Shaad Ali is an Indian film director and screenwriter who works in

Hindi films Hindi cinema, popularly known as Bollywood and formerly as Bombay cinema, is primarily produced in Mumbai. The popular term Bollywood is a portmanteau of "Bombay" (former name of Mumbai) and "Hollywood". The industry, producing films in th ...

Early life and education

Ali was born to Muzaffar Ali and Subhashini Ali (née Sahgal), an Indian politician and member of the

Communist Party of India (Marxist) The Communist Party of India (Marxist) (abbreviated as CPI(M)) is a Communism in India, communist List of political parties in India, political party in India. It is the largest communist party in India in terms of membership and electora ...

. He is thus the grandson of Azad Hind Fauj commander Lakshmi Sahgal and Colonel Prem Sahgal. He studied at the Welham Boys' School and the Lawrence School, Sanawar. His paternal grandfather, Raja Syed Sajid Husain Ali, was the former ruling prince of the principality of Kotwara in

Awadh Awadh (), known in British Raj historical texts as Avadh or Oudh, is a historical region in northern India and southern Nepal, now constituting the North-central portion of Uttar Pradesh. It is roughly synonymous with the ancient Kosala Regio ...

of pre-independence

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

. Ali is the nephew of environmental educator Kartikeya Sarabhai and the Indian classical dancer Mallika Sarabhai.

Career

Shaad Ali started his career as an assistant director to

Mani Ratnam Gopalaratnam Subramaniam (born 2 June 1956), known professionally as Mani Ratnam, is an Indian film director, film producer and screenwriter who predominantly works in Tamil cinema and a few Hindi, Telugu, Malayalam and Kannada films. H ...

, and assisted him on the film '' Dil Se..'' (1998). He made his directorial debut under

Yash Raj Films Yash Raj Films (YRF) is an Indian film production and distribution company founded by filmmaker Yash Chopra in 1970. Since 2012, it has been led by his son Aditya Chopra. The company mainly produces and distributes Hindi films. History In 19 ...

and

Madras Talkies Madras Talkies is an Indian entertainment company, which was established by director Mani Ratnam and his brother G. Srinivasan as partners in 1995. Madras Talkies has actively involved in production of films and television serials, which are d ...

, with '' Saathiya'' (2002), starring

Vivek Oberoi Vivek Anand Oberoi (born 3 September 1976) is an Indian actor and businessman. The son of actor Suresh Oberoi, he began acting in 2002 with starring roles in the Hindi crime film ''Company'' and romantic drama '' Saathiya''. His performances ...

and

Rani Mukerji Rani Mukerji (; born 21 March 1978) is an Indian actress who works in Hindi films. Noted for her versatility, she is the recipient of multiple accolades, including eight Filmfare Awards. Mukerji has featured in listings of the leading and hi ...

. The film was a remake of Mani Ratnam's

Tamil Tamil may refer to: People, culture and language * Tamils, an ethno-linguistic group native to India, Sri Lanka, and some other parts of Asia **Sri Lankan Tamils, Tamil people native to Sri Lanka ** Myanmar or Burmese Tamils, Tamil people of Ind ...

film '' Alaipayuthey'' (2000). ''Saathiya's'' script was written by Ratnam. The film did well and established Ali in the industry. His second film was '' Bunty Aur Babli'' (2005) which for the first time brought together real-life father and son

Amitabh Bachchan Amitabh Bachchan (; 11 October 1942) is an Indian actor who works in Hindi cinema. He is often considered one of the greatest, most accomplished and commercially successful actors in the history of Indian cinema.* * * * * With a cinemati ...

and

Abhishek Bachchan Abhishek Bachchan (; born 5 February 1976) is an Indian actor and film producer known for his work in Hindi films. Part of the Bachchan family, he is the son of actors Amitabh Bachchan and Jaya Bachchan. From 2012 to 2016, Bachchan appeared in ...

alongside

. The film was one of the biggest hits of the year. Ali's third film, released on 15 June 2007 and titled '' Jhoom Barabar Jhoom'', stars

, Preity Zinta,

Bobby Deol Vijay Singh Deol (born 27 January 1969), better known by his screen name Bobby Deol, is an Indian actor who primarily works in Hindi cinema. A member of the List of Hindi film families#Deol family, Deol family, he is the younger son of actor Dha ...

and

Lara Dutta Lara Dutta Bhupathi ( Dutta; born 16 April 1978) is an Indian actress. She won the Miss Universe 2000, and has since predominantly worked in Hindi films and series. Dutta is a recipient of a Filmfare Awards, Filmfare Award and established hers ...

in lead roles. His fourth directorial venture was '' Kill Dil'' which was released on 14 November 2014. The movie received average reviews from critics and lukewarm response at the

Box office A box office or ticket office is a place where ticket (admission), tickets are sold to the public for admission to an event. Patrons may perform the transaction at a countertop, through a hole in a wall or window, or at a Wicket gate, wicket. ...

. He then directed the movie Ok Jaanu which released on 13 January 2017. It is a remake of Mani Ratnam's Tamil movie ''

O Kadhal Kanmani ''O Kadhal Kanmani'' (), also known as ''OK Kanmani'', is a 2015 Indian Tamil-language musical romantic drama film written, directed and produced by Mani Ratnam. The film stars Dulquer Salmaan and Nithya Menen, portraying a young couple in a ...

''. This film reunited him with composer

A. R. Rahman Allah Rakha Rahman (; born A. S. Dileep Kumar; 6 January 1967), also known by the initialism ARR, is an Indian music composer, record producer, singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and philanthropist known for his works in Indian cinem ...

after '' Saathiya'' (2002), after Rahman turned down '' Bunty Aur Babli'' citing a busy schedule. His next movie was '' Soorma'', a

biographical A biography, or simply bio, is a detailed description of a person's life. It involves more than just basic facts like education, work, relationships, and death; it portrays a person's experience of these life events. Unlike a profile or curric ...

sports Sport is a physical activity or game, often competitive and organized, that maintains or improves physical ability and skills. Sport may provide enjoyment to participants and entertainment to spectators. The number of participants in ...

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. The drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular ...

based on the life of hockey player Sandeep Singh, releasied on 13 July 2018.

Personal life

Ali married Shazmeen Hussain, daughter of conceptual artist Rummana Hussain and businessman Ishaat Hussain, in 2006. The couple divorced in 2011. He briefly dated Pooja Shetty, daughter of Adlabs founder

Manmohan Shetty Manmohan Shetty is an Indian entrepreneur who founded and developed Adlabs Films Ltd, one of India’s largest media and entertainment firms. Biography Shetty was born and schooled in Mangalore in India to a Tulu-speaking Tuluva Bunt commun ...

. In 2013, he married stylist Aarti Patkar.

Filmography

Web series

* '' Pawan & Pooja'' (2020) * '' Call My Agent: Bollywood'' (2021) * '' Bloody Brothers'' (2022)

References

External links

* Film directors from Kolkata People from Lakhimpur Kheri Politicians from Kolkata Living people Lawrence School, Sanawar alumni Communist Party of India (Marxist) politicians from West Bengal 21st-century Indian screenwriters 1970 births {{India-film-director-stub