Rajkumar Hirani, fondly referred to as Raju Hirani, is an Indian film director, producer, editor, and screenwriter. He is famous for directing such critically acclaimed and hit films like 3 Idiots, Munna Bhai M.B.B.S, PK, Lage Raho Munnabhai, and Sanju. He is considered by many to be one of the most widely praised and successful filmmakers in Bollywood.
All the films directed by Hirani have been huge blockbusters at the box office and widely acclaimed by critics. They have won several awards including National Film awards. Both the movie watching public and film critics consider the films of Raju to be some of the best seminal films in Indian Cinema’s history. Hirani has been the winner of an incredible fifteen Filmfare Awards.
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Early Life and Education
Raju Hirani was born on November 20, 1962 into a Sindhi family in Nagpur, Maharashtra, India. His father Suresh Hirani was the owner of a typing institute in the city. His family originally belonged to the city of Mehrabpur in Naushahro Firoz District, in Sindh, Pakistan. Raju has two siblings, a sister and a brother.
Hirani did his schooling from St. Francis De’Sales High School in Nagpur. He later graduated with a degree in commerce. He took part in Hindi theater when in college. His parents aspired for him to become a CA (chartered accountant), but Raju leaned towards a career in films and theatre. Subsequently, his father enrolled him into an acting school in Bombay/Mumbai. Raju however found the environment in the big bad city to be stifling and returned to Nagpur in just three days.
The elder Hirani then asked Raju to put his application to the FTII (Film and Television Institute of India) located in Pune. The institute however did not have an acting course any longer and he had very slim chances of getting through for a course in film direction due to the plethora of applicants. He subsequently applied for an editor’s course and got through on a scholarship.
Career
After completing his editing course at the FTII, Hirani tried and struggled to make it as a movie editor for several years. He was not very successful and eventually moved to advertising. Slowly, he became a well known producer and director of ad films. Some famous commercials directed by him include the ad campaign for Kinetic Luna and the “Jor laga ke Haisha” Fevicol ads.
Despite the success in the advertising industry, Hirani’s thirst for filmmaking made him take a break and once again try to get into the movie making and entertainment industry. He began working with producer Vidhu Vinod Chopra and did various jobs like working on the trailer and promos of the film ‘1942: A Love Story’, and editing the promotional material of Bobby Deol starrer ‘Kareeb’, etc. He finally got a major break as an editor in the Sanjay Dutt Hrithik Roshan starrer ‘Mission Kashmir.’
Hirani made his first film as director in 2003. The film titled Munnabhai MBBS was critically acclaimed and won the hearts of the audience. It was a big success at the box office. It helped Sanjay Dutt revive his acting career. The character of Circuit played by Arshad Warsi became very popular. The adage ‘Jaadu Ki Jhappi’ caught on like wildfire.
Raju’s second film ‘Lage Raho Munnabhai’ also starred Sanjay Dutt and Arshad Warsi. It released in 2006 and was seen to promote ‘Gandhigiri’ i.e., Mahatma Gandhi’s ideals and non-violence struggle. The film was critically praised and was a superhit.
Titled 3 Idiots, Raju’s third film starred Aamir Khan, Kareena Kapoor, Madhavan, Boman Irani, and Sharman Joshi and released in 2009. This comedy drama was a blockbuster hit and broke all records at the box office. The movie highlighted the plight of the Indian education system which promoted rote learning instead of gaining knowledge.
PK, the fourth film directed by Hirani, was a mega hit and widely praised by critics. It released in 2014 and set the box office on fire. It was the first Indian film to gross over $100 million in worldwide markets and became the highest grossing Indian film of all time. The movie featured Aamir Khan and Anushka Sharma in the lead roles with supporting roles by Sanjay Dutt, Boman Irani, and Saurabh Shukla.
The fifth film of Hirani released in July 2018. Titled Sanju, the movie was based on the life of actor Sanjay Dutt. The film had mixed reviews from critics and audiences, some of whom felt that the movie gave a clean chit to Sanjay Dutt. The film however did extremely well at the box office and crossed the threshold of INR 100 crores in just the opening weekend. This movie is the biggest hit in the career of Ranbir Kapoor, who essays the role of the protagonist in the film.
Rajkumar Hirani – Wife
Raju Hirani is married to Manjeet Hirani. She was a pilot in Air India. The couple married in 1994. She has written a book called ‘How to be Human – Life Lessons from Buddy Irani’. Buddy Irani is the family dog, which Raju Hirani bought from the owner who had lent it for PK, when it was a cute looking pup.
Raju Hirani and wife Manjeet also have a son Vir Hirani who is currently trying to make a career in film direction.
Trivia
- Raju is 5’ 9” tall.
- He is close friends with Sanjay Dutt and Aamir Khan. He narrates all his movie scripts to Khan and asks him for feedback.
- It was Sanjay Dutt, and not Hirani, who initially approached Ranbir for the lead role in Sanju.
- His movies follow a pattern of humor juxtaposing with drama. Also, he happens to keep some emotional suspense for the end, as it was noticed in movies like 3 Idiots, PK and Sanju.
Rajkumar Hirani – Net Worth and Salary
- Hirani’s net worth is over INR 150 crores. He has several luxury cars. He is one of the highest paid movie directors in Bollywood. He is paid an estimated Rs. 12 crore per movie; and he also makes percentage profits out of his films through his company ‘Raju Hirani Films’.
