David Dhawan

Early life

David Dhawan was born on 16 August 1951 as Rajinder Dhawan in Agartala, Tripura in to a Punjabi family. His father, a manager in UCO Bank, got transferred to Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh. He studied in Christ Church College and BNSD Inter College until Class XII, and then joined FTII for acting, where he changed his name to David Dhawan, a pet name given by his Jew neighbours in Agartala. Seeing other actors like Satish Shah and Suresh Oberoi, Dhawan realised that he could not act. So he took up editing instead. He became a fan of Manmohan Desai and Hrishikesh Mukherjee. Watching the Bengali film Meghe Dhaka Tara, directed by Ritwik Ghatak, inspired him to pursue filmmaking and passed with a gold medal. Dhawan has two brothers, actors Anil and Ashok.

Career

Dhawan started off as an editor in Saaransh in 1984 before moving into directing. He specialises in directing comedy films. His 1993 film Aankhen, starring Govinda, Chunky Pandey and Kader Khan, was highly successful at the box office, and earned him his first nomination for the Filmfare Award for Best Director. Another successful film was Shola Aur Shabnam. His 2007 film Partner was successful.

Dhawan is on the board of Asian Academy of Film & Television and Asian School of Media Studies where he has been honoured with an academy award by Sandeep Marwah. He was a judge on the Star Plus show Nach Baliye 3 in 2008 and on the show Hans Baliye.

Work with Govinda

Dhawan first teamed with actor Govinda for the film Taaqatwar (1989). He then formed a collaboration with Govinda and directed 18 films with him as the leading actor, including Swarg (1990), Shola Aur Shabnam (1992), Aankhen (1993), Raja Babu (1994), Coolie No. 1 (1995), Saajan Chale Sasural (1996), Banarasi Babu (1997), Deewana Mastana (1997), Hero No. 1 (1997), Bade Miyan Chote Miyan (1998), Haseena Maan Jaayegi (1999), Kunwara (2000), Jodi No.1 (2001), Kyo Kii... Main Jhuth Nahin Bolta (2001), Ek Aur Ek Gyarah (2003), Partner (2007) and Do Knot Disturb (2009). Partner, which also starred Salman Khan, grossed Rs. 300 Million in India on its opening week, the second highest domestic opening week gross for an Indian film at that time. The same year, Salman Khan invited Dhawan and Govinda on his show 10 Ka Dum to celebrate Partner. Dhawan also collaborated with Khan in Biwi No.1 (1999), which emerged as a critical and commercial success, and earned Dhawan his second nomination for the Filmfare Award for Best Director. Dhawan got back to the trio of Govinda, Ritesh Deshmukh and himself with the film, Do Knot Disturb.

Personal life

Dhawan is married to Karuna Dhawan (née Chopra), with whom he has two sons, Rohit Dhawan and Varun Dhawan. His brother is actor Anil Dhawan and nephew is actor Siddharth Dhawan.

Filmography

Awards and nominations

References

References

1. (16 August 2021). "Varun Dhawan wishes dad David Dhawan on 70th birthday, calls him 'king of comedy'. Watch video". Hindustan Times.
2. (15 August 2021). "David Dhawan Birthday Special: 'Biwi No.1', 'Judwaa' and other hit comedy films of the director". Free Press Journal.
3. Kher, Anupam. (24 August 2014). "David Dhawan & Varun Dhawan".
4. "Real name of David Dhawan on @TheAnupamKherShow & @colorstv {{!}} David Dhawan {{!}} Anupam Kher {{!}} Varun".
5. (2 April 2013). "Govinda is a delight for the director: David Dhawan". The Times of India.
6. (30 July 2019). "Govinda blasts David Dhawan: I did 17 films with him. Even his son Varun will not do that". India Today.
7. (20 September 2015). "David Dhawan thinks it's very feasible for Hindi film makers to shoot abroad". News18.
8. "David Dhawan > Biography". Yahoo! Movies.
9. "Box Office 2007". BoxofficeIndia.com.
10. (18 September 2007). "The secret is out!". Mumbai Mirror.
11. (16 August 2017). "Happy Birthday David Dhawan: His Most Unforgettable Movies Featuring Govinda". News18.
12. Tuteja, Joginder. (2 August 2007). "Box office analysis". India Glitz.
13. Sharma, Priyanka. (21 August 2017). "David Dhawan on working with Govinda again: Why not? We have created history". The Indian Express.
14. Goyal, Divya. (22 August 2017). "Hey Govinda, Here's What David Dhawan Said About Working With You Again". NDTV.
15. (3 October 2009). "Do Knot Disturb: Check it out for Govinda". The Hindu.
16. Baddhan, Raj (3 April 2014). "Varun Dhawan's grandmother passes away". Biz Asia.
17. Muthanna, Anjali (3 April 2014). (3 April 2014). "Bangalore girls go selfie-crazy with Varun Dhawan". [[The Times of India]].
18. Rajiv Vijayakar. (26 July 2012). "Numero Unos: A Survey of the Top Hit Films – Part 5: Whizkid directors".