Nagaraj Manjule

Biography:

Nagraj Manjule is an Indian movie maker, writer, producer, poet, and actor. He is known for his storytelling and socially-oriented cinema mostly through Marathi and Hindi movies. He gained fame with his National Film Award winning short film Pistulya in 2010, reflecting on themes like education, caste, and social injustice. He started with his feature directorial debut Fandry in 2013, exploring the theme of caste discrimination, winning Indira Gandhi Award for Best Debut Film of a Director at the National Film Awards.

His most popular works include the Marathi blockbuster Sairat in 2016, a romantic drama, focusing on casteism and honor killing. The film became one of the highest-grossing Marathi films and achieved international recognition by premiering at the Berlin International Film Festival. He then directed his Hindi film debut Jhund in 2022, starring Amitabh Bachchan, telling the story of a football coach helping underprivileged children.

In addition to being a director, Nagraj Manjule worked as a writer, producer, and actor in films like Ghar Banduk Biryani in 2023 and Naal. Known for his realistic style of filmmaking and strong social themes, he is considered to be one of the most prominent contemporary directors in Marathi cinema.