabh Bachchan, Dharmendra, Rajnikanth, Sunny Deol, Salman Khan, Zeenat Aman, Shashi Kapoor, Sridevi, Akshay Kumar, Govinda, Manisha Koirala, Katrina Kaif, Amrish Puri, Preity Zinta, Priyanka Chopra, Ameesha Patel, Naseeruddin Shah, Jeetendra, Bobby Deol, Jaya Prada and many others. He also gave many actors their big break in the film Industry such as Priyanka Chopra.[4]

Anil’s filmography with Dharmendra holds a unique record. The Dharmendra-Anil Sharma's team has delivered several successful projects such as Hukumat (1987), Elaan-E-Jung (1989), Farishtay (1991), Tahalka (1992) and the critically acclaimed film, Apne (2007).[5] All these films were of a huge canvas and large ensemble cast and Hukumat was the highest grosser of the year 1987. His working relationship with Dharmendra yielded a record of sorts. They have not delivered a single flop film together till date. Anil holds a similar record with Dharmendra’s son, Sunny Deol.

After the grand success of ‘Tahalka’,[6] Anil took a break from filmmaking for a few years and dedicated himself to open a Studio City in India on the lines of Universal Studios in LA. However, the project did not materialize. Anil then returned to filmmaking with ‘Maharaja.’

In 2001, Anil directed 'Gadar: Ek Prem Katha' starring Sunny Deol and newcomer Ameesha Patel. The film was a huge commercial success and critically appreciated as well. Gadar: Ek Prem Katha went on to become one of the biggest blockbusters in the history of Hindi cinema and till today, it still remains the most successful film of the first decade of the 21st century.[7]

Anil’s next was 'The Hero: Love Story of a Spy' starring Sunny Deol, Preity Zinta. He also gave Priyanka Chopra her first break with this movie.The film was on the backdrop of espionage and war between India-Pakistan. The film, at its time, was considered to be the most expensive film ever made in Bollywood with the biggest film budget ever. The film went on to be the third highest grosser of the year.[8]

‘Ab Tumhare Hawale Watan Saathiyo’ was his next directorial . This was his first film with Amitabh Bachchan, Akshay Kumar and Bobby Deol. Divya Khosla Kumar was introduced as the newcomer in this film. This film is remembered for its patriotic fervor.[9]

‘Apne’ (2007),[10] his next film was critically praised for its depiction of family emotions and values. This film garnered Anil immense critical and box office success and remains as the first film starring all three Deols- Dharmendra, Sunny Deol and Bobby Deol.

In 2010, his directorial next ‘Veer’, starring Salman Khan, Mithun Chakraborty, Jackie Shroff and a newcomer Zarine Khan. The movie was much talked-about for its massive scale and depiction of the Indian Rajputana’s war with the British.[11]

After this he made ‘Singh Saab The Great’ with Sunny Deol and Prakash Raj. The theme of the film was against corruption in the system and it spread the message of change and not revenge. In this film, Anil introduced Urvashi Rautela.[12]

In his most recent film, ‘Genius’, he introduced his son Utkarsh Sharma as the main lead, though he had already introduced him as a child artist in ‘Gadar’. He also introduced Ishita Chauhan as the female lead in this film. Mithun Chakraborty and Nawazuddin Siddiqui formed the rest of the main cast. For the first time in his career he shot in his hometown, Mathura, for a film. The songs of the movie were huge hit in the country, with two songs crossing 500 million each.[13]

Currently, Anil is working on many projects in both films and web television shows.

A common theme in most of Anil Sharma's films is that of patriotism.[14] Not just blind and aggressive patriotism, but the kind which unites people together first and then causes them to fight the injustice together with the spirit of brotherhood and even becoming a martyr for their cause.

In Hukumat,[15] Elaan-E-Jung [16] and Tahalka,[17] he depicted a hero uniting people against evil terrorist forces. All three of them had a huge canvas in their making and depiction of the firefight that ensues between the hero and the villain.

In Gadar,[18] he depicted the volatile period of 1947. The situations, trauma and realism depicted in the film went on to make it one of Bollywood's highest grosser to date.

In The Hero, he depicted the espionage that occurs between India and Pakistan. There were several firefight and spying scenes that occur between Indian and Pakistani troops and terrorists in the film.

In Ab Tumhare Hawale Watan Saathiyo,[19] he depicted the 1970 India-Pakistan War. The scale and tension of the war was praised by critics and audiences alike. War sequences included naval and land battles. The Kargil war was also depicted in the film.

In Veer,[20] he depicted the period from 1850s -1900s. This was a period war film. Horse, Infantry and early artillery battles were shown between the tribals, kings and the Britishers.

In Genius,[21] he showed how adopting modern technology is the key to save the country.

Anil believes in living and dreaming film, 24x7. Thinking, Planning, Visualizing the scenes, and even remembering all the dialogues of the film in the process. What matters to him is a good story, executed with 100% hard work and dedication.

• Sunny and Anil bring humour in SINGH SAHIB THE GREAT
• Singh Sahib The Great to be shot in UP
• Budget of 'Veer'

• Anil Sharma at IMDb