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Anurag Singh (director)

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For the documentary filmmaker, see Anurag Singh (filmmaker).

Anurag Singh
Anurag Singh (third from left) during a special screening of Punjab 1984
Born
Anurag Singh Thind[citation needed]

(1975-11-17) 17 November 1975 (age 49)
Jalandhar, Punjab, India
NationalityIndian
Other namesRigga, Anurag
Occupationfilm director
Known forfilm director and producer
Notable work
Jatt and Juliet
Kesari
Punjab 1984

Anurag Singh (born 17 November 1975) is an Indian film director, writer and producer.[1][2] He is best known for directing the film Kesari (2019), which was a major success at the time of release. He is also noted for directing Punjabi films such as Yaar Annmulle (2011), Punjab 1984 (2014), and Jatt and Juliet film series. He is widely recognized as one of the most influential filmmakers of Punjabi film industry.[3]

Singh began his career in Bollywood working as an assistant director before directing his first feature film Raqeeb (2007). He also directed Dil Bole Hadippa! (2009). Both films failed to gain success. Following this, he started directing Punjabi films. Jatt and Juliet series and Punjab 1984 rank among the most successful films of Punjabi cinema, both commercially and critically.[4] In 2017, Singh produced his first venture Super Singh which was a success, under his production company named Brat Films. Since then, he has produced Shadaa and Puaada.[5][6]

Early and personal life

[edit]

Anurag Singh was born to Dr. Charan Singh Thind and Dr. Baljit Kaur. Singh, a medical student, excelled in his studies growing up and travelled to Australia to study film. He was a Class 10th CISCE topper and also achieved PMT Rank 1. He grew up in Jalandhar and is currently living in Mumbai, Maharashtra.

In 2005, he married his childhood sweetheart Madhurjeet Sarghi, a theatre artist and actress who also hails from Jalandhar.[7] In 2016, Singh and Sarghi had a son named Shivaye Anurag Singh. Singh has an elder brother named Armaan Singh who is a well-known chief engineer in California, United States. Singh is close with his nephews and nieces who live in Jalandhar.

Career

[edit]

During his early career, he assisted Bollywood director Raj Kanwar for several years before directing a Bollywood film of his own for Kanwar's production house. The film Raqeeb starring Jimmy Shergill, Sharman Joshi, and Tanushree Dutta was a commercial letdown. Singh followed this up with 2009 directed Dil Bole Hadippa!, a sports comedy in which Rani Mukerji disguises herself as a man to join an all men's cricket team. It also featured the likes of Shahid Kapoor, Anupam Kher, and Dalip Tahil. The film was a Bollywood adaptation of the 2006 film She's the Man by Andy Fickman.[8] Upon release, it received mixed-to-negative reviews and was a box office flop.[9]

Singh began working in Punjabi cinema and directed his debut film Yaar Annmulle with actor Arya Babbar in the lead role. The coming of age comedy film emerged as a breakout project for Singh as it was declared a 'hit' by Box Office India. He established himself in Pollywood with the movie Jatt & Juliet in 2012.[10][11] Starring Diljit Dosanjh and Neeru Bajwa, it followed the rivalry and eventual friendship of the two characters played by the pair of actors, while navigating foreign life. The romantic comedy turned out to be a blockbuster and emerged as the highest grossing Punjabi film up to that point. It was also awarded several accolades.[12][13]

Following the success of Jatt & Juliet, he worked exclusively with Diljit Dosanjh in several films in the Punjabi language, which achieved record-breaking success, including the comedies Jatt & Juliet 2 (2013) and Disco Singh (2014),[14][15] the period drama Punjab 1984 (2014),[16] and the superhero comedy Super Singh (2017).[17] He also produced Shadaa (2019) starring Dosanjh, another major success.[18] These films won him the PTC Punjabi Film Award for Best Director three times. His film Punjab 1984 won the Best Feature Film in Punjabi award at 62nd National Film Awards.[19]

