Dibakar Banerjee
Encyclopedia
Dibakar Banerjee is an India
n film director and screenwriter, who is most known for films, Khosla Ka Ghosla
(2006), Oye Lucky! Lucky Oye!
(2008), which he also wrote, both of which won National Film Awards. He started his career in advertising, and continues as an ad filmmaker, in 2010 he also directed a Coca Cola commercial.
In 2010, he made his third film, Love Sex aur Dhokha
, where one of the three sub-plots in the movie is loosely based on the infamous 2004 DPS MMS scandal.
, in West Delhi
, and studied at Bal Bharati Public School
, Ganga Ram Hospital Marg, Delhi.
After finishing his schooling he joined the National Institute of Design
(NID), Ahmedabad to study visual communications and graphic design, but left it two and a half years later. Back in Delhi, seven months later he started working with corporate audio-visual filmmaker Sam Mathews, as a trainee.
Anthem, and later he joined Contract Advertising, Delhi, where he worked under Pradeep Sarkar
, who was then a creative director at the agency. Screenwriter Jaideep Sahni
was also one of his colleagues, who later penned Khosla Ka Ghosla’s story, screenplay, dialogues and lyrics.
In 1997, he left Contract to launch his own company, 'Watermark', with two ex- NID friends, making ad films and promos for Channel V
and MTV
.
He was contacted for directing a movie "about Delhi, based in Delhi" by producers for Pritish Nandy Films, and shot his debut feature film, Khosla Ka Ghosla
(2006) starring Anupam Kher
and Boman Irani
, in 45 days in locations in and around New Delhi. The film went on to receive not just accolades for him but also a National Film Award amongst others, and brought him in the list of new filmmakers who were bringing about a marked shift in Bollywood themes, which typically focuses on stories & characters from in and around Bombay.
In 2008, he co-wrote and directed his second feature, also set in his hometown Delhi, Oye Lucky! Lucky Oye!
, with Abhay Deol
and Paresh Rawal
, it was premiered at the IFFI, Goa
, and also at MoMA
, New York
. Commercially it was released in the 26/11 weekend, though it went on to become a sleeper hit; later New York Times described it as "a breezy mix of satire and realism", and the film won three Filmfare Awards.
Dibaker continues to make ad films under his new banner, Freshwater Films. This includes recent films for Promise Toothpaste and a series for Horlicks Malted Milk Drinks Brands.
In 2010, he directed India's first film shot entirely on Digital Camera, Love Sex aur Dhokha
(LSD),which won him critical acclaim. A cutting satire on lapsing social mores fueled by materialistic greed and technological media advancement, it continued his ouevre of grappling with the life of anchor-less middle-class & the completely amoral nouveau riche thrown up by India's economic boom of the 90's.
, his next project, is slated to be a political thriller involving an assassination, wherein Abhay Deol, who was the lead in his previous film Oye Lucky!, is set to play one of the three principal characters of the film, a Tamil
boy. The film based on a European novel published in the mid-1960s, is set go on the floors late in 2011.
, the couple moved to Bombay and is currently living in Parel
, suburb of Mumbai
with their 2 year old daughter Ira.
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
n film director and screenwriter, who is most known for films, Khosla Ka Ghosla
Khosla Ka Ghosla
Khosla Ka Ghosla is a 2006 Indian comedy drama film directed by Dibakar Banerjee in his directorial debut. It stars Anupam Kher and Boman Irani. Though made on a small budget this film managed to do very well at the box office...
(2006), Oye Lucky! Lucky Oye!
Oye Lucky! Lucky Oye!
Oye Lucky! Lucky Oye! is a 2008 Indian film starring Abhay Deol, Neetu Chandra, Paresh Rawal, Manu Rishi, Richa Chadda, Manjot Singh and Archana Puran Singh. It was directed by Dibakar Banerjee. The film won the National Film Award for Best Popular Film....
(2008), which he also wrote, both of which won National Film Awards. He started his career in advertising, and continues as an ad filmmaker, in 2010 he also directed a Coca Cola commercial.
