Anil Sharma is an Indian director, producer and writer. He was born on March 7, 1955 in Mathura, Uttar Pradesh. Sharma completed his undergraduate studies and earned a B.Sc. degree from Khalsa College in Mumbai. However, ever since his childhood, when he would listen to his grandfather’s stories, Sharma acquired a keen interest in storytelling and film, and throughout his studies, he invested his time in films and filmmaking as a serious hobby. Sharma began his career in the film industry in the late seventies, and assisted both B.R. Chopra and Ravi Chopra on their films, beginning with Pati Patni Aur Woh (1978). He soon directed and wrote his own first film, Shradhanjali (1981), which was produced by his father K.C. Sharma. Incidentally, the film was reworked by Sharma’s brothers and released as Dunno Y… Na Jaane Kyun (2010) nearly 30 years later, with Sanjay Sharma directing, and Kapil Sharma writing the screenplay. With his fourth directorial venture, Elaan-E-Jung (1989), Sharma began producing, and has since produced four films including those directed by others, such as Ajay Kashyap’s Maa (1992) and Pappu Verma’s Policewala Gunda (1995).

After that, Sharma directed one of his most well-received films, Gadar: Ek Prem Katha (2001), which remains among the highest grossing Bollywood films till date. Ameesha Patel and Sunny Deol were the lead stars in the film, and it also features an appearance from the director’s own son, Utkarsh, who played the role of the protagonists’ son. This film got him nominated for numerous awards. Two years later he repeated his success with The Hero: Love Story of a Spy (2003), which was the third-highest grossing film of the year. Over the next decade, Sharma directed four other films including Apne (2007) and Veer (2010). His most recent work was seen in Singh Saab the Great (2013).

Over the next few years, Sharma is scheduled to work with producers C.G. Patel and Parag Sanghvi, with whom he signed a deal in 2012.