Maneesh Sharma (born 6 January 1980) is an Indian film director, producer and screenwriter who works in Hindi cinema.
Early life and education
Born and raised in Delhi, where he lived in various parts of the city, including Pitam Pura, Sharma did his schooling at Delhi Public School, R K Puram. Then he received a degree in English literature from Hans Raj College, Delhi University. At college, he was involved in the theatre society and shot his debut film in 2010 there. After his graduation he moved to California to study filmmaking at CalArts.[1][2] Before moving to Mumbai, he was also involved in theatre in Delhi and was a dancer in a local musical troupe.[3]
Career
While studying filmmaking at CalArts, Maneesh worked as an associate director on Trona (2004), an English-German student film shot in Los Angeles.[3]
Two months after his return from the US, he got a break and started his Bollywood career as an associate director and an assistant director on a number of Yash Raj Films (YRF) productions such as Fanaa, Aaja Nachle and Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi, before making his feature directing debut with Band Baaja Baaraat (English title: Bands Horns and Revelry), based on a story written by himself, which was released on 10 December 2010.[4][5][6] The film starred newcomer Ranveer Singh and Anushka Sharma in the lead roles, and was produced by Aditya Chopra under the Yash Raj Films banner. Sharma's first outing as a director garnered him a Filmfare Award in the Best Debut Director category.
