Rajkumar Santoshi is an Indian screenwriter, dialogue writer, producer and Bollywood film director who has written and directed many super hit films like Ghayal, Ghatak and Ajab Prem Ki Ghazab Kahani. He has won many awards for his films and is considered one of the best directors in Bollywood.
Wiki/Biography
Rajkumar Santoshi was born on Tuesday, July 17, 1956, in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India (age 66; as of 2022). His zodiac sign is Cancer. At the age of 5, he came to Bombay when his father returned to Bombay. He dropped out of school after the 11th grade and worked as an unpaid assistant with his father until his death in 1978. After that, he took on the responsibilities of his family and began to work more seriously.
appearance
Height (approximately): 5′8″
Weight (approximately): 75kg
Hair color: black (semi-bald)
Eye color: black
family
Parents and siblings
His father’s name is Pyareral Santoshi, also known as PL Santoshi, and his mother is Tamil. His father, a well-known writer and director of Bollywood films known for “Khidki” and “Barsaat Ki Raat”, died of kidney failure on September 7, 1978, at the KEM Government Hospital in Mumbai, Maharashtra. passed away. His mother, PL Santoshi’s second wife, died of cancer in 2010. His stepbrother Anand Santoshi served as assistant director and chief sound recordist for Radiowani. He has 2 sisters, one of whom is named Padmini married Sunil Srivastav in December 1992.
Rajkumar Santoshi’s father PL Santoshi
wife and children
His wife’s name is Manila Santosi. He has a son, Ram Kumar Santoshi, and a daughter, Tanisha Santoshi, who made her Bollywood debut in 2023 with Raj’s film Gandhi Godse Ek Yudh.
Rajkumar Santoshi and his wife Manila Santoshi
Rajkumar Santoshi’s daughter Tanisha Santoshi
Profession
Assistant Director
He assisted film director Rabindra Dharmaraj in the shooting of the film “Chakra”. Later, he started helping Indian producer Vidhu Vinod Chopra with production work; however, he didn’t like the job and quit. He has since collaborated with film director Govind Nihalani in 5 films and is known in Bollywood for his meticulous work. He resigned from his position as chief assistant to work independently.
Screenwriter, Screenwriter, Producer and Director
He struggled for a year after resigning as chief assistant. Then he met his father’s friend P Subbarao, a producer in the southern film industry. Subbarao agreed to produce a film for Rajkumar. Raj had written the script for Ghayal and convinced Indian actor Sunny Deol to star in the film; however, Subbarao dropped out and Sunny’s father and Indian actor Dharmendra produced Raj as writer and director Ghayal, his first film, tells the story of a man whose brother goes missing and he sets out on a mission to find him. “Ghayal” also starred Indian actress Meenakshi Sheshadri and Indian actor Amrish Puri and became a hit after its release in 1990. Rajkumar won many awards for Ghayal. He wrote and directed his second film, Damini, about the status of women in Indian society, starring Sunny Deol, Meenakshi Sheshadri and Indian actor Rishi Kapoor. Damini became a huge hit after its release in 1993 and won several awards for the film. In 1994, he wrote and directed the comedy film “Andaz Apna Apna”, starring Indian actors Aamir Khan and Salman Khan and Indian actresses Karisma Kapoor and Raveena Tandon. In 1995, he wrote and directed the romantic action film “Barsaat”, which was the debut of Indian actor Bobby Deol, brother of Sunny Deol, and Indian actress Twinkle Khanna, daughter of Rajesh Khanna. In 1996, he wrote the story and screenplay, and produced and directed the action film Ghatak, starring Sunny Deol and Meenakshi Sheshadri. In 1998, he wrote the story, screenplay, produced and directed the action movie “China Gate”, which included the famous song “Chama Chama”. In 1998, he also created the action film “Vinashak” starring Indian actor Sunil Shetty and directed by Indian director Ravi Dewan. In 1999, he wrote the script for the romance film “Janam Samjha Karo” starring Salman Khan. In 2000, he wrote the story, screenplay and dialogues and directed the film Poonkar, starring Indian