Kiran Rao (born 7 November 1973) is an Indian film producer, screenwriter, and director who works in

Hindi Hindi (Devanāgarī: or , ), or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi (Devanagari: ), is an Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in the Hindi Belt region encompassing parts of northern, central, eastern, and western India. Hindi has been de ...

cinema. In 2016, Rao co-founded

Paani Foundation Paani Foundation is a nonprofit organization, non-profit, non-governmental organization which is active in the area of drought prevention and watershed management in the state of Maharashtra, India. The organization was founded by Indian actor Aam ...

, a non-profit organisation working towards the mission of fighting drought in

Maharashtra Maharashtra (; , abbr. MH or Maha) is a states and union territories of India, state in the western India, western peninsular region of India occupying a substantial portion of the Deccan Plateau. Maharashtra is the List of states and union te ...

Early life

Kiran Rao was born on 7 November 1973 in

Bangalore Bangalore (), officially Bengaluru (), is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Karnataka. It has a population of more than and a metropolitan population of around , making it the third most populous city and fifth most ...

, and grew up in

Kolkata Kolkata (, or , ; also known as Calcutta , the official name until 2001) is the capital of the Indian state of West Bengal, on the eastern bank of the Hooghly River west of the border with Bangladesh. It is the primary business, comme ...

. In 1992, her parents decided to leave Calcutta so she moved to

Mumbai Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' financial centre of India. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Mumbai is the second- ...

with Ajay Goyal. She graduated with a food sciences major from the

Sophia College for Women Sophia College (Autonomous) is an undergraduate women's college established in 1941 by Society of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. It is affiliated to the University of Mumbai. The governing body of The Society for the Higher Education of Women in In ...

in 1995. She attended the Social Communications Media course at the Sophia Polytechnic for two months, but then quit and left for

Delhi Delhi, officially the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi, is a city and a union territory of India containing New Delhi, the capital of India. Straddling the Yamuna river, primarily its western or right bank, Delhi shares borders w ...

. She got her master's degree at AJK Mass Communication Research Center at

Jamia Millia Islamia Jamia Millia Islamia () is a central university located in New Delhi, India. Originally established at Aligarh, United Provinces (present-day Uttar Pradesh, India) during the British Raj in 1920, it moved to its current location in Okhla in ...

, New Delhi. Actress

Aditi Rao Hydari Aditi Rao Hydari is an Indian actress who works mainly in Hindi and Tamil film industry. She made her film debut with the Malayalam film '' Prajapathi'' in 2006. She went on to have major to minor supporting roles in several Hindi films, includ ...

is Rao's first cousin. Rao's paternal and Hydari's maternal grandfather, J. Rameshwar Rao, was the

Raja of Wanaparthy Wanaparthy Samsthanam or Raja of Wanaparthy was a vassal of the Nizam of Hyderabad. He controlled the feudatory of Wanaparthy. It was one of the three important samsthanams, the other two being Gadwal Samsthanam and Jatprole Samsthanam. Histor ...

, a large estate under the

Nizam of Hyderabad The Nizams were the rulers of Hyderabad from the 18th through the 20th century. Nizam of Hyderabad (Niẓām ul-Mulk, also known as Asaf Jah) was the title of the monarch of the Hyderabad State ( divided between the state of Telangana, Mar ...

. Wanaparthy is a district of

Telangana Telangana (; , ) is a States and union territories of India, state in India situated on the south-central stretch of the Indian subcontinent, Indian peninsula on the high Deccan Plateau. It is the List of states and union territories of India b ...

Career

Rao started her career as the assistant director in the

epic film Epic films are a style of filmmaking with large-scale, sweeping scope, and spectacle. The usage of the term has shifted over time, sometimes designating a film genre and at other times simply synonymous with big-budget filmmaking. Like epics in ...

Lagaan ''Lagaan: Once Upon a Time in India'' () is a 2001 Indian Hindi-language sports drama film written and directed by Ashutosh Gowariker. The film was produced by Aamir Khan, who stars alongside debutant Gracy Singh and British actors Rachel Sh ...

'' directed by

Ashutosh Gowariker Ashutosh Gowariker (born 15 February 1964) is an Indian film director, actor, screenwriter and producer who works in Bollywood, Hindi cinema. He is known for directing films "set on a huge canvas while boasting of an opulent treatment". His is ...

