Sooraj R. Barjatya

Sooraj R. Barjatya (born 22 February 1964) is an Indian film director, producer, screenwriter and distributor, predominantly working in Hindi Cinema. He is the current chairman of India's 67-year-old multi-national film, media and entertainment conglomerate, Rajshri Productions. His films are produced under the Rajshri Productions banner, which was founded in 1947 by his late grandfather Tarachand Barjatya. Barjatya has directed and produced some of the highest-grossing Bollywood films and has produced three other films that have accumulated worldwide gross earnings of more than ₹2 billion (US$31 million). Barjatya began his career as an assistant director to Mahesh Bhatt. He made his directorial debut with the 1989 film Maine Pyar Kiya, a romantic musical film about friendship. He followed it with the film Hum Aapke Hain Koun..!, which became one of the most commercially successful Bollywood films worldwide at the time. In 1999, Barjatya directed the commercially and critically successful film Hum Saath-Saath Hain. In 2006, Barjatya directed and produced Vivah, which established Shahid Kapoor as a leading actor in Bollywood. In 2015, the film Prem Ratan Dhan Payo, again produced and directed by him, was one of the highest-grossing films of the year.