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
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
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]