Singh made his return to Bollywood with the 2019 war film Kesari, which is based on the historic Battle of Saragarhi.[20] The film featured Akshay Kumar and Parineeti Chopra in the lead roles, supported by an ensemble cast, and was co-produced by Karan Johar and Zee Studios.[21] Upon its release, Kesari received positive reviews and achieved significant commercial success. It earned ₹201 crore and became the highest-grossing film of Singh's career.[22][23]

In 2021, he produced the Punjabi romantic comedy Puaada, starring Ammy Virk and Sonam Bajwa. Similar to his previous films, it was well received, and became the first Indian box office hit of the year following the COVID-19 pandemic.[24] In 2022, he penned the story for Bollywood film Jugjugg Jeeyo.[25]

Singh will next direct Border 2, the sequel to the cult classic Border (1997).[26] It stars Sunny Deol, who was previously offered the lead role in Kesari (2019), but turned it down.[27] It will also feature Varun Dhawan, Diljit Dosanjh, and Ahan Shetty, marking Dosanjh's first collaboration with Singh since Shadaa (2019).[28][29]

Filmography

[edit]
Key
† Denotes films that have not yet been released
Year Film Director Story Writer Producer
2007 Raqeeb Yes
2009 Dil Bole Hadippa! Yes
2011 Yaar Annmulle Yes Yes Yes
2012 Jatt & Juliet Yes
2013 Jatt and Juliet 2 Yes Yes
2014 Disco Singh Yes Yes Yes
2014 Punjab 1984 Yes Yes Yes
2017 Super Singh Yes Yes Yes Yes
2019 Kesari[30] Yes Yes Yes
2019 Shadaa Yes
2021 Puaada Yes
2022 Jugjugg Jeeyo Yes
2026 Border 2 Yes

Awards

[edit]

Won

[edit]

2012 - Best Director - Yaar Annmulle

  • PTC Punjabi Film Awards 2014 - Best Screenplay - Jatt & Juliet 2
  • PTC Punjabi Film Awards 2015 - Best Story - Punjab 1984
  • PTC Punjabi Film Awards

2014 - Best Director - Jatt and Juliet 2

  • PTC Punjabi Film Awards 2015 - (Critics Choice) Best Director - Punjab 1984
  • PTC Punjabi Film Awards 2015 - Best Director - Punjab 1984
  • PTC Punjabi Film Awards 2015 - Best Dialogues - Disco Singh
  • PTC Punjabi Film Awards 2015 - Best Screenplay - Disco Singh

Nominated

[edit]
  • PTC Punjabi Film Awards 2012 - Best Screenplay & Dialogues - Yaar Annmulle
  • PTC Punjabi Film Awards 2012 - Best Screenplay & Dialogues - Ek Noor
  • PTC Punjabi Film Awards
  • PTC Punjabi Film Awards 2015 - Best Screenplay - Punjab 1984
  • PTC Punjabi Film Awards 2015 - Best Screenplay - Disco Singh
  • PTC Punjabi Film Awards 2015 - Best Dialogues - Punjab 1984

