Rohit Shetty born 14 March 1973 is an Indian film director and producer. His work as a filmmaker includes the Golmaal film series, the Singham film series, Bol Bachchan, Chennai Express (for which he was nominated for Filmfare Award for Best Director), and Dilwale.
Personal life
He was born to Ratna, a Bollywood junior artist, and actor/stuntman M. B. Shetty who had acted in Hindi and Kannada films. He has four siblings.
Career
He started his career at the age of 17 as an assistant director with Kuku Kohli during Phool Aur Kaante (Ajay Devgn’s debut film that costarred Madhoo). Then he assisted him in Ek Aur Kohinoor, which was never released. He also worked with him on Suhaag (starring Ajay Devgn, Akshay Kumar, Karisma Kapoor), Haqeeqat (starring Ajay Devgn, Tabu) and Zulmi (starring Akshay Kumar, Twinkle Khanna). In the movie, Suhaag, Rohit also played a body double for Akshay Kumar.
After that, he started working with Anees Bazmee on Pyaar To Hona Hi Tha, followed by Hindustan Ki Kasam and Raju Chacha.
Shetty directed his debut feature film, Zameen, as an independent director with Devgn in 2003 at the age of 30. Zameen did average business at the boxoffice. He rose to fame after he directed the 2006 comedy film, Golmaal: Fun Unlimited starring Ajay Devgan, Arshad Warsi, Tusshar Kapoor and Sharman Joshi.
Shetty(left) with Ajay Devgn. Shetty has directed Devgn in ten films since 2003.
In 2008, he directed his third film, Sunday, starring Devgn, Warsi and Ayesha Takia. Sunday was a comic-thriller. Shetty’s second 2008 project, was the sequel to Golmaal, titled Golmaal Returns. The sequel featured most of the original cast, except Sharman Joshi, who was replaced by Shreyas Talpade, and starred Kareena Kapoor. Golmaal Returns. In 2009, he released All the Best: Fun Begins. In 2010, Shetty directed Golmaal 3. Shetty’s 2011 Singham also featured Devgn in the title role, as a Police Inspector fighting against corruption. Singham was praised for the action sequences and direction, and Devgn’s performance. His next release, Bol Bachchan, is a comedy-drama starring Devgn and Abhishek Bachchan. Bol Bachchan was a commercial success in India.
Shetty’s Chennai Express, starring Shah Rukh Khan and Deepika Padukone, was released on 9 August 2013. Chennai Express became the highest-grossing Bollywood film in the domestic market. The film earned over US$17.4 million to become the third-highest-grossing Bollywood film overseas. The film also set a number of box office records, for the highest opening-day gross, highest paid preview, highest single-day gross, biggest opening weekend, highest opening week and the fastest film to reach ₹100 crore and ₹2 billion in the domestic market.
Shetty has played the judge of the television show Comedy Circus.
In 2014, Shetty directed Singham Returns with Ajay Devgn, a sequel to his 2011 film Singham. He was also a part of the 5th season of television stunt game show Fear Factor: Khatron Ke Khiladi in 2014 as the host taking over from the previous host Akshay Kumar. In 2014, he turned into a producer with Singham Returns, co-producing the film under his banner Rohit Shetty Productions. He directed Dilwale (2015 film) with Sharukh Khan and Kajol which is a box office success. He reprised his part as host of the 6th, 8th, 9th, 10th season of Fear Factor: Khatron Ke Khiladi.
Shetty directed Golmaal Again, the fourth film of the Golmaal series. The film, starring Ajay Devgn and Parineeti Chopra in lead, released in October 2017 to mixed reviews but became the highest grossing Hindi film of 2017, becoming the first Hindi blockbuster of the year. also becoming the highest grossing diwali release of all time.
Filmography
 |
Denotes films that have not been released yet |
Films
| Year | Film | Director | Co Producer | Note |
| 2003 | Zameen | Yes | directorial debut | |
| 2006 | Golmaal: Fun Unlimited | Yes | ||
| 2008 | Sunday | Yes | ||
| Golmaal Returns | Yes | |||
| 2009 | All The Best: Fun Begins | Yes | ||
| 2010 | Golmaal 3 | Yes | ||
| 2011 | Singham | Yes | ||
| 2012 | Bol Bachchan | Yes | ||
| 2013 | Chennai Express | Yes | ||
| 2014 | Singham Returns | Yes | Yes | |
| 2015 | Dilwale | Yes | Yes | |
| 2016 | Ranveer Ching Returns | Yes | Yes | short film |
| 2017 | Golmaal Again | Yes | Yes | |
| 2018 | Simmba | Yes | Yes | |
| 2021 | Sooryavanshi |
Yes | Yes | |
| 2021 | Cirkus |
Yes | Yes |
Television
| Year | Television | Role | Reference |
| 2009–2011 | Comedy Circus | Judge | |
| 2012 | Big Switch | Godfather | |
| 2014 | Fear Factor: Khatron Ke Khiladi 5 | Host | |
| 2015 | Fear Factor: Khatron Ke Khiladi 6 | ||
| 2017 | Fear Factor: Khatron Ke Khiladi 8 | ||
| 2018 | India’s Next Superstars | Judge | |
| 2018–present | Little Singham | Producer | |
| 2019 | Fear Factor: Khatron Ke Khiladi 9 | Host | |
| 2019–present | Golmaal Jr. | Producer | |
| 2019 | Bigg Boss (Hindi season 13) | Guest | |
| 2020 | Fear Factor: Khatron Ke Khiladi 10 | Host | |
| Fear Factor: Khatron Ke Khiladi – Made in India |
Awards and nominations
| Year | Category | Film | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | Best Director | Chennai Express | Nominated |
| Year | Category | Film | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | Best Director | Chennai Express | Nominated |
| Year | Category | Film | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2013 | Most Entertaining Director | Chennai Express | Nominated |
| Year | Category | Film | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | Best Director | Chennai Express | Nominated |
| Year | Category | Film | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2013 | Best Film | Chennai Express | Won |
| Year | Category | Film | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | Mr Box Office India Blockbuster | Singham Returns | Won |
| Year | Category | Film | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2013 | Power Club – Box Office Award | Bol Bachchan | Won | |
| 2014 | Best Action Film | Chennai Express | Nominated | |
| Best Director | ||||
| 2018 | Golmaal Again | |||
| Best Film (Viewers’ Choice Award) | ||||
| Best Film (Jury’s Choice Award) | Won |
| Year | Category | Film | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | Best Director | Chennai Express | Nominated |