actor Anil Kapoor and Indian actress Madhuri Dixit, based on the Indian army and military courts. In 2001, he wrote and directed the film “Lajja” based on gender equality, starring Indian actresses Manisha Koirala, Rekha, Madhuri Dixit Dixit and Mahima Chaudhry. The film failed miserably at the box office in India; however, it was a success overseas. In 2002, he wrote and directed the biopic “The Legend of Bhagat Singh” about Indian freedom fighter Bhagat Singh, starring Indian actor Ajay Devgn as Bhagat Singh. In 2004, he wrote and directed the action thriller “Kaki”, starring Indian actors Amitabh Bachchan, Ajay Devgn, Akshay Kumar and Indian actress Aishwar Starring Aya Rai Bachchan. In 2006, he wrote and directed the action thriller “Family” starring Amitabh Bachchan and Akshay Kumar, but it failed miserably at the box office. In 2008, he wrote and directed Halla Bol, a biopic of social activist Safdar Hashmi, starring Ajay Devgn and Indian actress Vidya Balan. In 2009, he wrote and directed the romantic comedy film “Ajab Prem Ki Ghazab Kahani”, starring Indian actor Rishi Kapoor’s son Ranbir Kapoor and Indian actress Katrina Kaif. In 2013, he wrote and directed the action comedy film “Phata Poster Nikla Hero”, starring Indian actor Shahid Kapoor and Indian actress Ileana D’Cruz. In 2020, he announced to direct the romantic comedy film “Bad Boys” starring Indian actor Namashi Chakraborty and Indian actress Amrin Qureshi; however, it was It was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic and is scheduled to be released in 2023. In 2023, he wrote and directed the film Gandhi Godse Ek Yudh, which tells the fictional story of Indian freedom fighter Mahatma Gandhi who survived an assassination attempt by Nathuram Godse. The film stars Indian actor Deepak Antani as Mahatma Gandhi and Chinmay Mandlekar as Nathuram Godse. This is also the debut novel of his daughter Tanshe Sanjun.
Rajkumar Santoshi movie poster collage
dispute
Mamta Kulkarni’s casting couch accusations
Indian actress Mamta Kulkarni, who starred in Raj’s 1998 film “Chinagate,” gave an interview after the film’s release and accused Raj of soliciting sexual favors from her during the filming of the film. She claims that when she objected to Raj’s sexual advances, he cut her screen time in the film short.
Mamta Kulkarni
Fight with Firoz Nadiadwala
In August 2013, he complained to the police about Indian film producer Firoz Nadiadwala breaking into his home illegally. He also accused Firoz of threatening to kill him and sued Firoz for Rs 1,024 crore. Raj said he signed a contract with Firoz for three films, “Power”, “Babajaan” and an untitled film, for Rs 45 crore and earned Rs 10 lakh. Power Rs 42.5 Crore Babajaan and Rs 9.15 Crore The untitled film is priced at Rs 25 Lakhs. He claimed he had evidence that the project was abandoned because of Firoz.
Sentenced to 1 year in prison for bounced check
On March 31, 2022, he was sentenced to 1 year in prison and required to pay 2.25 million rupees within 60 days, otherwise the prison term will be extended for another 1 year. He took some money from the complainant Anil Jethani for the development of his business. To repay the loan, he issued three checks totaling Rs 2.25 million to Anil, but they were later bounced due to insufficient funds in the account. Anil sent a legal notice to Raj through his lawyer; however, as no reply was received, Anil filed 2 complaints before the Rajkot court under Section 138 of the Negotiable Instruments Act, claiming Rs 17.50 lakh each and Rs.5 Lakhs. The case was heard in the court of Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate NHVasveliya in Rajkot. Rajkumar claimed that he had paid the money and said he was paying the price of becoming a celebrity. Speaking about the situation in an interview, he said,
I’m paying the price of being a celebrity. We are easy targets. I have confidence in the judiciary and we are appealing to future courts. We will get justice. ”
Protest by Gandhi Godse Ek Yudh crew
In May 2022, some crew members of his film Gandhi Godse Ek Yudh protested in Mumbai for non-payment of dues. He assured the workers that he would pay them within days.