, whom she also assisted later on '' Swades: We, the People''. ''

'' was nominated for

74th Academy Awards The 74th Academy Awards ceremony, presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), took place on March 24, 2002, at the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood, Los Angeles. During the ceremony, AMPAS presented Academy Awards (common ...

in the foreign language film category.

Aamir Khan Mohammed Aamir Hussain Khan (; born 14 March 1965) is an Indian actor, film director and producer who works in Hindi films. Through his career spanning over 30 years, Khan has established himself as one of the most notable actors of Indian ci ...

produced and starred in the same film. Before ''Lagaan'', she has also done minute role of supporting actress in ''

Dil Chahta Hai ''Dil Chahta Hai'' () is a 2001 Indian Hindi-language coming-of-age comedy drama film written and directed by Farhan Akhtar. It was produced by Ritesh Sidhwani and released under the banner of Excel Entertainment (which Akhtar and Sidhwani co- ...

''. She also worked as second assistant director with

Academy Award The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...

-nominated director

Mira Nair Mira Nair (born 15 October 1957) is an Indian-American filmmaker based in New York City. Her production company, Mirabai Films, specializes in films for international audiences on Indian society, whether in the economic, social or cultural sphe ...

on the indie hit ''

Monsoon Wedding ''Monsoon Wedding'' is a 2001 Indian comedy-drama film directed by Mira Nair and written by Sabrina Dhawan. The film stars Naseeruddin Shah, Lillete Dubey, Shefali Shah and Vasundhara Das. The story depicts romantic entanglements during a tradi ...

''. She scripted and directed the film ''

Dhobi Ghat Mahalakshmi Dhobi Ghat is an open air laundry place in Mumbai, India. It is located at Mahalaxmi railway station in southern Mumbai, it is also accessible from the Jacob Circle monorail station. The washers, known as ''dhobis'', work in the ...

'', which was released in January 2011 under Aamir Khan Productions. She has started writing her next film which will have roots in Kolkata. Kiran Rao was made the chairperson of the Mumbai Film Festival - MAMI in 2015. She also sang a

Marathi Marathi may refer to: *Marathi people, an Indo-Aryan ethnolinguistic group of Maharashtra, India *Marathi language, the Indo-Aryan language spoken by the Marathi people *Palaiosouda, also known as Marathi, a small island in Greece See also * * ...

song 'Toofan Aalaya', the Satyamev Jayate Water Cup Anthem

Personal life

Aamir Khan & Kiran Rao promote Paani Foundation on the sets of Chala Hawa Yeu Dya (5)

Rao married actor

in December 2005, after Khan divorced his first wife Reena Dutta in 2002. They met on the sets of ''

''. Rao was one of the film's assistant directors. They were living in

Bandra Bandra (Indian English, æːɳɖɾa also known as Vandre (Help:IPA/Marathi, �aːn̪d̪ɾe is an upscale coastal suburb located in Mumbai (Bombay) area of the Konkan division, Maharashtra, India. The suburb is located to the immediate nor ...

, a Mumbai suburb. The couple have a son, Azad Rao Khan, born in December 2011, through a

surrogate A surrogate is a substitute or deputy for another person in a specific role and may refer to: Relationships * Surrogacy, an arrangement where a woman agrees to carry and give birth to a child for another person who will become its parent at bi ...

mother who has been named after

Abul Kalam Azad Abul Kalam Ghulam Muhiyuddin Ahmed bin Khairuddin Al-Husseini, Hussaini Azad (; 11 November 1888 – 22 February 1958) was an Indian Indian independence movement, independence activist, Islamic theologian, writer and a senior leader of the ...

. Rao has been a vegan, and she has influenced her husband, Aamir Khan, to turn vegan as well. After discussing the issue, both of them decided to turn vegan. On 3rd July 2021, Kiran Rao and Aamir Khan announced their decision to divorce after 15 years of marriage via a joint statement where they thanked their family and friends for their continuous support in this matter. They will continue to nurture their son Azad Khan (born 2011) as co-parents.

Filmography

Director

Producer

Presenter

Singer

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Rao, Kiran Living people 1973 births Indian women film directors Hindi-language film directors Konkani people Indian atheists Indian women screenwriters Sophia College for Women alumni Jamia Millia Islamia alumni Indian women film producers Hindi film producers Sophia Polytechnic alumni Film producers from Bangalore Film directors from Bangalore 21st-century Indian film directors 21st-century Indian women artists 21st-century Indian businesspeople Screenwriters from Bangalore Women artists from Karnataka Businesswomen from Karnataka 21st-century Indian businesswomen People from Wanaparthy district