Nupur Asthana is an Indian film director and writer known for her work in

Hindi cinema Hindi cinema, popularly known as Bollywood and formerly as Bombay cinema, refers to the film industry based in Mumbai, engaged in production of motion pictures in Hindi language. The popular term Bollywood, is a portmanteau of "Bombay" (fo ...

and television. She made her debut on

Indian television The television industry in India is very diverse and produces thousands of programs in many of the Indian languages. More than half of all Indian households own a television. As of 2016, the country had over 857 channels of which 184 were pay ...

with the 1998 TV series ''

Hip Hip Hurray Hip hip hooray (also hippity hip hooray; ''Hooray'' may also be spelled and pronounced hoorah, hurrah, hurray etc.) is a cheer called out to express congratulation toward someone or something, in the English-speaking world and elsewhere. By a sol ...

''. Her film debut was the 2011 youth film ''

Mujhse Fraaandship Karoge ''Mujhse Fraaandship Karoge'' () is a 2011 Indian Bollywood, Hindi romantic comedy film directed by debutante Nupur Asthana, starring debutant actors Saqib Saleem, Saba Azad, Tara D'Souza and Nishant Dahiya in the lead roles. The film is the sec ...

'' produced by the

Y-Films Y-Films is an Indian film production and distribution company, based in Mumbai. The company is a subsidiary of Yash Raj Films. History The company was launched on 1 April 2011 by Aditya Chopra, who revealed that Yash Raj Films Yash Raj Fi ...

banner - the youth arm of

Yashraj Films Yash Raj Films (YRF) is an Indian film production and distribution company founded by veteran filmmaker Yash Chopra in 1970. It mainly produces and distributes Hindi and Punjabi films. The company has grown to be one of the largest film studios ...

Early life

Asthana grew up in Kolkata and Hyderabad. She studied English literature at

Lady Shri Ram College for Women Lady Shri Ram College for Women (LSR) is a constituent women's college, affiliated with the University of Delhi, and has a legacy in women's education. History Established in 1956 in New Delhi by the late Lala Shri Ram in memory of his wife ...

(LSR),

Delhi University Delhi University (DU), formally the University of Delhi, is a collegiate university, collegiate Central university (India), central university located in New Delhi, India. It was founded in 1922 by an Act of the Central Legislative Assembly and ...

. She was actively involved in amateur theatre and headed the dramatics society in her college. She did her post graduation in Social Communications Media from

Sophia Polytechnic 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 I ...

, Mumbai.

Career

* She started her career as an intern with film maker

Ketan Mehta Ketan Mehta (born 21 July 1952) is an Indian film director who has also directed documentaries and television serials since 1975. Early life and education Born on 21 July 1952 in Navsari in Gujarat, Mehta did his schooling from Sardar Patel V ...

''.'' Later she was the Chief Assistant Director on the film ''

Aar Ya Paar ''Aar Ya Paar'' (English: Now or never) is a 1997 Bollywood mystery crime thriller film produced and directed by Ketan Mehta. It stars Jackie Shroff, Deepa Sahi, Ritu Shivpuri, Kamal Sidhu and Paresh Rawal. The music is by Viju Shah. The movi ...

'' where she was also the voice of Kamal Sidhu. * She debuted as a writer and director on Indian Television with the prime time TV series ''

Zee Tv Zee TV (stylised as ZEE TV) is a Hindi general entertainment pay television channel in India. It was launched on 2 October 1992, as the first privately owned TV channel in the country. It is owned by Zee Entertainment Enterprises. Zee TV also ...

.'' The story is based on the lives of 12th grade students, their adventures, their fears and hopes, and their relationships and interactions. The show is considered to be a cult hit to this date. * She then moved on to direct the prime time drama miniseries '' Hubahu ''on

Sony TV Sony Television, Sony TV, or Sony HD may refer to any of the following television-related products from Japanese conglomerate Sony: * Television sets designed and manufactured by Sony Corporation in Japan ** Trinitron, television hardware brand (196 ...

.The story revolves around a pair of twin sisters who exchange places for a lark but end up getting intricately involved in each other's lives. Hubahu starred Sandhya Mridul in the lead who played the double role of twins Aditi and Ananya who exchange lives. It also starred

Rajat Kapoor Rajat Kapoor (born 11 February 1961) is an Indian actor, filmmaker and playwright who works in Hindi cinema. Kapoor was born in Delhi, India. He mainly focused on acting at first. In 2013 he joined the theatre group Chingari in Delhi, later mov ...

