Aanand L. Rai | |
|---|---|
 Rai at a screening forTumbbad in 2018 | |
| Born | 1970/1971 (age 53–54) Delhi, India |
| Occupation(s) | Film director,film producer |
| Years active | 2007–present |
Aanand L. Rai (born 1970/1971[1]) is an Indian film director and producer known for directing the romantic comedy-dramasTanu Weds Manu (2011) and its sequelTanu Weds Manu Returns (2015), and the romantic dramaRaanjhanaa (2013), with the latter two earning him nominations for theFilmfare Award for Best Director.
He then directed the big-budget romantic dramaZero(2018), the romantic fantasy comedy-dramaAtrangi Re (2021) and the family comedy-dramaRaksha Bandhan (2022).
Rai was born and brought up in Delhi. After his schooling in Delhi, he did his computer engineering fromAurangabad,Maharashtra.[1]
His family's original surname was Raisinghani, and had shifted toDehradun fromSindh, afterpartition of India in 1947.[1]
Rai started his career as an engineer, but soon left it and moved to Mumbai where he started assisting his elder brother television director Ravi Rai in various television series. After gaining substantial experience, he moved on to directing his own shows.[1][2]
He made his directorial debut with the psychological thrillerStrangers (2007) starringJimmy Shergill,Kay Kay Menon,Nandana Sen,Sonali Kulkarni. The film was based onAlfred Hitchcock'sStrangers on a Train (1951). The film received negative reviews from critics, and emerged as a commercial disaster at the box-office.[3] Similar was the fate of his next film,Thodi Life Thoda Magic (2008) starringJackie Shroff andParmeet Sethi.[4]
In 2011, he started his production house,Colour Yellow Productions, which helmed all his future production ventures.[5]
The same year, he achieved his breakthrough with the romantic comedy-dramaTanu Weds Manu (2011) starringR. Madhavan andKangana Ranaut in lead roles. The film emerged as his first commercial success, grossing ₹56 crore worldwide.[6][7] It received mixed-to-positive reviews from critics upon release, with particular praise for its novel concept and screenplay. The film was the first instalment of theTanu Weds Manu franchise.
In 2013, he directed the romantic dramaRaanjhanaa, starringDhanush in his Bollywood debut alongsideSonam Kapoor,Abhay Deol andSwara Bhasker in lead roles.[8] The film emerged as his second consecutive commercial success at the box-office, grossing ₹94 crore worldwide, ranking as thetenth highest-grossing Hindi film of the year.[9] It received mixed-to-positive reviews from critics upon release, with particular praise for its writing and direction.Raanjhanaa earned Rai his first nomination for theFilmfare Award for Best Director.
In 2015, Rai directed the romantic comedy-dramaTanu Weds Manu Returns, the sequel toTanu Weds Manu, with all the cast members reprising their roles from the first instalment. The film opened to widespread critical acclaim upon release, and emerged as his third consecutive commercial success. It grossed ₹243.6 crore worldwide and emerged as a blockbuster at the box-office,[10] ranking as thefifth highest-grossing Hindi film of the year, and was the highest-grossing female-lead film in India at the time of its release.[11]Tanu Weds Manu Returns earned Rai his second nomination for the Filmfare Award for Best Director.
His next directorial was the big-budget romantic dramaZero (2018) starringShah Rukh Khan,Anushka Sharma andKatrina Kaif in lead roles. The film tells the story of a love triangle between a dwarf man, a scientist withcerebral palsy, and an alcoholic actress. Despite high hype prior to release due to itsA-list star-cast and Rai's previous successful ventures, the film emerged as a commercial disaster at the box-office, and received mixed-to-negative reviews from critics.[12]
In 2021, he directed the romantic fantasy comedy-dramaAtrangi Re starring Dhanush,Sara Ali Khan andAkshay Kumar in lead roles. Delayed due to theCOVID-19 pandemic in India and rescheduled multiple times due to thenationwide lockdown due to the pandemic, the film was released onDisney+ Hotstar, bypassing theatrical release. It opened to mixed reviews from critics upon release, with praise for its unconventional plot, but criticism for its incoherent screenplay and execution of overall storyline.
In 2022, he directed Kumar again alongsideBhumi Pednekar in the family comedy-dramaRaksha Bandhan. The film received mixed-to-negative reviews from critics, and emerged as a commercial disaster at the box-office.[13]
Rai is next set to direct the standalone sequel toRaanjhanaa, titledTere Ishk Mein, which is set to release in 2025.
| Year | Title | Director | Producer | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2007 | Strangers | Yes | ||
| 2008 | Thodi Life Thoda Magic | Yes | ||
| 2011 | Tanu Weds Manu | Yes | ||
| 2013 | Raanjhanaa | Yes | ||
| 2015 | Tanu Weds Manu: Returns | Yes | ||
| 2016 | Nil Battey Sannata | Yes | ||
| 2016 | Happy Bhag Jayegi | Yes | ||
| 2017 | Shubh Mangal Saavdhan | Yes | ||
| 2018 | Mukkabaaz | Yes | ||
| 2018 | Meri Nimmo | Yes | ||
| 2018 | Happy Phirr Bhag Jayegi | Yes | ||
| 2018 | Manmarziyaan | Yes | ||
| 2018 | Tumbbad | Yes | ||
| 2018 | Zero | Yes | Yes | |
| 2019 | Laal Kaptaan | Yes | ||
| 2020 | Shubh Mangal Zyada Saavdhan | Yes | ||
| 2021 | Haseen Dillruba | Yes | ||
| 2021 | Atrangi Re | Yes | Yes | |
| 2022 | Good Luck Jerry | Yes | ||
| 2022 | Raksha Bandhan | Yes | Yes | |
| 2023 | Jhimma 2 | Yes | Marathi film | |
| 2025 | Tere Ishq Mein† | Yes | Yes |