Neeraj Ghaywan
Neeraj Ghaywan
Born1980 (age 43–44)
Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh, (now Telangana), India
Occupation(s)Director, screenwriter
Years active2010–present

Neeraj Ghaywan (born 1980) is an Indian film director and writer who works in Hindi films. He is the winner of several accolades including a National film Award and two Filmfare Awards.

Ghaywan assisted filmmaker Anurag Kashyap on Gangs of Wasseypur (2012) and Ugly (2013) before he made his directorial debut in 2015 with Masaan which received wide acclaim and won two prizes at the Cannes Film festival including the FIPRESCI prize.[1] His acclaimed 2017 short film Juice won him the Filmfare Award for Best Short Film-Fiction. Ghaywan then co-directed the second season of Netflix's series Sacred Games with Kashyap in 2019 and Geeli Pucchi from the anthology film Ajeeb Daastaans in 2021.

Career

Early life and work

Neeraj Ghaywan was born in 1980[2] and brought up in Hyderabad, to Maharashtrian parents.[3] His father was a research scientist, and mother ran a garment store.[4] He did his schooling from Kendriya Vidyalaya Shivrampally (National Police Academy). After completing his degree in Electrical Engineering from Chaitanya Bharathi Institute of Technology, Hyderabad, in 2002, he did his MBA in Marketing from Symbiosis Institute of Business Management, Pune.[5]

After completing his graduation, Ghaywan worked as an engineer in UTV New Media, Hindustan Times and Tech Mahindra. Dissatisfied with his career in the corporate world, he started writing as a film critic for the now defunct web portal Passionforcinema.com. According to him, that interest grew into passion that was eventually encouraged by director Anurag Kashyap.[6] He made his first short film, Independence that was shortlisted for the In Competition section of PFCOne, an online one-minute film festival, in 2010.[7] Ghaywan then assisted Kashyap in the making of Gangs of Wasseypur (2012) and Ugly (2013), directing two short films in the meanwhile, Shor and Epiphany.[4] Ghaywan recalls fond memories of working with Kashyap, whom he considers as his mentor.[8]

Masaan and critical acclaim

Ghaywan with the cast of Masaan; Richa Chadda, Shweta Tripathi and Vicky Kaushal at the 2015 Cannes Film Festival

In January 2014, a screenplay he co-wrote with Varun Grover called Fly Away Solo was awarded the Sundance Institute/Mahindra Global Filmmaking Award.[9] He then made a motion picture based on it, Masaan in 2015. The film received overwhelming acclaim from critics, the mainstream media and audience alike. On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, it holds an approval rating of 92% based on 13 reviews.[10] The New York Times considered it to be a leading example of increased realism in Indian cinema.[11][12] The film was screened in the Un Certain Regard segment at the 2015 Cannes Film Festival, where it won two awards, including the FIPRESCI Prize[13] and has since gone on to achieve a cult status.[14] Ghaywan received the Indira Gandhi Award for the Best Debut Film of a director at the 63rd National Film Awards.[15] He made his first commercial in 2016 for British Airways.[16]

Ghaywan wrote and directed his third short film Juice on gender politics of middle class Indian households starring Shefali Shah in 2017.[17] The film received the Filmfare Award for Best Short Film-Fiction that year.[18] In 2019, Ghaywan replaced Vikramaditya Motwane as co-director alongside Anurag Kashyap for the second season of Netflix's highly acclaimed series Sacred Games.[19]

2020 - Present

Ajeeb Daastaans, an anthology film, was his next directorial venture.[20] It consisted of four short films made by four directors.[20] Produced by Karan Johar and Netflix, Ghaywan directed the third segment, titled Geeli Pucchi which featured Aditi Rao Hydari and Konkona Sen Sharma in lead roles.[21] In a review for Hindustan Times, Rohan Nahar wrote, "Ghaywan addresses caste and gender politics; patriarchy and privilege. And he does this with an intense empathy for his characters, both of whom display morally questionable behaviour."[21] He also found it remarkable that Ghaywan has been able to craft a distinctly lyrical style before having even directed his second feature film.[21]

Ghaywan was an episodic director on the second season of Amazon Prime Video’s Made in Heaven. The series, which has found major success with streaming audiences and critics, had its season 2 debut in August 2023. The show is a departure from the stylistic themes of his previous work, with a lavish look and feel set against the backdrop of big Indian weddings.

