Rajkumar Hirani is one of Bollywood’s most prolific filmmakers. He hasn’t delivered a single flop in his career, and all his films have brought laughter to audiences. His treatment of college and student life in his films has left audiences enthralled. Blockbuster films like ‘Munnabhai MBBS‘, ‘3 Idiots‘, ‘PK‘, and ‘Sanju‘ were all stories crafted by Rajkumar Hirani.

Rajkumar Hirani was born on November 20, 1962 in Nagpur, Maharashtra, to a Sindhi family. His father, Suresh, migrated from Sindh (now Pakistan) to India during the India-Pakistan partition. Suresh was only 14 years old at the time. His father started a typing institute in Nagpur. Initially, they had only two typewriters. Within a few months, his father was training approximately 1,000 students daily in 16 batches. However, computers soon replaced typewriters, and the business had to be closed.

Although Hirani’s parents wanted him to become a chartered accountant, he was more inclined towards theatre and acting. During his college days, he was actively involved in Hindi theatre. Seeing their son’s passion for becoming an actor, his parents made every effort to fulfil his dream. As a result, they sent Hirani to an acting school in Mumbai. However, he couldn’t adapt to the school environment and returned home after a few days.

Rajkumar Hirani then enrolled in the direction course at the Film and Television Institute of India (FTII) in Pune. Due to the large number of applicants, his chances of admission seemed slim. Giving up, he compromised and chose an editing course. After completing his studies, Hirani struggled for several years in Mumbai to become a film editor. Failing to find success, he entered the advertising field, where he gradually established himself as a director of commercials. Soon after, he began working on several commercials himself.

His dream of entering Bollywood soon became a reality when director Vidhu Vinod Chopra called him to work on the promos and trailer for the film ‘1942: A Love Story‘. Hirani’s first big-budget film as an editor was ‘Mission Kashmir‘ (2000).

Rajkumar Hirani’s directorial debut, ‘Munnabhai MBBS‘ (2003), brought him recognition in the film industry. His dream as a director continued with the success of his next three films: ‘Lage Raho Munnabhai‘ (2006), ‘3 Idiots‘ (2009), and ‘PK‘ (2014).

As for awards, Raju Hirani has won four National Awards and 11 Filmfare Awards. He is a filmmaker who didn’t want to be part of the hustle and bustle, but rather wanted to showcase a facet of society and youth that everyone has experienced somewhere. Interestingly, filmmaker Rajkumar Hirani, who has delivered so many superhit films, only received answers about the merits and demerits of his films from his close friends.

He had friends who, like the general public, gave accurate reviews. Rajkumar Hirani himself revealed this in an interview. He said, “I have a friend from Nagpur to whom I show every film of mine because he’s a friend from my school days. He tells me clearly whether something in the film is right or wrong. I have a few other friends in my life who also tell me clearly.”