Rajat Arora

Last updated

Rajat Arora
Rajat Arora 2017.jpg
Rajat Arora in 2017
Born
Rajat Arora

(1975-07-23) 23 July 1975 (age 48)
Alma mater Asian Academy of Film & Television [1]
Occupation(s) Writer, Lyricist, Director, Producer
Years active2004 – present

Rajat Arora (born 23 July 1975) is an independent screenwriter who has worked in the Indian film and television industry for over two decades.

Contents

His experience lies in punch-packed dialogues, and he has delivered a spate of hit movies like Once Upon a Time in Mumbaai (2010), The Dirty Picture (2011), Kick (2014), Gabbar Is Back (2015) and Taxi No. 9211 (2006).[ citation needed ]

His filmography includes multiple genres, including action, comedy-drama, superhero stories, romantic musicals, and biopics.[ citation needed ]

Once Upon a Time in Mumbaai (2010) is a critically acclaimed gangster movie. This blockbuster gained a cult status, especially for its powerful, motivational, insightful dialogues that have become street-speak for Indian audience.[ citation needed ]

Arora's script for The Dirty Picture (2011), which is loosely based on the life and times of a South Indian actor, riled up a feminist discourse and led to several discussions around the role of women in Indian society.[ citation needed ]

The Times of India movie review mentions, "The naughty dialogues (Rajat Arora) of the film add immense flavour to the proceedings. It's a no-holds-barred screenplay that rightly refuses to treat sex as a three-letter word. The Dirty Picture is not only your film for the week, but is a seminal work that will be studied in feminist discourses." [2]

AZHAR (2016), a biographical sports drama based on life of the most controversial Indian Cricket Captain was produced by Sony Pictures and Balaji Telefilms.

Baadshaho (2017), a period action-thriller, was directed by Milan Luthria and starred by Hindi Film superstar Ajay Devgn. The movie did well, and the dialogue received the audience's appreciation.

Hindi dubbed version of the International blockbuster Captain Marvel (2019) was scripted by Arora. As he said in a statement, "It is a very significant film being the first Marvel female superhero film and I am thrilled to be a part of the project!"[ citation needed ]

Rajat's next film will be Thalaivi, a trilingual biopic based on life and times of J. Jayalalithaa, a late politician and film actress who served as the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu, with Kangana Ranaut playing the lead.[ citation needed ]

Also in production is the Hindi remake of Telugu super hit film RX 100 to mark the debut of Ahan Shetty, son of veteran actor Sunil Shetty.[ citation needed ]

Early life and education

Born and brought up in New Delhi, Rajat is an alumnus of Asian Academy of Film & Television as well as a B.Com. Hon. Graduate from Delhi University. A South Delhi boy who migrated to Mumbai in the late 1990s, Rajat at 21 was raring to "struggle" and achieve his childhood dream. Luck struck when within a few months he found an opportunity to write for TV series CID and Aahat.

Rajat started as a dialogue writer but soon started contributing towards the story and screenplay for Aahat and C.I.D.[ citation needed ]

Career

Rajat Arora burst into Bollywood scene as a dialogue writer for the hit movie Bluffmaster (2005). Directed by Rohan Sippy, the film was lauded for its dialogues. Veteran film critic Taran Adarsh found the dialogues 'fantastic' while other critics called the dialogues 'quotable'. The dialogues were declared the highlight of the movie. Taxi No. 9211 (2006), one of the highest grossing film that year, was written by Arora and directed by Milan Luthria. The slice-of-life, high on drama and action story turned out to be critics' favourite and they described it as 'impeccable'.[ citation needed ]

Rajat teamed up with Luthria again for Once Upon a Time in Mumbaai (2010). The movie won many accolades from critics and viewers alike for its direction and screenplay. Bollywood Trade Analyst Komal Nahta wrote that 'Rajat Arora has penned an interesting story and padded it up with a highly engrossing screenplay that doesn't let the viewer lose grip for even a moment. Aroraa's dialogues, of course, are absolutely fantastic, many of them clapworthy.' Arora's next film, The Dirty Picture, was released in 2011[ citation needed ]

After the tremendous success of Once Upon a Time in Mumbaai and The Dirty Picture the writer-director duo Rajat Aroraa and Milan Luthria delivered yet another blockbuster Once Upon ay Time in Mumbai Dobaara! (2013). Once again the dialogues of the movie were said to be applause worthy and were the cherry on the cake.[ citation needed ]

Kick (2014) starring Salman Khan, was released on Eid, Kick received an overwhelming response at the box office. The total worldwide collection crossed INR 3 billion and was the highest grosser of 2014. Gabbar Is Back (2015) follows Akshay Kumar playing a grief stricken vigilante, committed to end corruption in India, and was praised for its dialogues.[ citation needed ]

Filmography

Television

Rajat Arora has written over 100+ episodes of CID and Aahat. Story, screenplay and dialogue writer for prime time Indian television lead him to Bollywood films.[ citation needed ]

Films

Rajat has been writing dialogues, screenplay, story and lyrics as an Independent Writer for over 20 years now.