In 2010, he made his third film, Love Sex aur Dhokha
Love Sex aur Dhokha
Love Sex aur Dhokha is a 2010 Indian film directed by Dibakar Banerjee and produced by Alt Entertainment, is shot entirely on DigiCam, being one of the first films coming out of India to be presented in the found footage style...
, where one of the three sub-plots in the movie is loosely based on the infamous 2004 DPS MMS scandal.
Early life and education
Dibaker Banerjee was born and brought up at New Rohtak Road near Karol BaghKarol Bagh
Karol Bagh, also spelled as Qarol Bagh , is a mixed residential-cum-commercial neighbourhood in Delhi, India, known for its shopping streets, like the Ghaffar Market and Ajmal Khan Road...
, in West Delhi
West Delhi
West Delhi is an administrative district of the National Capital Territory of Delhi in India.West Delhi is bound by the districts of North West Delhi to the north, North Delhi and Central Delhi to the east, South West Delhi to the south, and Jhajjar District of Haryana state to the west.West Delhi...
, and studied at Bal Bharati Public School
Bal Bharati Public School
Bal Bharati Public School one of the largest institutions providing education at school level in India. A philanthropist, Padma Vibhushan Lala Hansraj Gupta, along with his fellow luminaries founded the parent body, the Child Education Society....
, Ganga Ram Hospital Marg, Delhi.
After finishing his schooling he joined the National Institute of Design
National Institute of Design
The article for the postgraduate campus can be found at National Institute of Design Gandhinagar and National Institute of Design BangaloreNational Institute of Design is a design school in India. The institute functions as an autonomous body under the Department of Industrial Policy and...
(NID), Ahmedabad to study visual communications and graphic design, but left it two and a half years later. Back in Delhi, seven months later he started working with corporate audio-visual filmmaker Sam Mathews, as a trainee.
Career
He joined advertising as a copywriter first with Shems Combit and then TBWATBWA
TBWA Worldwide is an international advertising agency whose headquarters are in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, United States. The Agency is a unit of Omnicom Group, the world's largest advertising agency holding company. It was founded in 1970 in Paris, France, by William G...
Anthem, and later he joined Contract Advertising, Delhi, where he worked under Pradeep Sarkar
Pradeep Sarkar
Pradeep Sakar is a writer and director who works in the Bollywood industry.He began his career with Vinod Chopra Productions, the production company of acclaimed director Vidhu Vinod Chopra....
, who was then a creative director at the agency. Screenwriter Jaideep Sahni
Jaideep Sahni
Jaideep Sahni is an Indian screenwriter, songwriter and producer, most known for screenplays of films like, Company , Khosla Ka Ghosla and Chak De! India . He is currently on contract with Yash Raj Films...
was also one of his colleagues, who later penned Khosla Ka Ghosla’s story, screenplay, dialogues and lyrics.
In 1997, he left Contract to launch his own company, 'Watermark', with two ex- NID friends, making ad films and promos for Channel V
Channel V
Channel [V] is the brand name for multiple international music television networks owned by STAR TV and Fox International Channels, fully owned subsidiaries of News Corporation.-Channel [V] International:...
and MTV
MTV
MTV, formerly an initialism of Music Television, is an American network based in New York City that launched on August 1, 1981. The original purpose of the channel was to play music videos guided by on-air hosts known as VJs....
.
He was contacted for directing a movie "about Delhi, based in Delhi" by producers for Pritish Nandy Films, and shot his debut feature film, Khosla Ka Ghosla
Khosla Ka Ghosla
Khosla Ka Ghosla is a 2006 Indian comedy drama film directed by Dibakar Banerjee in his directorial debut. It stars Anupam Kher and Boman Irani. Though made on a small budget this film managed to do very well at the box office...
(2006) starring Anupam Kher
Anupam Kher
Anupam Kher is an Indian actor who has appeared in nearly 400 films and 100 plays. Though mainly appearing in Bollywood films, he has had roles in some films from other nations as well...
and Boman Irani
Boman Irani
Boman Irani is an Indian film and theatre actor and photographer. Irani began his acting career in theatre and moved to film in 2000 at the age of 44 with a role in Josh...
