Rajkumar Hirani (born 20 November 1962) is an Indian film director and editor. He is widely regarded as one of the most successful and critically acclaimed filmmakers of the Hindi film industry. Hirani is known for directing the Hindi films Munna Bhai M.B.B.S (2003), Lage Raho Munnabhai (2006), 3 Idiots (2009), PK (2014) and Sanju (2018). All of his films have been huge commercial and critical successes.[2] Most have won several awards, including the national awards, and have often been regarded by the media and audiences as some of the most path-breaking films in the history of Indian cinema.[3][4] He has won 15 Filmfare Awards. He is the founder of production house Rajkumar Hirani Films.
Hirani was born on 20 November 1962 in Nagpur to a Sindhi family. His ancestors originally belong to Mehrabpur, a city in the Naushahro Firoz District, Sindh, of modern-day Pakistan.[5] His father Suresh Hirani ran a typing institute in Nagpur. Rajkumar Hirani studied at St. Francis De'Sales High School, Nagpur, Maharashtra. He did his graduation in commerce. His parents wanted him to be a chartered accountant, but he was more keen on theatre and film.[6] In his college days he was involved with Hindi theatre. Suresh had his son's photographs taken and sent him to an acting school in Mumbai. However, Hirani could not fit in and returned to Nagpur after three days. His father then asked him to apply to the Film and Television Institute of India in Pune, but the acting course had shut down and his chances of admission to the directorial course looked slim as there were far too many applicants.[7] Hirani opted for the editing course, and earned a scholarship.
Rajkumar Hirani always had a keen interest in cinema right from his childhood, and when his father came to know of his interest in films he immediately got his son enrolled at the prestigious Film and Television Institute of India in Pune. Unfortunately though, when Rajkumar applied, the acting course had shut down, and there were far too many applicants for the directorial course. So he opted for the editing course, and eventually graduated from the institute in 1987. It was seven years down the line that Rajkumar’s father asked him to get married but he firmly stated that he wouldn’t do so till his younger brother Sanjeev got engaged. Eventually, the two brothers got married exactly the same day in December 1994. We take a closer look at Rajkumar Hirani’s marriage, his rise to fame and Manjeet Hirani, an Air India pilot.
Hirani tried his luck as a film editor for many years. Bad experiences forced him to shift to advertising,[9] and he gradually established himself as a director and producer of advertising films. He was also seen in a Fevicol ad where some men and elephants were trying to pull and break a Fevicol plank, saying "Jor laga ke Haisha".[10] He was also seen in the Kinetic Luna ad campaign created by Ogilvy & Mather. He was doing fairly well in the advertisement industry, but he wanted to make movies, so he took a break from advertisement and started working with Vidhu Vinod Chopra. He worked on promos and trailers for 1942: A Love Story.[11] He edited promotions for Kareeb.[12] He got his first big opportunity as a film editor with Mission Kashmir.[13]
| # | Released Date | Type | Credited As | Movie |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 31 Dec 2025 | Film | Producer | Made In India |
| 2 | 21 Dec 2023 | Film | DirectorStory Writer | Dunki |
| 3 | 29 Jun 2018 | Film | DirectorProducerDialogueScreenplayStory Writer | Sanju |
| 4 | 29 Jan 2016 | Film | ProducerScreenplay | Saala Khadoos |
| 5 | 19 Dec 2014 | Film | ProducerDirectorStory writerScreenplayDialogue | PK |
| 6 | 15 Jun 2012 | Film | Dialogue | Ferrari Ki Sawaari |
| 7 | 12 Jan 2012 | Film | Story writerScreenplay | Nanban |
| 8 | 25 Dec 2009 | Film | DirectorStory writerDialogueScreenplay | 3 Idiots |
| 9 | 27 Jul 2007 | Film | Story writer | Shankardada Zindabad |
| 10 | 16 Feb 2007 | Film | Executive Producer | Eklavya The Royal Guard |
| 11 | 01 Sep 2006 | Film | DirectorStory writerScreenplayDialogue | Lage Raho Munna Bhai |
| 12 | 10 Jun 2005 | Film | Executive Producer | Parineeta |