Filmography

Film
Year Title Director Writer Notes Ref.
2013 Epiphany Yes Yes Short film
Shorts Yes Yes Segment: Shor
2015 Masaan Yes No [22]
2017 Juice Yes Yes Short film [17]
2019 Sacred Games Yes No 8 episodes [23]
2021 Ajeeb Daastaans Yes Yes Segment: Geeli Pucchi [24]
2023 Made in Heaven Yes No 2 episodes [25]

Awards

Year Award Film Category Result Ref.
2015 Cannes Film Festival Masaan Caméra d'Or Nominated [26][27]
Un Certain Regard Award Nominated
FIPRESCI Prize Won
Un Certain Regard Special Prize Won
2016 Filmfare Awards Best Debut Director Won [28]
2018 Juice Best Short Film - Fiction Won [29]
2016 National Film Awards Masaan Best Debut Film of a Director Won [30]
2016 Producers Guild Film Awards Best Debut Director Won [31]
Zee Cine Awards Most Promising Director Won [25]

References

  1. ↑ Nisha Singh (20 May 2020). "Can't believe I lived this moment: Director Neeraj Ghaywan recalls Masaan premiere at Cannes". India Today. Archived from the original on 16 November 2020. Retrieved 11 November 2020.
  2. ↑ "Neeraj Ghaywan responds to Vivek Agnihotri's Dalit tweet; Twitter lines up in support of the Masaan director". Firstpost. 4 January 2018. Archived from the original on 30 August 2020. Retrieved 4 June 2020.
  3. ↑ "The last five years have not been easy: Neeraj Ghaywan". Hindstan Times. 12 July 2015. Archived from the original on 7 July 2015. Retrieved 3 August 2015.
  4. 1 2 Bapna, Amit (2 March 2016). "The 'Masaan'-man turned ad-man: How Neeraj Ghaywan found his calling". The Economic Times. Archived from the original on 21 April 2022. Retrieved 18 August 2019.
  5. ↑ www.ETBrandEquity.com. "Neeraj Ghaywan: The 'Masaan'-man turned ad-man - ET BrandEquity". ETBrandEquity.com. Archived from the original on 12 November 2020. Retrieved 11 November 2020.
  6. ↑ "I'm overwhelmed, says 'Masaan' director Neeraj Ghaywan on his Cannes experience". First Post. 1 June 2015. Archived from the original on 5 August 2015. Retrieved 3 August 2015.
  7. ↑ "PFCOne 2010 Online One Minute Film Festival begins". 5 January 2010. Archived from the original on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 3 August 2015.
  8. ↑ "An Insider Exposes the 'Real' Anurag Kashyap on his Birthday". 10 September 2015. Archived from the original on 21 October 2020. Retrieved 25 March 2022.
  9. ↑ "Ghaywan's 'Fly Away Solo' to be turned into motion picture". Business Standard. 24 January 2014. Archived from the original on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 3 August 2015.
  10. ↑ "Masaan". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Retrieved 3 March 2022.
  11. ↑ "Critically acclaimed 'Masaan' sees a limited release". Mint. 24 July 2015. Archived from the original on 27 July 2015. Retrieved 19 July 2018.
  12. ↑ Sharma, Vaibhav (20 September 2015). "'Masaan' and Other Indian Films Steer Away From Bollywood Escapism". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 20 July 2018. Retrieved 20 July 2018.
  13. ↑ "'Masaan' wins two top awards at Cannes". Mint. 24 May 2015. Archived from the original on 20 July 2018. Retrieved 19 July 2018.
  14. ↑ "From ZNMD To Masaan: 25 Cult Classics From Our Time We Were Fortunate To Have Witnessed". scoopwhoop. 12 July 2021. Archived from the original on 13 July 2021. Retrieved 12 July 2021.
