Vasan Bala

Biography:

Indian screenwriter and director Vasan Bala is well-known for his contributions to Hindi cinema. The scripts for the psychological thriller Raman Raghav 2.0 (2016) and the historical crime drama Bombay Velvet (2015) were written by him. With the crime thriller Peddlers, Bala made his directorial debut in 2012 and was nominated for a Cannes Golden Camera Award. In addition, he served as an assistant director on the movies Trishna (2011), Gulaal (2009) and Dev.D (2009). He has written dialogue for Rukh (2017) and The Lunchbox (2013). He released the movie Mard Ko Dard Nahi Hota in 2019.

Bala’s native city is Mumbai, India. He made the decision to leave his job and pursue a career as a director after working at a bank for a number of years. He worked directly with well-known directors Anurag Kashyap and Michael Winterbottom to obtain practical expertise before going on to helm his first feature film, Peddlers (2012).

Bala started off in the film industry closely collaborating with filmmakers such as Anurag Kashyap. His first credits were as a screenwriter for Bombay Velvet (2015) and Raman Raghav 2.0 (2016). Peddlers (2012), his directorial debut, was screened at the Cannes Film Festival. The drama and crime were combined to explore themes of urban isolation and youth difficulties in Mumbai.

Mard Ko Dard Nahi Hota (2018), an eccentric action-comedy about a young man who has an unusual medical ailment that prevents him from feeling pain, marked his major breakthrough as a director. The movie won the People’s Choice Award at the Toronto International Film Festival because to positive reviews and its original storyline that paid homage to martial arts movies.

The neo-noir crime comedy Monica, O My Darling was directed by Bala in 2022. The film, which was praised for its style and storyline, is well-known for its humor and retro vibe. It combines a complex murder investigation with a hint of Bollywood nostalgia. His current project is the action-thriller Jigra (2024), which stars Alia Bhatt.