Ashutosh Gowariker

Directing

Ashutosh Gowariker

Born 1964-02-15 · Kolhapur, Maharashtra, India

Ashutosh Gowariker (born 15 February 1964) is an Indian film director, actor, writer and producer. He is known for directing large scale, opulent epic films as well as grounded, realistic dramas. His work includes the acclaimed films Lagaan (2001), Swades (2004) and Jodhaa Akbar (2008). Lagaan was nominated in the Best Foreign Language Film category in 74th Academy Awards. He has also been nominated for a European Film Award, and has won a number of other awards, including a National Film Award, five Filmfare Awards, and seven international film festival awards.

Acting credits

System poster
7.0

When Neha Rajvansh, a privileged public prosecutor, meets Sarika Rawat, a courtroom stenographer from a humble background, their lives are thrown into upheaval where power defines truth, blurring the system and raising a question of what justice truly means to them.

System

2026

Jai Ho poster
6.0

The Film brings to its viewers, a hitherto unseen and unheard narrative of one of the greatest musicians the world has ever known: A. R. Rahman

Jai Ho

2014

Ventilator poster
8.7

Ventilator is a Marathi Movie about Joint-Family relations and emotions.

Ventilator

2016

Ventilator poster
8.7

Ventilator is a Marathi Movie about Joint-Family relations and emotions.

Ventilator

2016

Chamatkar poster
6.5

When Sunder loses everything, he seeks refuge in a graveyard, where he befriends a ghost.

Chamatkar

1992

Holi poster
6.4

In a typical college in a typical Indian city, the hostel boys Madan Sharma (Aamir Khan) and his friend are a rowdy lot. The teaching staff suffer from the common apathy of most teachers in similar colleges. The administration has the usual problems, with ill-paid employees periodically going on strike. On the whole, the college is a very normal place. But on this particular day, when Madan and his friends rise from their slumber, some with the customary hangover, they are not so perturbed to find no water in the taps again, as when they hear that it is not going to be a holiday after all. Instead there will be a lecture in the auditorium by the Chairman of the Board (Dr. Shriram Lagoo), on the day of the festival of fire, Holi, and the boys decide not to attend the classes. The hostel superintendent Professor Singh (Naseeruddin Shah), the only lecturer with some human links with the students...

Holi

1984

Salim Langde Pe Mat Ro poster
6.2

Salim Pasha, a man with a physical disability, is involved in crimes like extortion and robbery with two of his friends Peera and Abdul. Salim is a carefree man.

Salim Langde Pe Mat Ro

1989

Brand Bollywood Downunder poster
6.0

When most people think about Australia, they picture massive sandy beaches, singlet-clad locals drinking beer, and kangaroos bounding through the dusty red outback. Saris, musical numbers, and masala are the furthest from anyone's mind - unless of course, you're one of the millions of Bollywood fans from around the world.

Brand Bollywood Downunder

2023

Cinema Asia: India poster
NR

While Northern India’s 100-year-old film industry is best known for flamboyant dance sequences and romantic plot lines, its directors have begun to step outside established formulas and explore grittier subject matter. This program surveys the world of Bollywood filmmaking, examining the personalities as well as the commercial and thematic concerns that drive central Asia’s answer to Tinseltown. Interviews with directors Karan Johar, Ashutosh Gowariker, and Yash Chopra are included, along with commentary from choreographers, musical directors, and Cinemaya Magazine editor Aruna Vasudev. The industry’s newfound attention to poverty, homelessness, and other social concerns is examined. Several film excerpts are included.

Cinema Asia: India

2007

Naam poster
7.4

A widow raises two sons, one of whom is not her biological child (unbeknownst to him). Her biological child leaves India to work in Dubai, but eventually finds himself in the criminal underworld.

Naam

1986

Jaanam poster
5.8

A boy and girl from opposing families meet and fall in love, determined not to let the hate between their parents stand in the way of their happiness.

Jaanam

1992

Kamla Ki Maut poster
8.2

The film is set in a lower middle class chawl, an apartment building in Mumbai, a 20-year-old and unmarried Kamla, unable to handle the news of her pregnancy commits suicide. This makes her neighbourhood examine their own secrets and the choices they have made in their own lives.