, in 45 days in locations in and around New Delhi. The film went on to receive not just accolades for him but also a National Film Award amongst others, and brought him in the list of new filmmakers who were bringing about a marked shift in Bollywood themes, which typically focuses on stories & characters from in and around Bombay.
In 2008, he co-wrote and directed his second feature, also set in his hometown Delhi, Oye Lucky! Lucky Oye!
Oye Lucky! Lucky Oye!
Oye Lucky! Lucky Oye! is a 2008 Indian film starring Abhay Deol, Neetu Chandra, Paresh Rawal, Manu Rishi, Richa Chadda, Manjot Singh and Archana Puran Singh. It was directed by Dibakar Banerjee. The film won the National Film Award for Best Popular Film....
, with Abhay Deol
Abhay Deol
Abhay Deol is an Indian actor from Mumbai, India. He is an Indian film actor and producer whose family has a long history in the Hindi film industry. Deol has appeared in films such as Dev.D and Oye Lucky! Lucky Oye!. He is the nephew of Bollywood actor Dharmendra, and the cousin of Sunny Deol and...
and Paresh Rawal
Paresh Rawal
Paresh Rawal is an Indian actor of Gujarati background.Making his film debut in 1984, he mainly played supporting and villain roles throughout the 1980s and 1990s. Since 2000 he has mostly played comic roles.- Family and early life :...
, it was premiered at the IFFI, Goa
Goa
Goa , a former Portuguese colony, is India's smallest state by area and the fourth smallest by population. Located in South West India in the region known as the Konkan, it is bounded by the state of Maharashtra to the north, and by Karnataka to the east and south, while the Arabian Sea forms its...
, and also at MoMA
Moma
Moma may refer to:* Moma , an owlet moth genus* Moma Airport, a Russian public airport* Moma District, Nampula, Mozambique* Moma River, a right tributary of the Indigirka River* Google Moma, the Google corporate intranet...
, New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
. Commercially it was released in the 26/11 weekend, though it went on to become a sleeper hit; later New York Times described it as "a breezy mix of satire and realism", and the film won three Filmfare Awards.
Dibaker continues to make ad films under his new banner, Freshwater Films. This includes recent films for Promise Toothpaste and a series for Horlicks Malted Milk Drinks Brands.
In 2010, he directed India's first film shot entirely on Digital Camera, Love Sex aur Dhokha
Love Sex aur Dhokha
Love Sex aur Dhokha is a 2010 Indian film directed by Dibakar Banerjee and produced by Alt Entertainment, is shot entirely on DigiCam, being one of the first films coming out of India to be presented in the found footage style...
(LSD),which won him critical acclaim. A cutting satire on lapsing social mores fueled by materialistic greed and technological media advancement, it continued his ouevre of grappling with the life of anchor-less middle-class & the completely amoral nouveau riche thrown up by India's economic boom of the 90's.
Up coming projects
ShanghaiShanghai (2011 film)
Shanghai is an upcoming Hindi political thriller film directed by Dibakar Banerjee, and starring Emraan Hashmi, Abhay Deol, Kalki Koechlin, Prosenjit Chatterjee and Pitobash. The film is currently being shot in Maharashtra. Based on the life of Politicians and their greed, it is scheduled for...
, his next project, is slated to be a political thriller involving an assassination, wherein Abhay Deol, who was the lead in his previous film Oye Lucky!, is set to play one of the three principal characters of the film, a Tamil
Tamil people
Tamil people , also called Tamils or Tamilians, are an ethnic group native to Tamil Nadu, India and the north-eastern region of Sri Lanka. Historic and post 15th century emigrant communities are also found across the world, notably Malaysia, Singapore, Mauritius, South Africa, Australia, Canada,...
boy. The film based on a European novel published in the mid-1960s, is set go on the floors late in 2011.
Personal life
Dibakar Banerjee is married to Richa Puranesh, who also has an advertising background, and the couple lived in Delhi for many years. After the success of Khosla Ka GhoslaKhosla Ka Ghosla
Khosla Ka Ghosla is a 2006 Indian comedy drama film directed by Dibakar Banerjee in his directorial debut. It stars Anupam Kher and Boman Irani. Though made on a small budget this film managed to do very well at the box office...
