Amit Ravindernath Sharma (born 13 April 1978) is an Indian film and advertisement director and producer. In feature films, he is best known for producing and directing the 2018 National-award winning film Badhaai Ho, which was one of the highest grossing Hindi films of 2018.[1] His latest release, Maidaan (2024) won the Best Asian Film Award at the prestigious Septimius Awards 2024. [2]
Amit Sharma | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | 13 April 1978 |
| Occupations |
|
| Years active | 2004–present |
Early life
editSharma was born in Delhi, India to parents who worked for the government.[3] While still in school, he connected with film director Pradeep Sarkar, and was invited to shoot an advert in Manali. After graduating, he worked with Sarkar for six years before moving to Mumbai in 2001.[3]
Two years later, he left the tutorship of Sarkar, and in 2004 he set up his own company, Chrome Pictures, with Aleya Sen and Hemant Bhandari. Later that year, he was offered an assistant role on Sarkar's film, Parineeta, which he turned down.[3]
Advertising
editBetween 2004 and 2024, Sharma has produced and directed over 6000 advertisements,[3] including those for Google, Coca-Cola and Amazon.[4][5][6] In 2011, he directed an advert entitled 'The Silent National Anthem' featured deaf and mute 'singing' the Jana Gana Mana through sign language, and won a silver award at the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity.[7] A 2013 advert for Lifebuoy focused on hygiene in Indian villages, and won Gold at the Spikes Asia awards later that year.[8][9]
The best-known advert he directed is perhaps the Google Reunion advert from November 2013, which told the fictional story about the reunion of two elderly men, one from India and one from Pakistan, who were childhood friends but were separated as children during the Partition of India. The ad had a strong impact in both countries, leading to hopes that travel restrictions between the two countries might be eased,[10][11] and the video garnered over 1.6 million views on YouTube before debuting on television.[12] His work during this time was described by The Economic Times as a "contemporary greatest hits of Indian advertising".[6]
Film career
editIn 2014, Sharma was invited by producer Boney Kapoor to direct Tevar, a remake of the 2003 Telugu film Okkadu, starring Arjun Kapoor.[3][13] The film generally received mixed reviews.[14][15]
In 2016, Sharma was elected on the Cannes Lions Craft Jury.[16]
Sharma worked as the director on Badhaai Ho, which began shooting in late 2017, and starred Ayushmann Khurrana and Neena Gupta.[17] Sharma's production company Chrome Pictures produced the film alongside Junglee Pictures, and it was released on 18 October 2018.[18] The film became the seventh-highest opening weekend grosser of 2018,[19] and earned ₹220.34 crore ($31 million) worldwide.[1] The film won the National Film Award for Best Film Popular Providing Wholesome Entertainment.
His next was an anthology film Lust Stories 2 - 'Tilchatta' starring Kajol Devgn which released on 29 June 2023 on Netflix. It became hugely popular and garnered great reviews.
Sharma's latest release, Maidaan, is about the life and career of Syed Abdul Rahim, also produced by Boney Kapoor. The filming started in 2019, but was delayed due to the pandemic.[20][21][22] The film features music by A. R. Rahman. It released on 10 April 2024 to tremendous critical acclaim. Sharma recently won the award for Best Asian Film at the prestigious Septimius Awards for Maidaan. [2]
Filmography
edit| Year | Title | Director | Writer | Producer | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | Tevar | Yes | Yes | ||
| 2018 | Badhaai Ho | Yes | Yes | ||
| 2023 | Lust Stories 2 | Yes | Yes | Segment: "Tilchatta" | |
| Trial Period | Yes | ||||
| 2024 | Maidaan | Yes | Yes |
Awards
edit- 2011 Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity – Silver ('The Silent National Anthem')
- 2013 Spikes Asia – Gold ('Help A Child Reach 5', for Lifebuoy)[9]
- D&AD (Graphite & Wood for Facebook Pooja Didi) [23]
- Spikes Asia (Dove #StopTheBeautyTest) [24]
- Adfest (Facebook Pooja Didi) [25]
- London International Awards (Facebook Pooja Didi & Dove #StopTheBeautyTest) [26]
- National Film Award for Best Film Popular Providing Wholesome Entertainment - Feature film Badhaai Ho
- Septimius Award 2024 for Best Asian Film for his feature film Maidaan [27]
References
edit- ^ a b "Badhaai Ho Box Office Collection till Now". Bollywood Hungama. Retrieved 8 December 2018.
