Subhash Ghai biography
Date of birth : 1945-01-24
Date of death : -
Birthplace : Nagpur, India
Nationality : Indian
Category : Arts and Entertainment
Last modified : 2011-08-11
Credited as : Film director, producer and screenwriter, showman
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Subhash Ghai belongs to a Punjabi family. Born to a dentist father who practised in Delhi, Subhash did his Higher secondary in Delhi, and thereafter graduated in Commerce from Rohtak, Haryana. Next he moved to Pune, Maharashtra to join the Film and Television Institute of India (FTII). After attaining a diploma, he started working in the Indian film industry in 1970.
He started his career in Hindi cinema as an actor with small roles in six films, like Taqdeer (1967), followed by Aradhana (1969). He was the male lead in the 1970 film Umang, which did not do well at the box office and Gumraah (1976) with Reena Roy and Danny. His directorial debut was the film Kalicharan (1976) which he obtained through a recommendation by Shatrughan Sinha. Kalicharan was one of the biggest hits of its time. As of 2005, he has written and directed 15 movies out of which 13 were highly successful. In 1982, he started Mukta Arts Private Limited which, in 2000, became a public company, with Subhash Ghai as its chairman and managing director.
His most notable films in the 1980s were Karz (film) (1980), Vidhaata (1982), Hero (1983), Karma (1986) and Ram Lakhan (1989). He went onto win a Filmfare Best Director Award for Saudagar (1991) which pitted legendary actors Dilip Kumar and Raaj Kumar against each other. His 1993 release Khalnayak which was known for its controversies at the time for its use of the popular song Choli Ke Peeche Kya Hai and its star Sanjay Dutt's breakthrough performance.
Two of his films in the late 1990s, Pardes (1997) (Foreign) and Taal (1999) (The Beat) were released internationally and featured in the Top 20 movies in the U.S. Box office charts for several weeks. His following films, Yaadein (2001) and Kisna (2005) were box office and critical failures.
He then took a break from directing and turned producer having success with producing box office hits such as Aitraaz (2004), 36 China Town (2006) and Apna Sapna Money Money (2006).
As a producer, most of his films were average except for Iqbal (2005) which was brilliantly written by Vipul K Rawal. In 2006, he set up his own state of the art film institute Whistling Woods International in Mumbai. The institute trains students in various aspects of film making - production, direction, cinematography, acting, animation etc. Like Alfred Hitchcock he is also known to give brief cameos in his own directorial ventures.
After a three year hiatus from directing he returned in 2008 with Black & White released on 7 March 2008, and later Yuvvraaj also released in 2008, which was a flop at box office; incidentally the song Jai Ho was to be part of this film, but Ghai felt it was unsuitable for the actor Zayed Khan to perform onscreen, later it was used in film Slumdog Millionaire, after his Oscar win, A. R. Rahman revealed in an interview that it was Ghai who had asked him to use words Jai Ho in a song.
Ghai is married to (Rehana Farooqui) Mukta Ghai after whom he named his company as Mukta Arts. He has two daughters, the elder Meghna of whom looks after his dream project Whistling Woods International Institute for Films, Media, Animation and Media Arts.
Filmography:
Yuvvraaj (2008) - The musical extravaganza
Black & White (2008)
Om Shanti Om (2007) ... Special appearance in song, Om Shanti Om Of Karz
Good Boy, Bad Boy (2007) (producer)
Apna Sapna Money Money (2006) (producer)
Shaadi Se Pehle (2006) (executive producer)
36 China Town (2006) (producer)
Iqbal (2005) (producer)
Kisna: The Warrior Poet (2005)
Aitraaz (2004) (producer)
Joggers Park (2003) (producer)
Yaadein (2001)
Taal (1999)
Pardes (1997)
Trimurti (1995) (producer)
Khalnayak (1993)
Saudagar (1991)
Ram Lakhan (1989)
Karma (1986)
Meri Jung (1985)
Hero (1983/II)
Vidhaata (1982)
Krodhi (1981)
Karz (1980)
Gautam Govinda (1979)
Vishwanath (1978)
Kalicharan (1976)
Aradhana (1969)... as Suraj's (Rajesh Khanna) friend Prakash
