Ayan Mukerji facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Ayan Mukerji
Mukerji in 2017
Born	(1983-08-15) 15 August 1983 (age 40)
Other names	Ayan Mukherjee
Occupation	Director, screenwriter, producer
Years active	2004–present
Parent(s)	Deb Mukherjee
Family	Mukherjee-Samarth family

Ayan Mukerji (born 15 August 1983) is an Indian filmmaker who works in Hindi films. A member of the Mukherjee-Samarth family, he is known for his collaborations with actor Ranbir Kapoor under Karan Johar's production banner Dharma Productions.

Mukerji made his directorial debut with the coming-of-age film Wake Up Sid (2009), which opened to strong reviews and box office returns His next two directorials, the romantic comedy Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani (2013) and fantasy film Brahmāstra: Part One – Shiva (2022), rank among the highest-grossing Hindi films. All three films earned him nominations for the Filmfare Award for Best Director, with Wake Up Sid also winning him the Filmfare Award for Best Debut Director.

Early life and background

Mukerjee was born in a Bengali Hindu family in Kolkata, West Bengal, India, the son of Bengali film actor Deb Mukherjee. His family was steeped in the Indian film industry since the 1930, when his grandfather, Sashadhar Mukherjee, first ventured by chance into the field. Sashadhar Mukherjee was a pioneering film producer who was one of the founding partners of Filmistan Studio in Mumbai, and produced films like Dil Deke Dekho (1959), Love in Simla (1960), Ek Musafir Ek Hasina (1962) and Leader (1964). The studio is still run by Ayan's extended family.

Ayan's grandmother, Satidevi Mukherjee (née Ganguly), wife of Sashadhar Mukherji, was the sister of pioneer actor Ashok Kumar, Anup Kumar and singer Kishore Kumar. Ayan's grandfather's brothers were film producer Prabodh Mukherjee, director Subodh Mukherjee and Ravindra Mohan Mukherjee, grandfather of actress Rani Mukherjee. Ayan's father's brothers were actors Joy Mukherjee, Subir Mukherjee and Shomu Mukherjee, who is the husband of actress Tanuja and he made 3 films and father of actresses Kajol and Tanisha Mukherjee.

Mukerji studied at Jamnabai Narsee School in Vile Parle, Mumbai. He later attended Rajiv Gandhi Institute of Technology but dropped out after the first year to assist Ashutosh Gowariker as clapper boy on Swades (2004).

Career

Mukerji started his career as an assistant director to Ashutosh Gowariker, his brother-in-law, on the drama Swades (2004), and later to Karan Johar on the romantic drama Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna (2006).

After taking a short break from filmmaking, Mukerji wrote the screenplay for the coming-of-age film Wake Up Sid (2009) and directed it. Starring Ranbir Kapoor and Konkona Sen Sharma in lead roles, it marked the first collaboration between Mukerji and Kapoor. The film tells the story of a careless rich college brat (Kapoor) who is taught the value of owning up to responsibility by an aspiring writer from Kolkata (Sen Sharma). Produced by Johar's banner Dharma Productions, it opened to widespread critical acclaim upon release, with high praise for its novel concept, themes, direction, story, screenplay, soundtrack and performances of the cast, and emerged as a commercial success at the box-office, grossing ₹62 crore (US$11 million) worldwide. Wake Up Sid earned Mukerji the inaugural Filmfare Award for Best Debut Director (tying for the award with Zoya Akhtar for Luck by Chance), in addition to his first nomination for the Filmfare Award for Best Director.

Mukherji in 2012

Mukerji's second venture was the romantic comedy Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani (2013), starring Deepika Padukone, Kapoor (in their second collaboration), Kalki Koechlin and Aditya Roy Kapur in lead roles. The film was his second under Johar's banner. The story of the film revolves around two people who meet during a trekking trip where one falls in love with the other but refrains from expressing it. They soon drift apart but end up meeting again at a friend's wedding. It opened to widespread critical acclaim, with high praise for its direction, story, screenplay, soundtrack, cinematography, production design, costumes and performances of the cast. The film emerged as a major blockbuster at the box-office, grossing ₹319.6 crore (US$54 million) worldwide, ranking as the fourth highest-grossing Hindi film of the year. Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani earned Mukerji his second nomination for the Filmfare Award for Best Director. Over the years, it has emerged as a highly popular film amongst the youth.

Mukerji's next wrote and directed the big-budget fantasy film Brahmāstra: Part One – Shiva (2022) starring Amitabh Bachchan, Kapoor (in their third collaboration), Alia Bhatt, Mouni Roy and Nagarjuna Akkineni in lead roles. Produced by Johar's banner, it is the first installment of a trilogy, which is itself planned to be part of a cinematic universe titled Āstraverse. The film was first conceived by Mukerji in 2011, with core elements being inspired by Indian history and stories he heard in his childhood. Unlike Mukerji's two previous ventures, it opened to mixed reviews from critics upon release, with praise for the performances, visual effects, soundtrack, musical score and action sequences, but criticism for its dialogues. However, the film emerged as Mukerji's second consecutive major blockbuster at the box-office, grossing ₹431 crore (US$73 million) worldwide. It ranked as the highest-grossing Hindi film of the year, the fifth highest-grossing Indian film of the year, the highest-grossing Hindi film in overseas markets since the COVID-19 pandemic, and one of the highest-grossing Indian films of all time. Brahmāstra: Part One – Shiva earned Mukerji his third nomination for the Filmfare Award for Best Director. Its two sequels, titled Brahmа̄stra: Part Two – Dev and Brahmāstra: Part Three, are being developed simultaneously and slated to release in December 2026 and 2027 respectively.

As of October 2023, Mukerji is shooting for the sixth installment of the YRF Spy Universe, titled War 2, which marks his first venture to not be produced by Dharma Productions. The film stars Hrithik Roshan reprising his role as Kabir Dhaliwal from the action thriller War (2019), with Telugu film actor N. T. Rama Rao Jr. and Kiara Advani. The film is scheduled to be released on 14 August 2025, conciding with Indian Independence Day.

Filmography

Key

Denotes films that have not yet been released

Year	Title	Director	Writer	Producer	Notes
2004	Swades	No	Yes	No
2009	Wake Up Sid	Yes	Yes	No
2013	Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani	Yes	Yes	No
2022	Brahmāstra: Part One – Shiva	Yes	Yes	Yes
2025	War 2	Yes	No	No	Filming

Other roles

Acting roles

Awards