YearFilmDirectorContributionReference
2005 Bluffmaster Rohan Sippy Dialogue
2006 Taxi No. 9211 Milan Luthria Story, Screenplay, Dialogues
2007 Hattrick
2009 Chandni Chowk to China Nikhil Advani
2010 Once Upon a Time in Mumbaai Milan Luthria
2011 The Dirty Picture Story, Screenplay, Dialogues, Lyrics for a song
2013 Once Upon ay Time in Mumbai Dobaara! Story, Screenplay, Dialogues
2014 Kick Sajid Nadiadwala
2015 Gabbar Is Back Krish
2016 Azhar Tony D'Souza
2017 Baadshaho Milan Luthria
2019 Captain Marvel (Hindi dubbed version) Anna Boden, Ryan Fleck Hindi Script adaptation
2021 Thalaivi A. L. Vijay Story, Screenplay, Dialogues (Hindi)
Tadap Milan LuthriaStory, Screenplay, Dialogues
2022 Heropanti 2 Ahmed Khan [3]

Awards and accolades

In 2004, Arora was awarded 'Best Teleplay Writer' by the Indian Television Academy. He even has an entry as the co-writer for C.I.D in the Guinness Book of World Records for 'Longest Single Shot Episode'.

Arora has also been awarded the Hindi Seva Samman for his literary contribution towards Hindi Language. [4]

YearMovieAwardCategory
2011 Once Upon a Time in Mumbaai Zee Cine Awards Best Dialogues
Producers Guild Film Awards Best Screenplay
Global Indian Film and Television HonoursBest Dialogues
2012 The Dirty Picture Zee Cine Awards Best Dialogues
Screen Awards
Producers Guild Film Awards
IIFA Awards
Global Indian Film and Television Honours
The Dirty Picture (Song: Ishq Sufiyana) Mirchi Music Awards Best Lyrics
People's Choice Awards India Favourite Lyrics

Related Research Articles

<i>Sholay</i> 1975 film by Ramesh Sippy

Sholay is a 1975 Indian Hindi-language action-adventure film directed by Ramesh Sippy, produced by his father G. P. Sippy, and written by Salim–Javed. The film is about two criminals, Veeru (Dharmendra) and Jai, hired by a retired police officer to capture the ruthless dacoit Gabbar Singh. Hema Malini and Jaya Bhaduri also star, as Veeru and Jai's love interests, Basanti and Radha, respectively. The music was composed by R D Burman.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Amjad Khan (actor)</span> Indian film actor (1940–1992)

Amjad Khan was an Indian actor and film director.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ramesh Sippy</span> Indian film director

Ramesh Sippy is an Indian film director, actor and producer in Hindi cinema. He is particularly known for being director in Sholay (1975), which is regarded as one of the most influential films ever made in India. The Government of India honoured him with Padma Shri in 2013.

<i>Taxi No. 9211</i> 2006 film by Milan Luthria

Taxi No. 9 2 11: Nau Do Gyarah is a 2006 Indian Hindi-language comedy thriller film directed by Milan Luthria and produced by Ramesh Sippy. The film stars Nana Patekar along with John Abraham in lead roles. It was released on 24 February 2006, received a positive response from critics, and was a moderate success at the box office. The film's basic premise is loosely based on the 2002 American film Changing Lanes.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Emraan Hashmi</span> Indian actor

Emraan Anwar Hashmi is an Indian actor who works in Hindi cinema. Born into the Bhatt family, he began his career an assistant director on the horror film Raaz (2002). He made his acting debut with the crime film Footpath (2003), and achieved his breakthrough for his starring role in the erotic thriller Murder (2004).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Salim–Javed</span> Popular Indian screen-writing duo

Salim–Javed were an Indian screenwriting duo, composed of Salim Khan and Javed Akhtar, who worked primarily in Hindi cinema. They were among the first Indian screenwriters to achieve star status, and are regarded as among "Hindi cinema's greatest screenwriters". They worked together on 24 films between 1971 and 1987, of which 20 were commercially and critically successful.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Salim Khan family</span> Indian film family

The Salim Khan family refers to the family of Salim Khan which is a prominent Indian show business family, and is one of the prominent Bollywood film clans. Multiple members of the family have been actors, screenwriters, film directors and producers in the Hindi film industry of India. Salim, one half of the duo Salim–Javed, is one of the most famous screenwriters in the history of Indian cinema. His son, actor Salman Khan, has been the prominent face of the family since the 1990s, as one of the biggest Bollywood movie stars in history of Indian cinema.

<i>Oye Lucky! Lucky Oye!</i> 2008 Indian film

Oye Lucky! Lucky Oye! is a 2008 Indian Hindi-language crime comedy film starring Abhay Deol, Paresh Rawal, Neetu Chandra, Manu Rishi, Manjot Singh and Archana Puran Singh. It was directed by Dibakar Banerjee. The film won the National Film Award for Best Popular Film. The film is inspired by the real life shenanigans of Devinder Singh alias Bunty, a real-life "super-chor", originally from Vikaspuri, Delhi.

