Ashutosh Gowariker

Ashutosh Gowariker (born February 15, 1964, Bombay [now Mumbai], India) is an Indian actor, director, and screenwriter who is best known for the Bollywood films Lagaan (2001; “Agricultural Tax”), which was nominated for an Academy Award, Swades (2004; “Our Country”), and Jodhaa Akbar (2008).

Acting career

Gowariker attended Mithibai College in Bombay (now Mumbai), where he earned a bachelor’s degree in chemistry. He developed a love of performance while in school, participating in theater, dance, and music. He began his career with appearances in commercials and had his big-screen acting debut in Hindi cinema in Ketan Mehta’s Holi in 1984. This was followed by films such as Naam (1986; “Name”), West Is West (1987), Gawahi (1989; “Testimony”), and Kabhi Haan Kabhi Naa (1993; “Sometimes Yes, Sometimes No”). He also acted in TV serials including Kachchi Dhoop (1987; “Morning Sun”), and Circus (1989). Toward the end of his acting career, before pursuing work as a director and screenwriter, he appeared in the Marathi-language films Vazir (1994; “Minister”) and Sarkarnama (1998; “Government Document”).

Debut as director and Lagaan

In the 1990s Gowariker started to turn his interest behind the camera, directing films as well as contributing to their writing. His first directorial venture was the mystery drama Pehla Nasha (1993; “First Love”). He followed with the crime thriller Baazi (1995; “The Game”), which enjoyed average success. However, his magnum opus was the epic period drama Lagaan in 2001. Lagaan starred and was produced by actor Aamir Khan—Gowariker and Khan had costarred in Holi, and Khan had starred in Baazi. Lagaan, set in British-ruled India, features Khan as a villager who is challenged to a cricket match by a British army officer. The prize for the villagers, who have never played cricket and are living through a drought, is tax relief for three years. Lagaan was nominated for an Academy Award for best foreign-language film (now best international feature film) and earned acclaim worldwide for its direction.

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Swades and Jodhaa Akbar

Gowariker’s next film, Swades, starring Shah Rukh Khan, was not a box-office success but roused the interest of critics. Four years later he released the epic romance Jodhaa Akbar, set in the 16th century and starring Hrithik Roshan and Aishwarya Rai Bachchanas the titular characters—Mughal emperor Akbar and his Rajput bride Jodhaabai. The film was both a critical and commercial success.

Later works

In 2009 Gowariker branched out into romantic comedy with What’s Your Raashee? (“What’s Your Sun Sign?”), starring Priyanka Chopra Jonas, and in 2010 he returned to period films with the thriller Khelein Hum Jee Jaan Sey (“We Play With Passion”), set in the 1930s. The film starred Deepika Padukone and Abhishek Bachchan and was based on the Chittagong armory raid of 1930, in which Indian revolutionary leaders had attempted to raid police-owned weapons in preindependent India.

Gowariker’s later films included the adventure drama Mohenjo Daro (2016) and Panipat (2019), which was based on a 1761 battle in northern India. He wrote and produced Toolsidas Junior (2022), which won the National Film Award for best feature film in Hindi the next year.