Kamla Ki Maut

1989

April May '99 poster
7.5

Krushna, Prasad and Siddhesh, inseparable friends in a picturesque Konkan village, have every moment of their summer holiday planned together. But things get rough between them when they meet the lovely Zai, visiting her aunt for the summer.

April May '99

2025

West Is West poster
7.0

Vikram (Ashotosh Gowariker) is an Indian immigrant from Bombay who lands in San Francisco. His happiness over his arrival in the United States is diminished when customs officers unexplainably trim his tourist visa from six months to one. When he arrives at the home of his sponsor, he finds that the building is abandoned, and his application to study at the University of California has been rejected. He later meets Sue (Heidi Carpenter), a punk-rock femme who works at a late-night theater specializing in horror films, and Vikram becomes very fond of the woman, proposing marriage in hopes of starting a new life in the United States.

West Is West

1987

Sarkarnama poster
10.0

The residents of a village are being driven out of their homes for the sake of a new building by the politician-builder nexus, but one man tries to step in and stop them.

Sarkarnama

1998

Jeeva Sakha poster
6.5

In Dhangao village Jeeva and Sakha are inseparable brothers living with their widowed mother when Sakha gets a job as police inspector he is posted at other place hence brothers get separated.Jeeva is in love with Paro.Nagya is a spoil brat who tries to bluff village people by asking them to sell their land to DK for Dhangao Industrial Zone but villager's support Jeeva which irks him after Paro gets married to Jeeva,Nagya threatens to kill her brother and makes her father sign the property papers and does so with many villagers when Jeeva takes action DK kills his person and puts blame on Jeeva,Jeeva now hides in jungle and whereabouts are only known to his friend Baadshah,Nagya kills Jeeva 's mother when she refuses to sign on papers.Sakha returns to the village to perform final rights of his mother and is unaware about things happening in his village and thinks Jeeva should be punished for taking law in his hand.

Jeeva Sakha

1992

Gawaahi poster
7.0

Jhanvi Kaul is on trial for the murder of her lover and employer, Ranjeet Choudhary. A series of prosecution witnesses build a damning case against her - that the two of them had embezzled large sums of money, that she had another lover who is also a local goon and that a witness even saw her throwing the body of Ranjeet over her apartment balcony.

Gawaahi

1989

Ata Thambaycha Naay! poster
7.0

Based on a true story, employees at the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation are concerned about potential layoffs. However, Assistant Commissioner Uday encourages them to enroll in night school to complete their education for a better future.

Ata Thambaycha Naay!

2025

Goonj poster
7.0

Wedged in a political chaos, Sanjeev has to prove his innocence for a murder he did not commit and expose the real rogue, MLA Kalekar. But, the culprit is also the father of the girl he loves.

Goonj

1989

Behind the camera

Lagaan: Once Upon a Time in India poster
7.3

The year is 1893 and India is under British occupation. In a small village, the tyrannical Captain Russell has imposed an unprecedented land tax on its citizens. Outraged, Bhuvan, a rebellious farmer, rallies the villagers to publicly oppose the tax. Russell offers a novel way to settle the dispute: he challenges Bhuvan and his men to a game of cricket, a sport completely foreign to India. If Bhuvan and his men can defeat Russell's team, the tax will be repealed.

Lagaan: Once Upon a Time in India

2001

Lagaan: Once Upon a Time in India poster
7.3

The year is 1893 and India is under British occupation. In a small village, the tyrannical Captain Russell has imposed an unprecedented land tax on its citizens. Outraged, Bhuvan, a rebellious farmer, rallies the villagers to publicly oppose the tax. Russell offers a novel way to settle the dispute: he challenges Bhuvan and his men to a game of cricket, a sport completely foreign to India. If Bhuvan and his men can defeat Russell's team, the tax will be repealed.

Lagaan: Once Upon a Time in India

2001

Lagaan: Once Upon a Time in India poster
7.3

The year is 1893 and India is under British occupation. In a small village, the tyrannical Captain Russell has imposed an unprecedented land tax on its citizens. Outraged, Bhuvan, a rebellious farmer, rallies the villagers to publicly oppose the tax. Russell offers a novel way to settle the dispute: he challenges Bhuvan and his men to a game of cricket, a sport completely foreign to India. If Bhuvan and his men can defeat Russell's team, the tax will be repealed.