  15. ↑ "National Awards 2016: Kangana, Amitabh best actors; Manoj Kumar receives Dadasaheb Phalke Award". ABP Live. 3 May 2016. Archived from the original on 4 May 2016. Retrieved 4 May 2016.
  16. ↑ "How This British Airways Stewardess Fell in Love With India". Archived from the original on 3 February 2016. Retrieved 3 February 2016.
  17. 1 2 "Juice review: Neeraj Ghaywan puts everyday misogyny in sharp focus. Watch video". Hindustan Times. 26 November 2017. Archived from the original on 18 August 2019. Retrieved 18 August 2019.
  18. ↑ "63rd Jio Filmfare Awards 2018: Complete winners' list". The Times of India. 21 January 2018. Archived from the original on 5 February 2018. Retrieved 16 April 2021.
  19. ↑ "Netflix confirms: Sacred Games will be back with a second season". The Indian Express. 22 September 2018. Archived from the original on 21 September 2018. Retrieved 22 September 2018.
  20. 1 2 "Ajeeb Daastaans teaser: Karan Johar-produced Netflix anthology film deals with jealousy, prejudice". The Indian Express. 19 March 2021. Archived from the original on 24 March 2022. Retrieved 20 March 2021.
  21. 1 2 3 "Ajeeb Daastaans movie review: Neeraj Ghaywan saves Karan Johar's uneven Netflix film from disaster". Hindustan Times. 16 April 2021. Archived from the original on 24 March 2022. Retrieved 22 April 2021.
  22. ↑ Bapna, Amit (2 March 2016). "The 'Masaan'-man turned ad-man: How Neeraj Ghaywan found his calling". The Economic Times. Archived from the original on 21 April 2022. Retrieved 18 August 2019.
  23. ↑ "Neeraj Ghaywan Opens Up on Replacing Vikramaditya Motwane as Director on Sacred Games 2". News18. 30 July 2019. Archived from the original on 31 July 2019. Retrieved 18 August 2019.
  24. ↑ "'It's intersectional': Neeraj Ghaywan on caste-class conflict in Ajeeb Daastaans". Indian Express. 13 April 2021. Archived from the original on 30 November 2021. Retrieved 30 November 2021.
  25. 1 2 PTI (10 August 2023). "Neeraj Ghaywan on directing Made in Heaven 2 episodes: 'I want to experiment with myself'". www.indianexpress.com. Retrieved 15 August 2023.
  26. ↑ "Cannes: 'Son of Saul,' 'Masaan' Take Fipresci Prizes". The Hollywood Reporter. 23 May 2015. Archived from the original on 24 May 2015. Retrieved 3 August 2015.
  27. ↑ "Cannes: 'Rams' Wins Un Certain Regard Prize". The Hollywood Reporter. 23 May 2015. Archived from the original on 24 May 2015. Retrieved 3 August 2015.
  28. ↑ "Filmfare Awards 2016: Complete List of Winners". NDTV India. 15 January 2015. Archived from the original on 17 March 2016. Retrieved 15 January 2016.
  29. ↑ "63rd Jio Filmfare Awards 2018: Complete winners' list". The Times of India. 21 January 2018. Archived from the original on 5 February 2018. Retrieved 16 April 2021.
  30. ↑ "63rd National Film Awards" (PDF). Directorate of Film Festivals. Archived from the original (PDF) on 7 April 2016. Retrieved 28 March 2016.
  31. ↑ Hungama, Bollywood (23 December 2015). "Winners of 11th Renault Sony Guild Awards : Bollywood News - Bollywood Hungama". Bollywood Hungama. Archived from the original on 16 April 2021. Retrieved 31 March 2020.
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