Vijay Kumar Arora

Biography:

Vijay Kumar Arora, also known as Daddu, is an Indian filmmaker and cinematographer primarily active in the Hindi and Punjabi film industries. He received the prestigious National Film Award in 2018 at the 66th National Film Awards for his Punjabi film Harjeeta. Another notable work of his, Guddiyan Patole, earned him a Best Director nomination at the 2020 PTC Punjabi Film Awards and went on to win the Jury’s Choice Award for Best Film at the same event.

Arora’s next directorial venture is Son of Sardaar 2, a Hindi-language action-comedy sequel to Son of Sardaar, slated for release in May 2025.

He began his career in the late 1990s as a cinematographer, working on Hindi films such as Vaastav: The Reality (1999), Kurukshetra (2000), Tum Bin (2001), Pyaar Kiya Nahin Jaata (2003), Dhamaal (2007), and ABCD (2013). His later cinematography credits include Any Body Can Dance 2 (2015), A Flying Jatt (2016), and Street Dancer 3D (2020). He also contributed to several television series like Hasratein, Sea Hawks, Hum Bombay Nahi Jayenge, and Shikast.

Arora transitioned to direction with his Punjabi debut Ronde Sare Vyah Picho (2013), starring Neeru Bajwa. He went on to direct acclaimed Punjabi films such as Harjeeta (2018), Guddiyan Patole (2019), Kali Jotta (2023), and Godday Godday Chaa (2023).

In addition to films and television, Arora has directed music videos for prominent artists like Gippy Grewal, Mika Singh, B Praak, Raftaar, and Badshah—often in collaboration with T-Series—as well as for Sonu Nigam’s album Deewana.