Mohan Kapoor Mohan Kapur (born 27 October 1965) is an Indian actor, voice artist and television host who works predominantly in Hindi films and television. Career Mohan is famous for being the first South Asian host of the first South Asian original progra ...

and

Suchitra Pillai Suchitra Pillai (born 27 August 1970) is an Indian actress, model, anchor and VJ. A graduate in electronic engineering, she chose a career in arts over engineering. Apart from roles in movies including ''Dil Chahta Hai'' (2001), ''Page 3 (fi ...

. * After the success of the shows Hip Hip Hurray and Hubahu she co-directed the action adventure miniseries ''

Time Bomb 9/11 ''Time Bomb 9/11'' or just ''Time Bomb'' was a Hindi political thriller that aired on Zee TV from 20 June 2005 to 28 November 2005. It used to air every Monday at 10:00pm, and the show had a similar format to " 24". The story focuses on Osama ...

'' with

. * She then directed the TV miniseries ''

Mahi Way ''Mahi Way'' is an Indian comedy drama television series, which premiered on Sony Entertainment Television on 2 January 2010 and ran till 18 June 2010. The series is written by Devika Bhagat, directed by Nupur Asthana, and produced by Aditya Ch ...

''on

produced by

YRF Television YRF Television was a TV production company, based in Mumbai, India, and promoted by Aditya Chopra. YRF Television has produced a small number of programmes. It was owned by Yash Raj Films (YRF) It entered into an exclusive agreement with So ...

. The story traces the journey of a large girl Mahi Talwar,essayed by

Pushtiie Shakti Pushtiie is an Indian actress best known as playing the lead role of Mahi Talwar in the comedy series ''Mahi Way'' on Sony TV. Personal life She is the sister of actor Vrajesh Hirjee Career Pushtiie appeared in the second season of a famous com ...

e, who is a target of body shaming and who also struggles with her own insecurities and rejections.The show is an amazing journey of self-discovery as Mahi finally embraces her true self amidst all odds and crumbling relationships. * Nupur debuted as a director with the film ''

'' which was produced by Y - Films, the youth banner under

. Mujhse Fraaandship Karoge is a young teen film that explores today's obsession with the online world that constantly clashes with the real world and the tussle between them. It unanimously got excellent reviews. Midday called it "A fantastic debut by Nupur Ashtana, who has managed to keep the movie light and breezy just like the relationships and friendships in campuses generally are." * She directed the romantic comedy ''

Bewakoofiyaan ''Bewakoofiyaan'' () is a 2014 Indian Hindi-language romantic comedy film directed by Nupur Asthana, written by Habib Faisal and produced by Aditya Chopra under the banner of Yash Raj Films. The film stars Ayushmann Khurrana, Sonam Kapoor and Ri ...

'' which was produced by

. The film stars Sonam Kapoor, Ayushmann Khurranna and Rishi Kapoor. * She directed another miniseries Romil and Jugal on Alt Balaji. The show is a modern, homosexual, spin on the classic tale of Shakespeare's Romeo-Juliet where Punjabi playboy Romil and shy Tam-Brahm Jugal come to terms with their sexuality and face the orthodox society. The show was greatly appreciated for breaking the stereotypes and received rave reviews by both the audience and the critics.

Achievements

* Nupur Asthana was nominated for the best debut director at The Screen Awards for her film Mujhse Fraandship Karoge.

TV shows

(1998-2000) * Hubahu *

* Romil & Jugal (2017) *

Four More Shots Please! ''Four More Shots Please!'' is an Indian comedy-drama streaming television series on Amazon Prime Video directed by Anu Menon and Nupur Asthana. The series follows the story of four unapologetically flawed women (two in their 30s and two in t ...

(2020) * Modern Love: Mumbai (2022)

Filmography

(2011) *

(2014)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Asthana, Nupur Indian women film directors Indian women screenwriters Living people Hindi-language film directors Yash Raj Films people Sophia Polytechnic alumni Hindi screenwriters Women writers from Uttar Pradesh Film directors from Uttar Pradesh Screenwriters from Uttar Pradesh Year of birth missing (living people)