Tanuja Chandra


Tanuja Chandra is an Indian film director and writer. She co wrote the screenplay Yash Chopra's hit Dil To Pagal Hai and for frequently directing woman-oriented films where the female actors are the main protagonists of her films, notably Dushman and Sangharsh.

Family

Chandra was born in Delhi. She is the sister of famous writer Vikram Chandra and film critic Anupama Chopra. Her mother is film writer Kamna Chandra.

Career

Chandra began her career in 1995 and made her directorial debut with the TV series Zameen Aasmaan |, starring Tanvi Azmi. In 1996, she directed another television serial along with Shabnam Sukhdev, called Mumkin. In 1997, she wrote the screenplay for Yash Chopra's Dil To Pagal Hai, which was a commercial success.
She went on to collaborate often with Mahesh Bhatt and wrote the screenplay for his critically acclaimed picture, Zakhm. She also made her cinematic directorial debut with his Dushman in the same year. The movie, starring Kajol in the lead role, received critical praise and performed moderately well at the box office.
Her next film, Sangharsh, was also produced by Mahesh Bhatt and starred Akshay Kumar and Preity Zinta in leading roles.
Since then, Chandra has directed several films, many of which went unnoticed. Yet films like Sur – The Melody of Life and Film Star, which were directed and written by Chandra, won favourable reviews from critics and received praise for her work as a director and writer.
Recent films were Zindaggi Rocks, starring Sushmita Sen. Chandra also wrote the story and the screenplay for the film. Her most recent film was Hope and a Little Sugar, was shot entirely in English in the US. In early 2016, She directed a short film Silvat for Zee telefilms, which stars Kartik Aaryan.
Tanuja's latest released film is Qarib Qarib Singlle starring Irrfan Khan and Parvathy. She has been working on the development of a television show for Star which will begin production soon.
A book titled "BIJNIS WOMEN" of short stories by her has just been published by Penguin Random House.

Filmography