Maneesh Sharma is an Indian film director, producer and screenwriter. He is best known for directing the Hindi film Shuddh Desi Romance (2013), featuring Parineeti Chopra, Sushant Singh Rajput, and Vaani Kapoor in the lead roles.
Wiki/Biography
Maneesh Sharma was born on Monday, November 5, 1973 (age 49 years; in 2023). His zodiac sign is Scorpio. Maneesh did his schooling at Delhi Public School, RK Puram, New Delhi. Shortly after completing his schooling, he pursued a Bachelor of Arts in English. After pursuing a bachelor’s degree, he went to California to take a filmmaking course at the California Institute of the Arts, Santa Clarita, California. Fascinated by art and filmmaking, Maneesh Sharma was involved in the theater society at his college.
Physical appearance
Height (approx): 5′ 7″
Hair Color: Black
Eye Color: Black
From left, Cameron Bailey, Parineeti Chopra, Maneesh Sharma and Jaideep Sahni; photo from the 2013 Toronto International Film Festival at Roy Thomson Hall on September 11, 2013 in Toronto, Canada
Family
Parents & Siblings
Not much information is available about Maneesh Sharma’s family.
Wife
Maneesh Sharma is not married.
Relationships/Affairs
In 2011, Maneesh Sharma started dating Parineeti Chopra, an actress. According to sources, Parineeti, soon after she started dating Maneesh, moved into his building in Andheri, Mumbai. However, in 2014, the couple decided to call off the relationship as they moved out of the apartment. During the interview, the source said,
When she started dating Maneesh a few years ago, she moved into his building in Andheri. He earlier lived in Yari Road. But since they were recently separated, he moved out of the apartment and Parineeti was also looking for another house in Bandra. He also went to a flat in Malad.”
Maneesh Sharma and Parineeti Chopra
Reportedly, Maneesh Sharma and Parineeti patched up in 2016 after their breakup in 2014; However, in an interview, Maneesh Sharma rubbished the dating rumors and said,
I did not meet Maneesh for more than two-three months. I didn’t even know that he went on vacation. We were talking on the phone sometime back, and he asked me, ‘Apparently, you have been coming to my cabin every day (at producer Aditya Chopra’s office) and meeting me. But mera kaunsa cabin hai (which cabin do I have).”Maneesh and I have known each other for six years. And for six years, we’ve been saying the same thing – we’re not dating. It’s too much, because my personal life is affected by these things, which people don’t understand.”
Career
As a Director
In 2004, Maneesh Sharma made his directorial debut with the English-language film Trona; it is an Anglo-German student film and was shot in Los Angeles.
Trona English language movie poster
In 2006, shortly after completing his filmmaking course in California, he moved back to India and made his directorial debut in Bollywood with the film Fanaa; he worked as an associate director in Hindi films.
Fanaa Hindi language movie poster
After that, Maneesh Sharma worked as an associate director in two Yash Raj Film Productions, Aaja Nachle (2007) and Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi (2008). In 2010, Maneesh made his directorial debut with the Hindi film Band Bajaa Baaraat; he also worked as a screenwriter for the film.
Maneesh Sharma directorial debut movie poster in Hindi Band Bajaa Baaraat
In 2013, he directed the Bollywood film Shuddh Desi Romance, featuring Parineeti Chopra, Sushant Singh Rajput, and Vaani Kapoor in the lead roles. In 2016, he directed the Hindi language film Fan, starring Shah Rukh Khan in the lead role.
Maneesh Sharma and Shah Rukh Khan during the promotion of the Hindi film Fan
In an interview, Manesh Sharma talked about his directorial film Fan (2016) and said that the pre-production for the film started in 2013. He said,
We started pre-production on fan as early as 2013. The main brief is that it needs to look as real as possible. I was initially told that it was impossible to make older actors look younger. We spent months on looks and prosthetics. I sent Greg a still from an old SRK movie like Deewana, Baazigar and Darr. I wanted Gaurav to look like Shah Rukh in this film, but not like that. Greg and the Red Chillies VFX [Shah Rukh Khan’s visual effects company] has done a lot of work to make the look look seamless. Hopefully it will be a new experience.”
