Anurag Singh (director)

Anurag Singh (born 17 November 1975) is an Indian film director, writer and producer. He is best known for the Bollywood film Kesari (2019), which was a major success at the time of release. He is also noted for directing Punjabi films such as Punjab 1984, Jatt and Juliet film series and Yaar Annmulle. He is widely recognized as one of the most influential filmmakers of Punjabi film industry.

Singh began his career in Bollywood working as an assistant director before directing his first feature film Raqeeb (2007). He also directed Dil Bole Hadippa! (2009). Both films failed to gain success. Following this, he started directing Punjabi films. Jatt and Juliet series and Punjab 1984 rank among the most successful films of Punjabi cinema, both commercially and critically. In 2017, Singh produced his first venture Super Singh which was a success, under his production company named Brat Films. Since then, he has produced Shadaa, and Puaada.

Early and personal life
Anurag Singh was born to Dr. Charan Singh Thind and Dr. Baljit Kaur. Singh, a medical student, excelled in his studies growing up and travelled to Australia to study film. He was a Class 10th CISCE topper and also achieved PMT Rank 1. He grew up in Jalandhar and is currently living in Mumbai, Maharashtra.

In 2005, he married his childhood sweetheart Madhurjeet Sarghi, a theatre artist and actress who also hails from Jalandhar. In 2016, Singh and Sarghi had a son named Shivaye Anurag Singh. Singh has an elder brother named Armaan Singh who is a well-known chief engineer in California, United States. Singh is close with his nephews and nieces who live in Jalandhar.

Career
During his early career, he assisted Bollywood director Raj Kanwar for several years before directing a Bollywood film of his own for Kanwar's production house. The film Raqeeb starring Jimmy Shergill, Sharman Joshi, and Tanushree Dutta was a commercial letdown. Singh followed this up with 2009 directed Dil Bole Hadippa!, a sports comedy in which Rani Mukerji disguises herself as a man to join an all men's cricket team. It also featured the likes of Shahid Kapoor, Anupam Kher, and Dalip Tahil. The film was a Bollywood adaptation of the 2006 film She's the Man by Andy Fickman which was itself an adaptation of William Shakespeare's Twelfth Night. Upon release, it received mixed-to-negative reviews and was a box office flop.

Singh began working in Punjabi cinema and directed his debut film Yaar Annmulle with actor Arya Babbar in the lead role. The coming of age comedy film emerged as a breakout project for Singh as it was declared a 'hit' by Box Office India. He established himself in Pollywood with the movie Jatt & Juliet in 2012. Starring Diljit Dosanjh and Neeru Bajwa, it followed the rivalry and eventual friendship of the two characters played by the pair of actors, while navigating foreign life. The romantic comedy turned out to be a blockbuster and emerged as the highest grossing Punjabi film up to that point. It was also awarded several accolades. Following the success of Jatt & Juliet, he worked exclusively with Diljit Dosanjh in several films in the Punjabi language. Six of the films he directed starring Diljit Dosanjh achieved record-breaking success.

Won
2012 - Best Director - Yaar Annmulle 2014 - Best Director - Jatt and Juliet 2
 * National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Punjabi - Punjab 1984
 * PTC Punjabi Film Awards 2013 - Best Director - Jatt & Juliet
 * PTC Punjabi Film Awards 2014 - Best Screenplay - Jatt & Juliet 2
 * PTC Punjabi Film Awards 2015 - Best Story - Punjab 1984
 * PTC Punjabi Film Awards
 * PTC Punjabi Film Awards 2015 - (Critics Choice) Best Director - Punjab 1984
 * PTC Punjabi Film Awards 2015 - Best Director - Punjab 1984
 * PTC Punjabi Film Awards 2015 - Best Dialogues - Disco Singh
 * PTC Punjabi Film Awards 2015 - Best Screenplay - Disco Singh

Nominated

 * PTC Punjabi Film Awards 2012 - Best Screenplay & Dialogues - Yaar Annmulle
 * PTC Punjabi Film Awards 2012 - Best Screenplay & Dialogues - Ek Noor
 * PTC Punjabi Film Awards
 * PTC Punjabi Film Awards 2015 - Best Screenplay - Punjab 1984
 * PTC Punjabi Film Awards 2015 - Best Screenplay - Disco Singh
 * PTC Punjabi Film Awards 2015 - Best Dialogues - Punjab 1984