Born on 7th July 1963, Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra is a screenwriter and filmmaker.
Rang De Basanti
and Baag Mika Baag are two of his acclaimed films. He has penned the script as well as directed the films Aks and Delhi 6. The issues surrounding the Mandal Commission of VP Singh inspired Mehra to direct Rang De Basanti.Â
Mehra never hesitates to voice his opinion on current issues, no matter they are done through films or in real life. He in fact condemned the Education system of India to give priority to scores. He also cited Shakespeare and Rabindranath Tagore in this regard. He told that Shakespeare would not have been a great writer if he was recognized only by his scores. He applied the same logic to Rabindranath Tagore. Mehra is also fascinated towards culinary.Â
Mehra kick started his career as a marketing person for Eureka Forbes. Then he went on to work as a filmmaker in advertisements. He has worked in many television advertisements not only for Indian clients, but also for international ones. And he had a brief stint with music videos.Â
Later Mehra donned the role of a filmmaker after trying his luck as ad filmmaker. Flicks Motion Picture Company Private Limited is the name of his company and the film Aks was produced under this banner. This film, though didn’t set the cash registers ringing, it was widely appreciated for the roles of
Amitabh Bachchan
and Manoj Bajpai.Â
Rang De Basanti was the turning point in his career and it was highly successful in India as well as overseas. He was bestowed with the Filmfare Best Director Award for this film. This film also represented India at the Oscars. A couple of his films Delhi 6 and Teen They Bhai were not commercially successful. The Baag Milka Baag happened and it was not only a commercial success, but also critically acclaimed.