As Publisher
In 2015, Maneesh Sharma made his film production debut with the Bollywood film Dum Laga Ke Haisha, starring Ayushmann Khurrana and Bhumi Pednekar in the lead roles; he worked as a co-producer on the film.
Dum Laga Ke Haisha Hindi movie poster
In 2017, he produced the Hindi film Meri Pyaari Bindu. In 2018, he produced the Hindi film Hichki. In 2018, he produced the Bollywood film Sui Dhaaga, featuring Anushka Sharma and Varun Dhawan in the lead roles.
Award
- In 2011, he won the Best Debut Director Award for the film Band Baaja Baaraat (2010) at the Filmfare Awards.
- In 2016, he won the Best Feature Film Award in Hindi for the film Dum Laga Ke Haisha (2015) at the National Film Awards.
- In 2016, he won the Editor’s Choice Film Award for the film Dum Laga Ke Haisha (2015) at the Stardust Awards.
Facts/Trivia
- Maneesh Sharma, during an interview, talked about his career in Bollywood and said that even though he faced rejection for several films, he never struggled. He said,
Yaar, I will be very honest, I don’t have any struggle. This doesn’t mean I haven’t been rejected on some scripts I want to back up, but it’s all part of the process. My struggle is that I can’t make a Fan…. now that’s not a struggle! It would be silly for me to say it was a struggle because I had to make three films while I waited to make Fan. I am very grateful. In terms of what I’m interested in making, or an idea I’m excited about, for the most part I end up doing it. Then if it has been right or wrong is a separate matter. So far it’s been 9 movies, including 1 produced, and I can say that whether it’s good or bad is entirely up to me. I am not forced by the ‘ye nahi karna chahiye’ studio mentality. Ye hata do it. I would say that’s a good position to be in.”
- A fan of Shah Rukh Khan, Maneesh has always wanted to cast Shah Rukh Khan in his film since his graduation in California. In an interview, Manish recalled that in 2004, when he was in his film school in California, he called Shah Rukh Khan at 1:30 in the morning to pitch an idea and offer him a role in his film. Maneesh explained,
The thing is, getting to Fan is a very long journey, vis-à-vis Shah Rukh Khan. I will tell you a little. It was 2004 and I was about to graduate from my film school. I wanted to meet Shah Rukh Khan and pitch him the idea that I want to make a film with him and ask him how to do it. One night, I was partying hard during my college days at Cal Arts, LA, and at 1:30 in the morning I called his boy, Subhash Da, and told him that my name was Maneesh and that I was graduating from film school and I have a script for Shah Rukh Khan (laughs). He said to call him back in 10 minutes. I thought he was just brushing me off but I called back after 15 minutes and he said wait a minute and then from the other side, Shah Rukh Khan’s voice said, ‘Hello?’ I stood on the street in LA and wondered if this was true (smile).”
- Amid rumors of Manish Sharma dating Parineeti Chopra, a source from the sets of one of Maneesh’s films said that he was very upset and often lashed out at people on the sets. In an interview, the source said,
Maneesh comes and goes in his own sweet time. He thought it was okay if he arrived late. But if someone else is behind schedule, he loses it completely. He is very irritated today. And if he saw any news about him and Parineeti, we already knew it!”
- In 2013, Shahid Kapoor was signed for Yash Raj Films, Band Baaja Baaraat, directed by Maneesh Sharma; however, due to creative differences between Maneesh and Shahid, Shahid dropped the film. In an interview, a source from the sets of Band Baaja Baaraat said,
Maneesh is confident that Shahid will do justice to the script of his film. Initially, Shahid was also excited about the script. But when they started working together, they realized they couldn’t be on the same page most of the time.” In fact, Shahid did not commit to any other project after that. The season and was completely focused on Sharma’s film for a while. “However, there was a time when he disagreed with Maneesh. And Maneesh couldn’t accept Shahid’s constant feedback and suggestions for modifications.”
- In an interview, Maneesh Sharma shared about his favorite Hindi movies. He said his three favorite films were Chashme Buddoor (1981), Khosla Ka Ghosla! (2006), and Do Dooni Chaar (2010).
Categories: Biography
Source: SCHOOL TRANG DAI