, the couple moved to Bombay and is currently living in Parel
Parel
Lower Parel or Parel is central part of Mumbai. It is also lends its name to two railway stations on the Mumbai suburban railway. Most of the mills in Mumbai used to be in this area till some years ago...
, suburb of Mumbai
Mumbai
Mumbai , formerly known as Bombay in English, is the capital of the Indian state of Maharashtra. It is the most populous city in India, and the fourth most populous city in the world, with a total metropolitan area population of approximately 20.5 million...
with their 2 year old daughter Ira.
Controversies
In March 2011, Bollywood actress Payal Rohatgi accused Dibakar of asking sexual favors in exchange for a role in his upcoming film Shanghai. However, Dibakar clarified that although he was friends with Payal, he made the comment about her putting on weight in the studio in front of a lot of people and not at her place. He did visit her home, but nothing happened there that can be termed as “sexual favors”.Filmography
- Khosla Ka GhoslaKhosla Ka GhoslaKhosla Ka Ghosla is a 2006 Indian comedy drama film directed by Dibakar Banerjee in his directorial debut. It stars Anupam Kher and Boman Irani. Though made on a small budget this film managed to do very well at the box office...
(2006) - Oye Lucky! Lucky Oye!Oye Lucky! Lucky Oye!Oye Lucky! Lucky Oye! is a 2008 Indian film starring Abhay Deol, Neetu Chandra, Paresh Rawal, Manu Rishi, Richa Chadda, Manjot Singh and Archana Puran Singh. It was directed by Dibakar Banerjee. The film won the National Film Award for Best Popular Film....
(2008) - Love Sex aur DhokhaLove Sex aur DhokhaLove Sex aur Dhokha is a 2010 Indian film directed by Dibakar Banerjee and produced by Alt Entertainment, is shot entirely on DigiCam, being one of the first films coming out of India to be presented in the found footage style...
(2010)
Awards
- National Film Award
- 2007: Best Feature Film in HindiNational Film Award for Best Feature Film in HindiThe National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Hindi awards the best regional film in Hindi language. Initially the award was known as the President's Silver Medal for Best Feature Film in Hindi. The winners in this category are:...
: Khosla Ka GhoslaKhosla Ka GhoslaKhosla Ka Ghosla is a 2006 Indian comedy drama film directed by Dibakar Banerjee in his directorial debut. It stars Anupam Kher and Boman Irani. Though made on a small budget this film managed to do very well at the box office... - 2009: Best Popular FilmNational Film Award for Best Popular Film Providing Wholesome EntertainmentThe National Film Award for Best Popular Film Providing Wholesome Entertainment winners:1981 to 1984 and 1992, 1986 & 1977 No Award was given....
: Oye Lucky! Lucky Oye!Oye Lucky! Lucky Oye!Oye Lucky! Lucky Oye! is a 2008 Indian film starring Abhay Deol, Neetu Chandra, Paresh Rawal, Manu Rishi, Richa Chadda, Manjot Singh and Archana Puran Singh. It was directed by Dibakar Banerjee. The film won the National Film Award for Best Popular Film....
- 2007: Best Feature Film in Hindi
- Zee Cine Award
- 2007: Most Promising DirectorZee Cine Award for Most Promising DirectorThe Zee Cine Award for Most Promising Director is an Indian film award which began in 2005.In 2002, Zee Cine tried to acknowledge debut directors by creating a Zee Cine Special Award for Debut Director. In 2005, the category for most promising director was made official, chosen from five possible...
: Khosla Ka GhoslaKhosla Ka GhoslaKhosla Ka Ghosla is a 2006 Indian comedy drama film directed by Dibakar Banerjee in his directorial debut. It stars Anupam Kher and Boman Irani. Though made on a small budget this film managed to do very well at the box office...
- 2007: Most Promising Director
External links
- Dibakar Banerjee website
- Dibakar Banerjee Dibakar Banerjee's Blog on PassionForCinema.com
- Dibaker Banerjee Bollywood HungamaBollywood HungamaBollywood Hungama is a leading Bollywood entertainment website, owned by hungama.com....