Anant Mahadevan

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Mahadevan was born to a Tamil Brahmin family in Kerala but later shifted to Mumbai where he didi his education from Central Mumbai’s Matunga Suburb which had him actively involving in theatre. Anant Mahadevan began his entertainment career by co-writing the Television Sitcom “Ghar Jamai” which had R. Madhavan and Mandira Bedi in the lead. The series which was aired on ZEE Network ran for one full season from 1997 to 1998, which turned out to be his big break leading to many mores serial contracts and eventuallyearning him a cinema entry in the year 1992.

Anant Mahadevan was born in Thrissur Kerala, India, He was aspired to be an actor from an early age was active in Theatre activities. He began his theatre works with the group “Ank”. He first appeared in Sai Paranjpe’s TV serial Adose Padose after which on to direct the a telefilm “Sambandh” in his early days.

Television Stint ( 1980-1990) After his writing tenure in Ghar Jamai and going on to be a part of many successful Television serial Mahadevan went on to try his luck before the camera in the year 1990 through the historical drama series “The Sword of Tipu Sultan” , the show which was aired on Doordarsan for approximately one season with a total of sixty episode’s saw him donning the role of “Purniyya Pundit” with the title role played by Sanjay Khan and the series turned out to get much acclaim. Film debut and rise to prominence ( 1992-1995) Anant Mahadevan made his Hindi feature film debut in Abbas Mustan’s thriller movie Khiladi, where he played a major supporting role in the Akshay Kumar starrer which paved way for his future in cinema with the film being noted. After which he appeared in yet another supporting role in Priyadarshan’s classic Gardish in 1993.But he finally got his much required break in Abbas Mustan’s ShahRukh Khan Starrer Bazigar, which incidentally also marked the beginning of Khan’s era going on to be one of his career best hits with widespread critical acclaim which saw Khan playing an antihero opposite Kajol being their first collaboration too. Mahadevan was seen playing ShahRukh Khan’s father whose death triggers the element of angst and revenge which drives the plot forward. The movie got his name deep-rooted in the minds of film critics and movie goers with a substantial role in the blockbuster classic.Prem Yog was his next release which had Rishi Kapoor and Madhoo as the lead pair, which had nothing special in store for Mahadevan than carrying on his with his usual antics. His next major production was Raaj Kumar starrer God and Gun, again in a minor role in 1995, by which time he had carved a place for himself in Bollywood as a major supporting actor. Subsequent releases ( 1995-1999) Anant Mahadevan was next seen in Mansoor Khan’s musical romantic movie Akele Hum Akele Tum, which had Aamir Khan and Manisha Koirala in the lead which too had a good run.He was next seen in ShahRukh Khan’s comedy Yes Boss which was a huge hit, which he followed up with a passing character in the evergreen cult hit Ishq along with Aamir Khan and Ajay Devgn in the lead. Following which he came up with Pyar To Hona Hi Tha , Kudrat and Prakash Jha ’s Dil Kya Kare, all of which were highly successful and enhanced his existing credentials. Post the successful thriller Baadshah starring ShahRukh Khan saw followed by some small productions, saw him making an onscreen appearance only for limited outings following which he went on to work behind the camera for in his future endeavours. Initial Films as a Writer /Director ( 2002-2010) Anant Mahadevan made his directorial debut with Dil Vil Pyar Vyar, which was considered as India’s first retro musical film. The film featured an ensemble cast of R. Madhavan, Jimmy Sheirgill and more in the lead. The romantic saga which examined the various phases of love from the perspectives of various characters had a stunning reception from the critics with accolades showered on Mahadevan for his genuinely thought provoking filmmaking style , although it managed to perform poorly at the box office. Although he had made a notable debut as a director with the film gaining much popularity. He came back in the year 2004 by directing the romcom Dil Maange More starring Shahid Kapoor and Soha Ali Khan among others in the lead. However the movie failed at the box-office emerging with only moderate reviews. He surfaced back strongly in the year 2006 with the romantic thriller Aksar , which had Emraan Hashmi and Udita Goswami in the lead. The movie which garnered huge hype pre-release for its chartbusters songs like “Jhalak Dikhalaja” and “Soniye” went on to be a whopping hit with highly positive reviews and propelled his career as a filmmaker from thereon. He proved his versatility as a filmmaker in the year 2007 when he came up with the ensemble drama Victoria No. 203, which boasts of a star-studded cast consisting of Om Puri, Anupam Kher, Jimmy Shergill and more. Although he was seen stepping out of his comfort zone with the remake of the yesteryear classic with the same name , Mahadevan could not fetch positive commercial as the movie was slated to be the exact copy of the original and did not go down well with the critics too. After turning up with unnoticed flicks Aggar and Anamika but the year 2009 was crucial for Mahadevan as he got his first Award in the form of Director’s Vision Award at the 6th Stuttgart Film Festival during the premiere of his war drama Red Alert: The War Within, with Suniel Shetty playing the protagonist. The movie mostly ended up with mixed critical reviews but was a major benchmark in both the actor’s and director’s filmography till date. Career best directorial ( 2010) Mahadevan then relocated his base to Marathi cinema in the year with the National Award Winning women centric drama Mee Sindhutai Sapkal , which was an inspired biography based on the life of real life social activist Sindhutai Sapkal who is referred to as “Mother of Orphans”. The movie which narrated the story of the transformation of a Marathi women into social services, after tragic life experiences was a critical hit too. The film was a favourite in the National Film Awards of the year 2010 with three wins, with two categories Best Screenplay and Special Jury Award going on to be received by Mahadevan along with Sanjay Pawar, and the producers of the movie. It is still considered by far his best work and is the most valuable name up his filmography. Other directorial works (2012-2016) Mahadevan shortly returned to Bollywood with the intense social drama Staying Alive, which narrated the story of two heart patients who share the ICU ward only to bring realizations to each other’s life perspectives with one being a journalist and the other an underworld kingpin. The well accepted flick saw Mahadevan playing one of the title characters along with Saurabh Shukla in the lead. His next releases were the Jackie Shroff starrer Life’s Good , he continued his good run in 2014 , which saw his return to commercial cinema with The Expose , starring Himesh Reshammiya and Zoya Afroz in the lead. The movie fetched extraordinary reviews and went on to be high money grosser which reaffirmed his commercial viability as a filmmaker after few acclaimed off beat ventures to his name. His latest release was the biographical Hindi film Gour Hari Dastaan which too had a tremendous critical reaction. The movie had Vinay Pathak and Konkana Sen Sharma in the lead. The Storyteller, Rough book and the Marathi production Rukhmabai Bhimrao Raut are his recent and upcoming works directorial projects whereas he was seen acting in Kamal Haasan’s blockbuster classic Tamil film Papanasam in 2015 and is all set to play a key role in Kamal Haasan’s second instalment of spy thriller film series in Viswaroopam 2 which will release in 2017.