A well-known film director and writer, Apoorva Lakhia was born and raised in Ahmedabad. He attended New York University for a filmmaking course but eventually dropped out of it to assist
Mira Nair
with a film she was making. He had the chance to also be on set of various Hollywood films such as Addicted to Love and A Perfect Murder as an assistant.
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Apoorva got his break in Bollywood as an assistant director to
Ashutosh Gowariker
for the super hit Lagaan: Once Upon a Time in India.
Farhan Akhtar
recommended him to
Aamir Khan
for the movie due to his experience in Hollywood.Â
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Mumbai Se Aaya Mera Dost was his debut film as a director in 2002. He followed that up with
Ek Ajnabee
in 2005, which was a remake of Denzel Washington’s Hollywood hit Man on Fire. The action packed thriller received mixed reviews and starred Bollywood’s legend
Amitabh Bachchan
. He then directed the multi-star cast, Shootout at Lokhandwala, which was based on the real incident that occurred at Lokhandwala involving gangsters Dilip Buwa and Maya Dolas. His close friendship with
Sanjay Dutt
prompted him to cast Dutt in the movie. In 2013 he made his first Telugu film, Thoofan.