Anurag Basu
About
Considered one of India’s best filmmakers for tackling the themes of passion and adultery with ease in his movies, Anurag Basu is a skilled/zealous director, screenwriter, actor, producer, and braveheart cancer survivor.
Anurag started his career as an assistant director on Tara, an Indian soap opera for Zee TV in 1994. After six months, he was given full responsibility for directing about 712 episodes becoming one of the longest running shows in the 1990s.
He has directed TV serials in various genres ranging from daily soaps to thrillers to horrors such as Saturday Suspense, Ajeeb Dastaan, and X-Zone.
Anurag’s most successful work in television was the Balaji Telefilms soap Koshish - Ek Aashaa in 2000. Impressed by his vision, producer Ekta Kapoor approached him to direct pilot episodes of famous shows including Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi, Kahani Ghar Ghar Ki and Kasauti Zindagi Ki.
After eleven years in TV, Anurag directed his first film Saaya in 2003 starring John Abraham and Tara Sharma followed by Murder in 2004 which was very well received by critics even though it received an ‘A’ certificate.
He was diagnosed with acute leukemia in 2004, halfway through filming his next movie Tumsa Nahin Dekha. He was immediately hospitalized yet he directed parts of the film from his hospital bed.
Anurag started his own film production house, Ishana Movies, in 2007 and the first film of his production company was the 2007 musical drama film Life in a... Metro.
In 2012, his film Barfi! starring Ranbir Kapoor, Priyanka Chopra and Ileana D'Cruz on autism opened up to a largely-positive reviews and was well received at the Busan International Film Festival.
His other notable work includes films Gangster, Kites, Jagga Jasoos and Ludo and many more.
Anurag hosted the Bengali reality show Ke Hobe Biggest Fan (Who Will Be the Biggest Fan) for Zee Bangla in 2010.
He has also directed Indian Hindi television series Stories by Rabindranth Tagore which aired on the EPIC channel in 2015.
Anurag has also been a judge on the dance reality show Super Dancer for 3 seasons along with Malaika Arora and Geeta Kapoor on Sony TV.
Awards and Accomplishments
Awards and Accomplishments
- Anurag won the ‘Best Screenplay’ at Filmfare awards and IIFA awards for Life in a… Metro in 2008.
- He received the ‘Best Story’ and ‘Best Director’ at IIFA awards, ‘Best Director’ and ‘Best Screenplay’ at the Zee Cine Awards, and ‘Best Director’ at the Screen Awards and Times of India Film Awards for Barfi! in 2013.
- Anurag’s film Barfi! won the ‘Grand Jury Award’ at Okinawa International Movie Festival and it was also India’s official entry to the Academy Awards.
Why Anurag Basu ?
Reckoned to be one of the finest filmmakers among the current crop, Anurag Basu’s work from TV to films has received high praise. In his journey over two decades, he has not only created praiseworthy films but has also been a part of several TV serials. Nonetheless, he fought cancer with resilience and grit and rose with much more adherence to his work. Considering himself an adventurer, Anurag loves not to take the safe routes and works to stand out from the rest and enjoy himself simultaneously.
