Apoorva Lakhia

Apoorva Lakhia Biography

Apoorva Lakhia is a Bollywood screenwriter and director, known for action thrillers. He was an assistant director in Hollywood before entering Mumbai’s entertainment world. He entered Bollywood as an assistant director to Ashutosh Gowariker's period epic film Lagaan: Once Upon a Time in India. His debut movie was Mumbai Se Aaya Mera Dost (2002) starring Abhishek Bachchan, Lara Dutta and Chunky Pandey. Though the movie was not a commercial success, he went on to become a pal of actor Abhishek Bachchan. As a Bollywood filmmaker, his noted works include - Shootout at Lokhandwala, Dus Kahaniyaan (anthology film), Mission Istaanbul and most recently, the bilingual remake of Amitabh Bachchan’s Zanjeer with the same title.

Lakhia was born and brought up in Ahmedabad. To pursue his dreams, he enrolled at New York University to study film making. However he discontinued studies when he got an opportunity to assist Mira Nair for her movie - The Perez Family. He also worked as the second assistant director for the controversial adult movie, Rekha starrer - Kama Sutra: A Tale of Love (1996). He also assisted many Hollywood projects like The Ice Storm, A Perfect Murder and Addicted to Love.

He reached Mumbai in 2001 and assisted Ashutosh Gowariker for the Academy nominated movie – Lagaan. It was Aamir Khan who recommended his name to the director, as he has seen Lakhia working with many Hollywood directors. His debut movie as a director, Mumbai se aaya mera dost was a disaster. But he bounced back with 2005 release – Ek Ajnabee which starred Big B, Arjun Rampal and Perizaad Zorabian. He directed the segment ‘Sex on the Beach’ for the acclaimed movie, Dus Kahaniyaan. Mission Istaanbul and Zanjeer are other noted directorial ventures.

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Updated: May 22, 2014