References

[edit]
  1. ^ KBR, Upala (21 September 2015). "Irrfan Khan, Tabu pair up for the third time in Anurag Singh's next!". dna. Retrieved 2 May 2016.
  2. ^ Service, Tribune News (2 May 2016). "In the direction of Bollywood". tribuneindia.com. Retrieved 2 May 2016.
  3. ^ "Directors who took Punjabi cinema to another level". The Times of India. 28 May 2018. ISSN 0971-8257. Retrieved 19 June 2024.
  4. ^ Mander, Harsh (30 May 2015). "Barefoot: Resisting erasure". The Hindu. Retrieved 2 May 2016.
  5. ^ India (28 November 2014). "New Age filmmakers bring hope to Punjabi cinema". The Indian Express. Retrieved 2 May 2016.
  6. ^ "'Me & My whole team are exempted from Challans for life' – Anurag Singh". Punjabi Mania. 18 July 2013. Archived from the original on 7 May 2016. Retrieved 2 May 2016.
  7. ^ "Nandita das is the Most Sorted Woman I Have Ever Met, Says Manto Actor Madhurjeet Sarghi". 7 June 2018.
  8. ^ Kini, Nandan (4 October 2014). "Bollywood loves Shakespeare... but sadly not everyone can pull off a Haider". Firstpost.
  9. ^ "Dil Bole Hadippa To Release on September 18th". Box Office India. 19 June 2009.
  10. ^ Dharminder Kumar (30 May 2014). "Jatt, Juliet and jameen". The Hindu Business Line. Retrieved 6 July 2014.
  11. ^ Jasmine Singh (30 March 2014). "Hit machine". The Sunday Tribune. Retrieved 6 July 2014.
  12. ^ Punjab, Cine (1 March 2013). "PTC Film Awards 2013". indiatimes.com. Archived from the original on 5 March 2013. Retrieved 23 September 2012.
  13. ^ "Jatt and Juliet has the Biggest Punjabi Film Opening". Archived from the original on 7 July 2012. Retrieved 2 July 2011.
  14. ^ "Jatt and Juliet 2 makes a record collection at the box office". The Times of India. 10 January 2017. ISSN 0971-8257. Retrieved 23 August 2024.
  15. ^ "'Disco Singh' dances its way to the box-office". The Times of India. 12 January 2017. ISSN 0971-8257. Retrieved 23 August 2024.
  16. ^ "Punjab 1984 Emerges BLOCKBUSUTER - Box Office India". boxofficeindia.com. Retrieved 23 August 2024.
  17. ^ Groves, Don. "Indian B.O.: Slow Start For 'Cars 3' While Punjab Comedy 'Super Singh' Beats 'Bank-Chor'". Forbes. Retrieved 23 August 2024.
  18. ^ "Punjabi Films Dominate Overseas - Shadaa Ardaas Karaan Chal Mera Putt - Box Office India". boxofficeindia.com. Retrieved 23 August 2024.
  19. ^ "National Awards: Punjab 1984 is best Punjabi film". Hindustan Times. 24 March 2015. Retrieved 23 August 2024.
  20. ^ "EXCLUSIVE - 'Akshay Kumar gave a nod to 'Kesari's' subject even before it was offered to him': Director Anurag Singh". DNA India. Retrieved 24 August 2024.
  21. ^ "Akshay Kumar's Kesari movie: Check out trailer, box office prediction, songs, cast". Business Today. 18 March 2019. Retrieved 24 August 2024.
  22. ^ "Kesari - Movie - Box Office India". www.boxofficeindia.com. Retrieved 24 August 2024.
  23. ^ "Top Hits 2019 - - Box Office India". www.boxofficeindia.com. Retrieved 24 August 2024.
  24. ^ "After ruling the box office, 'Puaada' is now out on digital platforms". The Times of India. 17 September 2021. ISSN 0971-8257. Retrieved 28 August 2024.
  25. ^ "JugJugg Jeeyo Movie Review: "Kuku Ki Dulhania?", "Saini & Sons?" Or "Dil Dhadakne Do Dobara?", Call It Anything But It'll Entertain You!". Koimoi. 24 June 2022. Retrieved 28 August 2024.
  26. ^ Ramachandran, Naman (23 August 2024). "Varun Dhawan Joins Sunny Deol in Cast of Bollywood War Epic 'Border 2' (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety. Retrieved 28 August 2024.
  27. ^ "7 films Sunny Deol rejected, including two blockbusters". DNA India. Retrieved 17 September 2024.
  28. ^ "Sunny Deol's highly anticipated 'Border 2' to hit screens in January 2026, announces release date". www.indiatvnews.com. 14 June 2024. Retrieved 17 September 2024.
  29. ^ Das, Ananya (6 September 2024). "Diljit Dosanjh joins Border 2 after Varun Dhawan, fans say Sunny Deol is assembling desi 'Avengers' for his movie". Hindustan Times. Retrieved 17 September 2024.
  30. ^ "Akshay Kumar, Karan Johar 'proudly present' new film Kesari, based on Battle of Saragarhi". Retrieved 11 October 2017.
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