A film crew member uses posters to protest against Rajkumar Santoshi
Awards
- 1991: Won the Filmfare Best Story Award for “Ghayal”
- 1991: Won the Filmfare Best Director Award for the film “Ghayal”
- 1994: Won the Filmfare Best Director Award for the film Damini
- 1995: Nominated for the Filmfare Award for Best Director for the film “Andaz Apna Apna”
- 1997: Won the Filmfare Best Screenplay Award for the movie “Ghatak”
- 1997: Nominated for the Filmfare Award for Best Director for the film Ghatak
- 1999: Won the Filmfare Award for Best Dialogue Screenplay for the movie “China Gate”
- 2000: Won the Nargis Dutt Award for Best National Integration Feature Film for the film “Puka”
- 2003: Won the National Film Award for Best Hindi Feature Film for the film “The Legend of Bhagat Singh”
- 2003: Won the Zee Cine Award for Best Dialogue Screenwriter for the film “The Legend of Bhagat Singh”
- 2005: Nominated for the Filmfare Award for Best Director for the film “Khakee”
- 2005: Nominated for the Zee Cine Award for Best Dialogue Screenplay for the film Khakee
- 2005: Nominated for the Zee Cine Award for Best Screenplay for the movie “Khakee”
- 2009: Won the ITA Honors (Entertainment) Award for the film Ajab Prem Ki Ghazab Kahani
- 2009: Nominated for the Stardust Award for Dream Director for the film Ajab Prem Ki Ghazab Kahani
- 2009: Nominated for the Producers Guild Film Award for Best Dialogue Screenplay for the film Ajab Prem Ki Ghazab Kahani
Facts/Trivia
- As the original producer of the film Ghayal, P Subbarao suggested Indian actor Sanjay Dutt for his first directorial venture Ghayal; however, Rajkumar only wanted Kamal Har Sonny or Sonny Deol stars in this movie. Later, he chose Sunny and wanted to inquire through Sunny’s father, Indian actor Dharmendra; however, he later decided to contact Sunny Deol through Sunny’s assistant Jatin Rajguru.
- Sunny Deol demanded Rs 18 lakh for the film Ghayal; however, producer P Subbarao agreed to donate only Rs 12 lakh and Rs 6 lakh on the 20th anniversary of the film’s release. Rajkumar convinced Sunny that the film would be a silver jubilee and he agreed to star in the film.
- He has only acted in one film, the 1996 Indian film Halo.
- In 1998, his film China Gate had a budget of 200 million rupees, making it the most expensive film at that time.
- Rajkumar fell in love with Indian actress Meenakshi Sheshadri and wanted to marry her; however, his proposal was rejected by her.
Meenakshi Sheshadri
- He was engaged to Indian actress Tanushree Kaushal; however, after failing to find a good job in Bollywood, she moved to South Film Company.
- His real surname is Shrivastav and Santoshi is his father’s pen name, which he inherited from his father.
- In January 2015, a producer named Jain took away Rajkumar’s Mercedes car and its driver. Raj owed Jain 1.5 million rupees and Jain went to Raj’s Juhu office to collect the money. When he didn’t find Raj at the office, he told Raj’s driver to take him to Andheri and then exchanged seats with the driver. When Raj realized his car was missing, he reported it to the police, who along with the driver found the car and Raj made a deal with Jain to return the money.
- In December 2020, he announced that he would open a film school in Madhya Pradesh, India.
Categories: Biography
Source: HIS Education