<i>Once Upon a Time in Mumbaai</i> 2010 film by Milan Luthria

Once Upon a Time in Mumbaai is a 2010 Indian Hindi-language neo-noir crime thriller film written by Rajat Arora and directed by Milan Luthria. It stars Ajay Devgn, Emraan Hashmi, Kangana Ranaut, Prachi Desai and Randeep Hooda. Produced by Ekta Kapoor under the Balaji Motion Pictures banner, Once Upon A Time in Mumbaai was released on 30 July 2010 to generally positive reviews from critics, and was a box office hit. The film is loosely based on the lives of Mumbai underworld gangsters Haji Mastan and Dawood Ibrahim. A sequel, Once Upon ay Time in Mumbai Dobaara!, was released in 2013.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Milan Luthria</span> Indian film director

Milan Arjun Luthria is an Indian film director who works in Hindi films. He is best known as the director of Ajay Devgan'sOnce Upon a Time in Mumbaai (2010).

Manoj Tyagi is an Indian screenwriter and film director in the Hindi cinema. He had won the National Film Award for Best Screenplay twice, for Page 3 (2005) and Apaharan (2006), apart from Filmfare Award for Best Screenplay for Page 3, which won the National Film Award for Best Feature Film. He made his directorial debut with Mumbai Salsa (2007) produced by Vikram Bhatt's ASA Films for whom he had written a couple of films.

<i>The Dirty Picture</i> 2011 film by Milan Luthria

The Dirty Picture is a 2011 Indian Hindi-language biographical musical drama film inspired by the life of Silk Smitha, an Indian actress noted for her erotic roles. The filmmakers have clarified that the story is not officially or literally based on Smitha alone, but on many of her contemporaries such as Disco Shanti. It also resembles the personal lives of other women in popular culture, including actress and sex symbol Marilyn Monroe. The film was directed by Milan Luthria and co-produced by Shobha Kapoor and Ekta Kapoor, after Ekta came up with the idea and asked screenwriter Rajat Aroraa to pen a story based on it.

<i>Once Upon ay Time in Mumbai Dobaara!</i> 2013 Indian film directed by Milan Luthria

Once Upon ay Time in Mumbai Dobaara! is a 2013 Indian Hindi-language gangster film directed by Milan Luthria and produced by Ekta Kapoor and Shobha Kapoor. A sequel to 2010's Once Upon a Time in Mumbaai, the film stars Akshay Kumar, Imran Khan and Sonakshi Sinha, with Sonali Bendre in a special appearance. The film's title is an intentional misspelling of "Once upon a time in Mumbai Dobaara", done in accordance with Ekta's belief in numerology and astrology.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Imran Hasnee</span> Indian actor

Imran Hasnee is an Indian actor and paranormal expert who has worked in the Indian cinema as well as British and American films. Known for films A Mighty Heart and Slumdog Millionaire, Paan Singh Tomar etc. Played lead as well as character roles.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Balaji Motion Pictures</span> 21st century Indian film studio

Balaji Motion Pictures is a subsidiary company of Balaji Telefilms Limited which is an Indian film production and distribution company established by Shobha Kapoor and her daughter Ekta Kapoor. Located in Mumbai, and it produces and distributes Hindi films. The chairman of the company is former Bollywood actor, Jeetendra Kapoor.

<i>Gabbar Is Back</i> 2015 Hindi film directed by Krish

Gabbar Is Back is a 2015 Indian Hindi-language vigilante action film directed by Krish in his Hindi debut, written by Rajat Arora and produced by Sanjay Leela Bhansali. The film stars Akshay Kumar and Shruti Haasan with Kareena Kapoor Khan and Chitrangada Singh in a special appearance.

<i>Baadshaho</i> 2017 film by Milan Luthria

Baadshaho (transl. Kings) is a 2017 Indian Hindi-language action-adventure film written by Rajat Arora and directed by Milan Luthria. It stars Ajay Devgn, Emraan Hashmi, Ileana D'Cruz, Vidyut Jammwal, Esha Gupta and Sanjay Mishra. The film is set in the emergency era of 1975–77.

<i>The Dirty Picture</i> (soundtrack) 2011 soundtrack album by Vishal–Shekhar

The Dirty Picture is the soundtrack to the biographical musical drama film of the same name directed by Milan Luthria and produced by Shobha Kapoor and Ekta Kapoor of Balaji Motion Pictures and ALT Entertainment. Starring Vidya Balan, Emraan Hashmi, Naseeruddin Shah and Tusshar Kapoor, the film's soundtrack featured six songs composed by Vishal–Shekhar and lyrics written by Rajat Arora. The soundtrack was released on 4 November 2011 and was commercially successful, with the song "Ooh La La" becoming chartbuster.

References

  1. "Notable alumni of School of Mass Communication".
  2. "The Dirty Picture Movie Review {4.5/5}: Critic Review of The Dirty Picture by Times of India", The Times of India, retrieved 10 January 2020
  3. "Rajat Arora As Writer For Much Awaited Tiger Shroff Starrer Heropanti 2". Bollywood Hungama . 29 October 2020. Retrieved 30 October 2021.
  4. "Malwa Rangmanch Samiti". malwarangmanchsamiti.com. Retrieved 31 January 2016.