Amar Kaushik

Biography:

Amar Kaushik is an Indian film director, producer, and screenwriter, best known for directing “Stree” (2018), “Bala” (2019), and “Bhediya” (2022).

Kaushik began his film career in 2008, working as an assistant director to Raj Kumar Gupta on “Aamir.” He continued collaborating with Gupta as an associate director for “No One Killed Jessica” and “Ghanchakkar,” and had small acting roles in each of these films. He also worked as an associate director on Onir’s films “Sorry Bhai!,” “I Am,” and “Shab.” Kaushik’s directorial debut was the short film “Aaba,” based on a story by his mother and funded by loans from friends, including Raj Kumar Gupta. Shot entirely in Ziro, Arunachal Pradesh, “Aaba” was screened at the Toronto International Film Festival and won the Special Jury Prize for Best Short Film at the 2017 Berlin International Film Festival.

In January 2018, Kaushik began shooting his feature film “Stree,” starring Rajkummar Rao and Shraddha Kapoor. Released on 31 August 2018, the horror film became a surprise hit, earning ₹125.57 crore by 1 October. Kaushik’s notable and commercially successful film “Bala” (2019), starring Ayushmann Khurrana, Bhumi Pednekar, and Yami Gautam, further established his reputation.

Kaushik grew up in Medo, Arunachal Pradesh, where his father worked as a forest ranger for the Indian Forest Service and his mother, Shashi, was a school teacher. At the age of 10, his family moved to Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh. He later studied mass communications in Delhi before moving to Mumbai in 2006. His upcoming projects include a film on surrogacy and the sequel “Stree 2.”