Lagaan: Once Upon a Time in India

2001

Swades poster
7.3

A successful Indian scientist returns home to his village to take his nanny back to America with him, and in the process rediscovers his roots.

Swades

2004

Swades poster
7.3

A successful Indian scientist returns home to his village to take his nanny back to America with him, and in the process rediscovers his roots.

Swades

2004

Swades poster
7.3

A successful Indian scientist returns home to his village to take his nanny back to America with him, and in the process rediscovers his roots.

Swades

2004

Swades poster
7.3

A successful Indian scientist returns home to his village to take his nanny back to America with him, and in the process rediscovers his roots.

Swades

2004

Jodhaa Akbar poster
7.3

A sixteenth century love story about a marriage of alliance that gave birth to true love between a Mughal emperor and a Rajput princess.

Jodhaa Akbar

2008

Jodhaa Akbar poster
7.3

A sixteenth century love story about a marriage of alliance that gave birth to true love between a Mughal emperor and a Rajput princess.

Jodhaa Akbar

2008

Jodhaa Akbar poster
7.3

A sixteenth century love story about a marriage of alliance that gave birth to true love between a Mughal emperor and a Rajput princess.

Jodhaa Akbar

2008

Panipat poster
6.1

During 18th century India, the Marathas emerged as the most powerful empire in the nation until the Afghan King Ahmad Shah Abdali plans to take over India. Sadashiv Rao Bhau is brought in to save the empire from the king which then leads to the third battle of Panipat.

Panipat

2019

Panipat poster
6.1

During 18th century India, the Marathas emerged as the most powerful empire in the nation until the Afghan King Ahmad Shah Abdali plans to take over India. Sadashiv Rao Bhau is brought in to save the empire from the king which then leads to the third battle of Panipat.

Panipat

2019

Mohenjo Daro poster
6.1

During the Indus valley civilization, an Indigo farmer strives for the justice and protection of the city of Mohenjo-Daro and its civilians from an evil politician.

Mohenjo Daro

2016

Mohenjo Daro poster
6.1

During the Indus valley civilization, an Indigo farmer strives for the justice and protection of the city of Mohenjo-Daro and its civilians from an evil politician.

Mohenjo Daro

2016

Mohenjo Daro poster
6.1

During the Indus valley civilization, an Indigo farmer strives for the justice and protection of the city of Mohenjo-Daro and its civilians from an evil politician.

Mohenjo Daro

2016

Pehla Nasha poster
6.0

A down and out actor,Deepak Bakshi,sees a woman getting attacked. He lands himself into trouble with the police as he is now a suspect for murder.

Pehla Nasha

1993

Pehla Nasha poster
6.0

A down and out actor,Deepak Bakshi,sees a woman getting attacked. He lands himself into trouble with the police as he is now a suspect for murder.

Pehla Nasha

1993

Toolsidas Junior poster
7.2

A young boy seeks to master the game of snooker to defend his father’s legacy after a humiliating loss. But first, he’ll need help from a hardened pro.

Toolsidas Junior

2022

Toolsidas Junior poster
7.2

A young boy seeks to master the game of snooker to defend his father’s legacy after a humiliating loss. But first, he’ll need help from a hardened pro.

Toolsidas Junior

2022

No artwork available
NR

Biopic on the father of Indian cricket Lala Amarnath.

Lalkaara

Baazi poster
6.8

A tough and honest police officer wages a one-man war against terrorists and a corrupt politician who have planned to assassinate the chief minister of the state.

Baazi

1995

Baazi poster
6.8

A tough and honest police officer wages a one-man war against terrorists and a corrupt politician who have planned to assassinate the chief minister of the state.

Baazi

1995

What's Your Raashee? poster
4.9

What's Your Raashee? Yogesh Patel, a young man in a hurry. Yogesh must find his dream girl within 10 days to save his family from utter ruin. Finding the dream girl is tough enough. Finding her in a hurry is even tougher.

What's Your Raashee?

2009

Khelein Hum Jee Jaan Sey poster
5.9

1930, British India: In the province of undivided Bengal lies the sleepy, peaceful port of Chittagong. In this unassuming little town a revolution is about to begin; a revolution which will forever wake all of Chittagong and inspire the entire nation.

Khelein Hum Jee Jaan Sey

2010