Meghna Gulzar Biography, Awards, Age, Net Worth, Movies, Husband

Meghna Gulzar is a writer, director, and producer from India. She is best known for directing the 2018 Bollywood film Raazi. After making her directorial debut as a screenwriter with her father's 1999 film Hu Tu Tu, Meghna directed her first film, the drama Filhaal... (2002), though she did not achieve success in that decade. 

She returned to directing after an eight-year hiatus with the critically acclaimed Talvar (2015), which earned her Best Director nominations despite underperforming at the box office. Her first profitable directorial venture came in 2018, when she directed the patriotic thriller Raazi, which became one of India's highest-grossing films. For her work on the film, she received the Filmfare Award for Best Director.

Meghna Gulzar will be 50 years old in 2023. Gulzar was born on December 13, 1973, in Mumbai, Maharashtra. Her zodiac sign is Saggitarius.

During an interview, Meghna said,’ My parents and I have a close relationship. My childhood, I believe, was typical. Whatever they were in their public and professional lives, they were always my father and mother at home. If anything, I admire them for raising me separately and together.’

After earning her bachelor's degree in sociology, she worked as an assistant director for renowned filmmaker Saeed Akhtar Mirza. She completed a short filmmaking course at New York University's Tisch School of the Arts in 1995.

Meghna is the daughter of lyricist and poet Gulzar and former actress Raakhee. Her mother named her Meghna after the river Meghna in modern-day Bangladesh.

She is married to Govind Sandhu, the co-founder and CFO of Antworks Pte. Ltd. Samay is their son from their marriage. The couple married on January 9, 2000, in a simple but elegant ceremony at Meghna's father Gulzar's Bunglow.

Meghna began her career as a freelance writer for The Times of India and the NFDC magazine Cinema in India. Her poetry has been published in anthologies edited by the Indian Poetry Society. Following her sociology degree, Meghna Gulzar worked as an assistant director for renowned director Saeed Akhtar Mirza. She took a brief filmmaking course at New York University's Tisch School of the Arts in 1995.

Sushmita Sen, a former Miss Universe turned actor, and Tabu appeared in Meghna's first film, Filhaal, which was released in 2002. Her second film, Just Married, was released in 2007. She also directed the short film Pooranmasi, starring Amrita Singh, for Sanjay Gupta's anthology Dus Kahaniyaan. Meghna received two nominations for Best Director, joining nominations for Talvar and Raazi in the Filmfare Award for Best Film category. Meghna also won Best Director for Raazi, which helped the film win Best Film.

Filhaal...

Filhaal... is a 2002 Bollywood film directed by Meghna Gulzar (in her feature directorial debut). Sushmita Sen, Tabu, Sanjay Suri, and Palash Sen star. With the film, Meghna Gulzar, daughter of lyricist Gulzar and actress Raakhee, made her directorial debut. 

The film was critically acclaimed, particularly Sushmita Sen's performance, for which she was nominated for a Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actress. Anu Malik composed the music and background score. Anjan Biswas composed the background music. Gulzar wrote all of the lyrics.

Talvar

Talvar, also known as Guilty in the United States, is a 2015 Indian Hindi-language thriller drama film directed by Meghna Gulzar and written by Vishal Bhardwaj. The film is based on the 2008 Noida double murder case involving a teenage girl and her family's servant and is produced by Bhardwaj and Vineet Jain. 

The film, starring Irrfan Khan, Konkona Sen Sharma, and Neeraj Kabi, follows the investigation of a murder case from three different perspectives: the police investigation, the first Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe, and an investigation by a different CBI team.

Talvar premiered in the special presentation section of the 2015 Toronto International Film Festival and was also shown at the 2015 BFI London Film Festival and the Busan International Film Festival. It was released in theatres in India on October 2, 2015, to mostly positive reviews, with particular praise for its writing and performances; however, many critics felt that the film was heavily biased towards parents.

Raazi

Raazi is a 2018 Indian Hindi-language spy action thriller film directed by Meghna Gulzar and produced by Junglee Pictures and Dharma Productions' Vineet Jain, Karan Johar, Hiroo Yash Johar, and Apoorva Mehta. It stars Alia Bhatt and is co-written by Vicky Kaushal, Rajit Kapur, Shishir Sharma, and Jaideep Ahlawat. 

