Ayan Mukerji
Mukerji in 2017
Born	(1983-08-15)15 August 1983 (age 42) Calcutta,West Bengal, India
Other names	Ayan Mukherjee
Occupations	Director screenwriter producer
Years active	2004–present
Parent	Deb Mukherjee
Family	Mukherjee-Samarth family

Ayan Mukerji (born 15 August 1983) is an Indian filmmaker who works inHindi films. A member of theMukherjee-Samarth family, he is known for his collaborations with actorRanbir Kapoor underKaran Johar's production bannerDharma Productions.

Mukerji made his directorial debut with the coming-of-age filmWake Up Sid (2009), which opened to strong reviews and box office returns.^[1][2] His next two directorials, the romantic comedy-dramaYeh Jawaani Hai Deewani (2013) and the fantasy action-adventure filmBrahmāstra: Part One – Shiva (2022), rank among thehighest-grossing Hindi films. All three films earned him nominations for theFilmfare Award for Best Director, withWake Up Sid also winning him theFilmfare Award for Best Debut Director.

Mukerji was born inKolkata,West Bengal, India, the son ofBengali film actorDeb Mukherjee. His family was involved in the Indian film industry since 1930, when his grandfatherSashadhar Mukherjee first ventured into the field. Sashadhar Mukherjee was one of the founding partners ofFilmistan Studio inMumbai and a pioneer in the industry, producing films likeDil Deke Dekho (1959),Love in Simla (1960),Ek Musafir Ek Hasina (1962) andLeader (1964). Filmistan Studio is still run by Ayan's extended family.^[3][4]

Ayan's grandmother, Satidevi Mukherjee (née Ganguly), wife of Sashadhar Mukherji, was the sister of pioneer actorsAshok Kumar,Anup Kumar, and actor-singerKishore Kumar. Ayan's grandfather's brothers were film producer Prabodh Mukherjee, directorSubodh Mukherjee and Ravindra Mohan Mukherjee, the grandfather of actressRani Mukherjee. Ayan's father's brothers were actorsJoy Mukherjee, Subir Mukherjee andShomu Mukherjee, who is the husband of actressTanuja and the father of actressesKajol andTanisha Mukherjee.^[5][6]

Mukerji studied atJamnabai Narsee School inVile Parle, Mumbai. He later attendedRajiv Gandhi Institute of Technology but dropped out after the first year to assistAshutosh Gowariker as a clapper boy onSwades (2004).^[7]

Mukerji started his career as an assistant director to his brother-in-lawAshutosh Gowariker on the social dramaSwades (2004), and later toKaran Johar on the ensemble musical romantic dramaKabhi Alvida Naa Kehna (2006), also appearing as an extra in the latter.

After taking a short break from filmmaking, Mukerji wrote the screenplay for the 2009 coming-of-age comedy-dramaWake Up Sid and then directed it.^[4] StarringRanbir Kapoor andKonkona Sen Sharma in lead roles, it marked the first of several collaborations between Mukerji and Kapoor. The film tells the story of a careless rich college brat (Kapoor) who is taught the value of owning up to responsibility by an aspiring writer fromKolkata (Sen Sharma). Produced by Johar's bannerDharma Productions, it opened to widespread critical acclaim for its novel concept, themes, direction, story, screenplay, soundtrack and the performances of the cast. It emerged as a commercial success at the box office, grossing₹62 crore (US$7.3 million) worldwide.^[8][9]Wake Up Sid earned Mukerji the inauguralFilmfare Award for Best Debut Director (tying for the award withZoya Akhtar forLuck by Chance), in addition to his first nomination for theFilmfare Award for Best Director.

Mukerji achieved his breakthrough with the romantic comedy-dramaYeh Jawaani Hai Deewani (2013), starring Kapoor andDeepika Padukone in lead roles, alongsideKalki Koechlin andAditya Roy Kapur. The film was his second under Johar's banner. It revolves around two people who meet during a trekking trip where one falls in love with the other but refrains from expressing it. They soon drift apart but end up meeting again at a friend's wedding.Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani opened to widespread critical acclaim, with high praise for its direction, story, screenplay, soundtrack, cinematography, production design, costumes and the performances of its cast. The film emerged as a major blockbuster at the box office, grossing₹319.6 crore (US$38 million) worldwide, and ranking as thefourth highest-grossing Hindi film of the year.^[10]Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani earned Mukerji his second nomination for the Filmfare Award for Best Director. Over the years, it has emerged as a highly popular film amongst youth.^[11][12][13]

Mukerji wrote and directed the big-budget fantasy filmBrahmāstra: Part One – Shiva (2022) starring Kapoor,Amitabh Bachchan,Alia Bhatt,Mouni Roy andNagarjuna in lead roles.^[14] Produced by Johar's banner, it is the first installment of a trilogy, planned to be part of acinematic universe titledĀstraverse. The film was first conceived by Mukerji in 2011, with core elements inspired by Indian history and stories he heard in his childhood. Unlike Mukerji's two previous ventures, it opened to mixed reviews from critics upon release, with praise for the performances, direction, visual effects, soundtrack, musical score and action sequences, but criticism for its dialogue. However, the film emerged as Mukerji's second consecutive major blockbuster at the box-office, grossing₹431 crore (US$51 million) worldwide. It ranked as thehighest-grossing Hindi film of the year, thefifth highest-grossing Indian film of the year, the highest-grossing Hindi film in overseas markets since the COVID-19 pandemic, andone of the highest-grossing Indian films of all time.Brahmāstra: Part One – Shiva earned Mukerji his third nomination for the Filmfare Award for Best Director. Its two sequels, titledBrahmа̄stra: Part Two – Dev andBrahmāstra: Part Three, are being developed simultaneously and slated to release in December 2026 and 2027 respectively.^[15][16][17]

Mukerji's fourth directorial was the sixth installment in theYRF Spy Universe,War 2 (2025) starringHrithik Roshan,N. T. Rama Rao Jr. andKiara Advani. The film marked his first venture to neither be produced by Dharma Productions nor feature Kapoor.^[18] It received mixed-to-negative reviews from critics and underperformed at the box-office, but nonetheless emerged as the year'sthird highest-grossing film.^[19]

Other roles

Acting roles

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