Meghna Gulzar

Meghna Gulzar is an Indian writer, director and producer. The daughter of lyricist & poet Gulzar and former actress Raakhee, she was born on 13 December 1973 in Maharashtra, Mumbai.[3]

In this Indian name, the name Gulzar is a patronymic, and the person should be referred to by the given name, Meghna.

Meghna Gulzar
Meghna in 2018
Born (1973-12-13) 13 December 1973[1]
bombay now in Mumbai, Maharashtra, India
OccupationWriter, film director, producer
Years active2001–present
Spouse(s)Govind Sandhu
ChildrenSamay[2]
Parent(s)Gulzar (father)
Raakhee (mother)

After debuting as a screenwriter with her father's 1999 directorial Hu Tu Tu,[4] Meghna directed her first film, the drama Filhaal... (2002), though did not achieve success in direction that decade. Following an eight-year sabbatical, she directed the critically acclaimed Talvar (2015), which earned her Best Director nominations despite underperforming at the box office. Her first directorial profitable venture came in 2018, when she directed the patriotic thriller Raazi, that emerged as one of the highest-grossing Indian films. She won the Best Director award at Filmfare for her work in the same. This established her as a director, and Meghna next helmed the biographical drama Chhapaak (2020).

Career
Meghna in January 2010

Meghna began her writing career as a freelance writer for The Times of India and the NFDC publication Cinema in India. Her poetry was published in anthologies of the Poetry Society of India. After completing her graduation in Sociology, she worked with noted filmmaker Saeed Akhtar Mirza as an assistant director. In 1995, she completed a short course in filmmaking from the Tisch School of Arts, New York University, New York. Upon her return, she joined her father, writer-director Gulzar, as an assistant on his films Maachis and Hu Tu Tu. Meghna simultaneously began scripting her own film along with directing documentaries for Doordarshan and music videos for several music albums.

Meghna directed her first film, Filhaal, in 2002,[5] starring former Miss Universe-turned-actress Sushmita Sen and Tabu. Her second directorial movie was Just Married in 2007.[6] She also directed a short film Pooranmasi for Sanjay Gupta's anthology Dus Kahaniyaan, starring Amrita Singh. In 2015, Meghna directed Talvar,[7] written by Vishal Bharadwaj and based on the 2008 Noida double murder case.[8]

In 2018, she directed the thriller Raazi.[9] Produced by Junglee Pictures and Dharma Productions, it starred Alia Bhatt and Vicky Kaushal.[10] The film is based on Harinder Sikka’s novel Calling Sehmat.[11] With worldwide earnings of ₹193 crore (US$27 million), it proved one of the highest-grossing Bollywood films. Both Talvar and Raazi received Filmfare Award for Best Film nominations and Meghna garnered two nominations in the Best Director category for her work. Raazi managed to win Best Film and Meghna won the Best Director award for it as well.

For her next directorial concept, Meghna choose to make a biopic on the life of acid attack survivor Laxmi Agarwal, which she named Chhapaak, that is about Malti, an acid attack survivor inspired by Agarwal. The film featured Deepika Padukone as Malti and was critically acclaimed upon its release on 10 January 2020.[12] She will next helm the life of military officer Sam Manekshaw in a biographical film that will star Kaushal as Manekshaw and is produced by Ronnie Screwvala. This film will go on floors in middle of 2020 and release in the first quarter of 2021.

Filmography
YearFilmDirectorStoryScreenplayNotes
1999Hu Tu TuYes
2002Filhaal...YesYes
2007Just MarriedYesYesYes
2007Dus KahaniyaanYes
2015TalvarYesNominated—Filmfare Award for Best Director
2018RaaziYesYesFilmfare Award for Best Director
Nominated—Filmfare Critics Award for Best Film
Nominated—Filmfare Award for Best Screenplay
2020ChhapaakYesYes

References
  1. Raghavendra, Nandini (14 December 2003). "Meghna Gulzar: Papa's girl". The Economic Times. Archived from the original on 26 April 2013. Retrieved 5 February 2013.
  2. "{title}". Archived from the original on 12 June 2018. Retrieved 2 March 2018.
  3. "Life beyond Filhaal". The Times of India. 6 September 2006. Archived from the original on 28 October 2013. Retrieved 3 March 2011.
  4. "Creative child of celebrities". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 23 September 2009. Retrieved 24 February 2012.
  5. Encyclopaedia of Hindi cinema. Encyclopædia Britannica (India). 2003. p. 244. ISBN 978-81-7991-066-5.
  6. "Just Married". The Indian Express. 16 March 2007. Archived from the original on 11 October 2012. Retrieved 3 March 2011.
  7. "Meghna Gulzar: I will celebrate Talvar's success NOW". Archived from the original on 15 October 2017. Retrieved 14 October 2017.
  8. "Aarushi murder: How Meghna Gulzar's Talvar presented a bang-on prediction of what was to come". Archived from the original on 14 October 2017. Retrieved 14 October 2017.
  9. "Alia Bhatt a spy, Vicky Kaushal a Pak army man in Meghna Gulzar's Raazi". Deccan Chronicle. 23 June 2017. Archived from the original on 23 June 2017. Retrieved 24 June 2017.
  10. "ALIA BHATT KICKS OFF MEGHNA GULZAR'S UPCOMING ESPIONAGE THRILLER, RAAZI, IN JULY". MumbaiMirror. 23 June 2017. Archived from the original on 25 June 2017. Retrieved 24 June 2017.
  11. "Alia Bhatt a spy, Vicky Kaushal a Pak army man in Meghna Gulzar's Raazi". DeccanChronicle. 23 June 2017. Archived from the original on 23 June 2017. Retrieved 24 June 2017.
  12. "Deepika Padukone's Chhapaak begins, director Meghna Gulzar shares first pic". Hindustan Times. 14 February 2019. Retrieved 13 January 2020.
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