The film is based on Harinder Sikka's 2008 novel Calling Sehmat, a true story about an Indian Research and Analysis Wing (RAW) agent who is married into a family of military officers in Pakistan to relay information to India prior to the 1971 Indo-Pakistani War. Raazi's principal photography began in July 2017 in Mumbai and was completed on October 27, 2017.
Raazi debuted on May 11, 2018. 
Raazi, which was made on a budget of 350 million (US$4.4 million), went on to gross 1.96 billion (US$25 million) worldwide, becoming one of the highest-grossing Indian films with a female protagonist. It was also a critical success, with praise for Meghna's direction and Bhatt's performance. 

Raazi received 15 nominations and won 5 awards (tying with Andhadhun) at the 64th Filmfare Awards, including Best Film, Best Director (Gulzar), and Best Actress (Bhatt).

Chhapaak

Chhapaak is a 2020 Indian Hindi-language biographical drama film based on the life of Laxmi Agarwal, an acid attack survivor. The film, directed by Meghna Gulzar, stars Deepika Padukone in the lead role of a character inspired by Agarwal, as well as Vikrant Massey and Madhurjeet Sarghi. Padukone's production debut, as well as her acting comeback after two years after Padmaavat (2018). Fox Star Studios, Ka Productions, Avernus Productions, and Mriga Films all contributed to the project.

From March to June 2019, filming took place in and around New Delhi and Mumbai. The film will be released in cinemas worldwide on January 10, 2020, and has been declared tax-free in Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, and Rajasthan. Padukone's portrayal of an acid attack survivor was widely praised, despite the film's commercial failure.

Sam Bahadur

The producers of Meghna Gulzar's upcoming film, Sam Bahadur, announced on Thursday that the film will be released in theatres on December 1, 2023. RSVP Movies produced the film, which stars Vicky Kaushal as Field Marshal Sam Manekshaw. Fatima Sana Shaikh plays former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi in the film, and Sanya Malhotra plays Manekshaw's wife Silloo.

Copyright Controversy

Rakesh Bharti, a writer, claimed that he wrote the story of Laxmi, which Meghna adapted into a film. The news quickly spread, prompting the director to file an affidavit in response to the writer's claim. Meghna stated in the report that Rakesh's suit was wholly misconceived, frivolous, legally untenable, and unmeritorious. According to the statement, there cannot be a case of copyright because the information is not in the public domain.

The total net worth of Meghna Gulzar is INR 30 million. According to media reports, Meghna Gulzar charges around INR 5-6 crores for directing a film, and her net worth is estimated to be in the range of INR 10-15 crores.

• Meghna has won Filmfare Award for Best Director in 2019
• Meghna has won Stardust Award for Filmmaker Of The Year - Editor's Choice in 2015

• Meghna began her writing career as a freelancer for the Times of India and the NFDC publication Cinema in India.
• She is also a poet, and the Poetry Society of India has included her work in anthologies.
• After graduating, she began working as an assistant director for filmmaker Saeed Akhtar Mirza (winner of two national awards).
• She did not have a typical childhood because her parents were divorced when she was young. Meghna adores Kashmir because she spent the majority of her childhood there due to her parents' extensive shooting schedules.
• She returned to India after finishing her filmmaking course in New York and assisting her father on films such as Maachis and Hu Tu Tu.
• While working for her father, Meghna began writing a script for her own film and directing documentaries for Doordarshan. During that time, she also directed a number of music album videos.
• Meghna directed her first film, Filhaal, starring Sushmita Sen and Tabu, in 2002. However, the film was not a box office success. Just Married, her second film, stars Fardeen Khan.
• Meghna directed the critically and commercially successful film Talvar, written by Vishal Bhardwaj, in 2015. The film was inspired by the 2008 Noida double murder case, which involved the murders of a 14-year-old girl, Aarushi Talwar (daughter of Dr Rajesh Talwar and Dr Nupur Talwar), and a 45-year-old domestic worker, Hemraj.
• She dislikes the term Bollywood, preferring to refer to it as the Hindi Film Industry.
• She directed Raazi, starring Alia Bhatt and Vicky Kaushal, in 2018. The film was based on Harinder Sikka's novel Calling Sehmat, which told the true story of Indian spy Sehmat (fictional name). The film was a success, and it received two Filmfare awards.
• In an interview, she expressed a desire to direct a film about her mother Rakhee.
• Meghna announced in June 2019 that she was collaborating with Ronnie Screwvala to direct a biopic about India's first Field Marshall, Sam Manekshaw. Vicky Kaushal, a Bollywood actor, is expected to play Sam Manekshaw, and Vicky also revealed his look as Manekshaw on his Instagram account.