Ashutosh Gowariker

An actor who took up directing after almost a decade, Ashutosh Gowariker is one of those rare people who take the path less taken and, although it was a rough going, he is now one of India's elite directors. He began his film career modeling in commercials by Govind Nihalani and Jenny Pinto. He entered Hindi cinema with Ketan Mehta's Holi (1985), as Ranjeet Prakash, one of the main protagonists. His acting career continued with Mahesh Bhatt's Naam (1986), David Rathod's West Is West (1987), Saeed Akhtar Mirza's Salim Langde Pe Mat Ro (1989), Jalal Agha's Goonj (1989), Anant Balani's Gawahi (1989), and Kundan Shah's Kabhi Haan Kabhi Naa (1994). He also acted in award-winning Marathi-language films such as the Ujwal Thengdi creation Vazir (1994) and Shrabani Deodhar's Sarkarnama (1998). Alongside these features, TV serials like Amol Palekar's Kachchi Dhoop (1987), the Saeed Akhtar Mirza & Aziz Mirza-Kundan Shah collaboration Circus (1989), and Pradeep Uppoor and B.P. Singh's C.I.D.