Meghna Gulzar facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Meghna Gulzar
Meghna in 2018
Born	(1973-12-13) 13 December 1973 (age 51) Mumbai, Maharashtra, India
Occupation	Writer, film director, producer
Years active	2002–present
Spouse(s)	Govind Sandhu
Children	1
Parent(s)	Gulzar (father) Raakhee (mother)

Meghna Gulzar is an Indian writer, director, and producer. She is well-known for directing popular films. These include Talvar (2015) and Raazi (2018).

Meghna's father is the famous writer Gulzar, and her mother is actress Raakhee. She began her career by assisting her father on his films. She also wrote the screenplay for his 1999 movie, Hu Tu Tu. Later, Meghna started directing her own films. Her first film was the drama Filhaal... in 2002.

After a break, she directed Talvar in 2015. This film was praised by critics and earned her a nomination for the Filmfare Award for Best Director. In 2018, her spy thriller Raazi became a huge success. It was one of the highest-grossing Indian films. Meghna won the Filmfare Award for Best Director for Raazi. She also directed the biographical drama Chhapaak (2020) and the biopic Sam Bahadur (2023).

Early Life and Education

Meghna Gulzar was born on December 13, 1973. Her birthplace was Mumbai, in Maharashtra, India. Her father is the lyricist and poet Gulzar. Her mother is the former actress Raakhee. Meghna's mother named her after the Meghna River in Bangladesh.

Career Highlights

Meghna in January 2002

Meghna started her writing journey as a freelance writer. She wrote for The Times of India and Cinema in India. Her poems were also published in books by the Poetry Society of India. After finishing her studies in Sociology, she worked as an assistant director. She helped filmmaker Saeed Akhtar Mirza.

In 1995, Meghna took a short filmmaking course. This was at the Tisch School of Arts in New York University. When she returned, she assisted her father, Gulzar, on his films. These included Maachis and Hu Tu Tu. At the same time, Meghna began writing her own film scripts. She also directed documentaries for Doordarshan and music videos.

Directing First Films

Meghna directed her first film, Filhaal, in 2002. It starred Sushmita Sen and Tabu. Her second film as a director was Just Married in 2007. She also directed a short film called Pooranmasi. This film was part of Sanjay Gupta's collection Dus Kahaniyaan. It featured actress Amrita Singh.

Success with Talvar

In 2015, Meghna directed the drama thriller Talvar. Vishal Bharadwaj wrote the story. The film was based on the 2008 Noida double murder case. It starred Irrfan Khan, Konkona Sen Sharma, and Neeraj Kabi. When it was released, the film received great reviews. It also earned Gulzar her first nomination for the Filmfare Award for Best Director.

Directing Raazi

In 2018, she directed the spy thriller Raazi. Junglee Pictures and Dharma Productions produced this film. It starred Alia Bhatt and Vicky Kaushal. The movie was based on Harinder Sikka's book Calling Sehmat. Raazi earned over ₹193 crore (US$33 million) worldwide. It became one of the highest-grossing Bollywood films. Raazi won the Filmfare Award for Best Film. Meghna Gulzar also won the Filmfare Award for Best Director for her work on the film.

Later Projects

For her next film, Meghna chose to make a biopic. This film was about Laxmi Agarwal, an acid attack survivor. The movie was named Chhapaak (2020). It tells the story of Malti, a character inspired by Laxmi Agarwal. Deepika Padukone played Malti in the film. Chhapaak was released on January 10, 2020, and received good reviews.

Meghna also directed a biographical film about military officer Sam Manekshaw. Vicky Kaushal played Manekshaw in the movie. Ronnie Screwvala produced the film. The movie, titled Sam Bahadur, was released in December 2023.

Filmography