- ^ a b Naqvi, Masaba. "Amit Sharma-directed Maidaan wins big at Septimius Awards in Amsterdam". www.newsdrum.in. Retrieved 28 September 2024.
- ^ a b c d e "Amit Ravindernath Sharma: I promised my mother at her funeral that I would never let her die – Times of India". The Times of India. Retrieved 8 December 2018.
- ^ "Coca-Cola Rolls Out Brrr Campaign In India". www.bestmediaifo.com. Retrieved 8 December 2018.
- ^ Mota, Akansha Mihir (26 April 2018). "Amazon's Chonkpur Cheetahs: The journey from a small town to a big city". www.bestmediaifo.com. Retrieved 8 December 2018.
- ^ a b Bapna, Amit; Balakrishnan, Ravi (28 May 2014). "Amit Sharma: Meet the director of landmark ads from Google, Lifebuoy, Visa, Idea". The Economic Times. Retrieved 8 December 2018.
- ^ "Silent National Anthem ad wins top award". News18. 21 June 2011. Retrieved 8 December 2018.
- ^ "Lifebuoy's moving message". www.afaqs.com. 24 February 2013. Retrieved 11 December 2018.
- ^ a b "Spikes Asia Festival of Creativity". Spikes Asia Festival of Creativity. Retrieved 11 December 2018.
- ^ "Google can envision Pakistan-India harmony in less than 4 minutes…can we?". 19 November 2013. Retrieved 11 December 2018.
- ^ "Google reunion ad reignites hope for easier Indo-Pak visas". Deccan Chronicle. 15 November 2013. Retrieved 11 December 2018.
- ^ "'Reunion': Google's (NASDAQ: GOOG) Ad Evoking Partition Separation A Big Hit In India And Pakistan (VIDEO)". International Business Times. 19 November 2013. Retrieved 11 December 2018.
- ^ "Arjun Kapoor's Tevar to be produced by Sanjay Kapoor". Bollywood Hungama. 17 December 2013. Retrieved 8 December 2018.
- ^ "Review: Tevar is a tiring watch". Rediff. Retrieved 8 December 2018.
- ^ Dwivedi, Saurabh (10 January 2015). "Tevar review: Weak story covered up with power packed dialogues". India Today. Retrieved 8 December 2018.
- ^ "Cannes Lions 2016: Clichés Indian jury members don't want to see in the ad fest". The Economic Times. 1 June 2016. Retrieved 11 December 2018.
- ^ "Ayushmann Khurrana teams up with Tevar director Amit Sharma for Badhaai Ho, to shoot in Delhi". www.hindustantimes.com. 24 November 2017. Retrieved 8 December 2018.
- ^ Badhaai Ho, retrieved 8 December 2018
- ^ "Box Office: Badhaai Ho becomes the 7th highest opening weekend grosser of 2018". Bollywood Hungama. 22 October 2018. Retrieved 8 December 2018.
- ^ Thakur, Charu (13 July 2018). "Who is Syed Abdul Rahim, the man Ajay Devgn is playing in his next film?". India Today. Retrieved 9 December 2018.
- ^ "Ajay Devgn to play Syed Abdul Rahim". The Indian Express. 14 July 2018. Retrieved 9 December 2018.
- ^ Jha, Subhash K (4 November 2018). "The football field beckons Ajay Devgn and his director Amit Sharma". Deccan Chronicle. Retrieved 9 December 2018.
- ^ Ramesh, Aishwarya. "Indian agencies bring home 4 Graphite and 5 Wood Pencils at the D&AD awards". www.afaqs.com. Retrieved 28 September 2024.
- ^ "Spikes Asia Festival of Creativity". Spikes Asia Festival of Creativity. Retrieved 28 September 2024.
- ^ "Pooja Didi | Afaqs". www.afaqs.com. Retrieved 28 September 2024.
- ^ "Know More About Amit Sharma - IFP". 4 February 2021. Retrieved 28 September 2024.
- ^ Naqvi, Masaba. "Amit Sharma-directed Maidaan wins big at Septimius Awards in Amsterdam". www.newsdrum.in. Retrieved 28 September 2024.
External links
edit- Amit Sharma at IMDb