Maneesh Sharma is an Indian film director, producer, and screenwriter. He is known for directing the Hindi film, Shuddh Desi Romance (2013), featuring Parineeti Chopra, Sushant Singh Rajput, and Vaani Kapoor in the leading roles.
Contents
Wiki/Biography
Maneesh Sharma was born on Monday, 5 November 1973 (age 49 years; as of 2023). His zodiac sign is Scorpio. Maneesh did his schooling at Delhi Public School, R K Puram, New Delhi. Soon after completing his schooling, he pursued a Bachelor of Arts in English. After pursuing an undergraduate degree, he went to California to pursue a course on filmmaking at the California Institute of the Arts, Santa Clarita, California. Fascinated by arts and filmmaking, Maneesh Sharma was involved in the theatre society in his college.
Physical Appearance
Height (approx.):Â 5′ 7″
Hair Colour:Â Black
Eye Colour:Â Black

From left, Cameron Bailey, Parineeti Chopra, Maneesh Sharma, and Jaideep Sahni; picture from the 2013 Toronto International Film Festival at Roy Thomson Hall on 11 September 2013 in Toronto, Canada
Family
Parents & Siblings
There is not much information available about Maneesh Sharma’s family.
Wife
Maneesh Sharma is unmarried.
Relationships/Affairs
In 2011, Maneesh Sharma started dating Parineeti Chopra, an actress. According to a source, Parineeti, soon after she started dating Maneesh, she shifted to his building in Andheri, Mumbai. However, in 2014, the couple decided to call off the relationship owing to which they moved out of the apartment. During an interview, a source said,
When she started dating Maneesh a few years ago, she shifted to his building in Andheri. She was earlier staying at Yari Road. But as they recently split, he moved out of the apartment and Parineeti, too, is looking for another house in Bandra. She has even checked out a flat in Malad.”
Reportedly, Maneesh Sharma and Parineeti patched up in 2016 after their breakup in 2014; however, in an interview, Maneesh Sharma rubbished the dating rumours’ and said,
I haven’t met Maneesh for over two-three months. I didn’t even know that he had gone on a holiday. We spoke on the phone sometime back, and he asked me, ‘Apparently, you have been coming to my cabin every day (at producer Aditya Chopra’s office) and meeting me. But mera kaunsa cabin hai (which cabin do I have).”Maneesh and I have known each other for six years. And for six years, we have been saying the same thing – we are not dating. It’s too much, because my personal life gets affected by these things, which people don’t understand.” [1]India Today
Career
As a Director
In 2004, Maneesh Sharma made his directorial debut with the English-language film Trona; it was an English-German student film and was shot in Los Angeles.
In 2006, soon after completing his filmmaking course in California, he moved back to India and made his directorial debut in Bollywood with the film Fanaa; he worked as an associate director in the Hindi film.
Subsequently, Maneesh Sharma worked as an associate director in two Yash Raj Film Productions, Aaja Nachle (2007) and Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi (2008). In 2010, Maneesh made his feature directorial debut with the Hindi film Band Bajaa Baaraat; he also worked as a screenwriter for the film.
In 2013, he directed the Bollywood film Shuddh Desi Romance, featuring Parineeti Chopra, Sushant Singh Rajput, and Vaani Kapoor in the leading roles. In 2016, he directed the Hindi-language film Fan, starring Shah Rukh Khan in the leading role.
In an interview, Manesh Sharma talked about his directed film Fan (2016) and said that the pre-production for the film started in 2013. He said,
We started pre-production on Fan as early as 2013. The main brief was that it had to look as real as possible. I was initially told that it would not be possible to make an older actor look younger. We spent months on the look and the prosthetics. I sent Greg stills from older SRK films like Deewana, Baazigar and Darr. I wanted Gaurav to look somewhat like the Shah Rukh from these films, but not quite.Greg and Red Chillies VFX [Shah Rukh Khanâs visual effects company] have put in a lot of work into making the look appear seamless. It will hopefully be a new experience.”
As a Producer
In 2015, Maneesh Sharma made his film production debut with the Bollywood film Dum Laga Ke Haisha, starring Ayushmann Khurrana and Bhumi Pednekar in the lead role; he worked as co-producer in the film.
In 2017, he producer the Hindi film Meri Pyaari Bindu. In 2018, he produced the Hindi film Hichki. In 2018, he produced the Bollywood film Sui Dhaaga, featuring Anushka Sharma and Varun Dhawan in the leading roles.
Awards
- In 2011, he won the Best Debut Director Award for the film Band Baaja Baaraat (2010) at the Filmfare Awards.
- In 2016, he won the Best Feature Film in Hindi Award for the film Dum Laga Ke Haisha (2015) at the National Film Awards.
- In 2016, he won the Editors Film of the Year Award for the film Dum Laga Ke Haisha (2015) at the Stardust Awards.
Facts/Trivia
- Maneesh Sharma, during an interview, talked about his career in Bollywood and said that although he faced rejections for a few films, he never struggled. He said,
Yaar, I will be very honest, I have not had any struggle. It doesn’t mean that I have not been rejected on a few scripts I wanted to back, but all of that becomes part of the process. My struggle was that I wasn’t getting to make Fan…. now that is not a struggle! It’s going to be stupid for me to say that was a struggle because I got to make three films while I was waiting to make Fan. I’m extremely grateful. In terms of what I get attracted to make, or the ideas I get excited about, for the most part I’ve ended up executing those. Then if it has gone right or wrong is a separate thing. So far it’s been 9 films, including those 1 produced, and I can say that the good or the bad in them is totally on me. I’ve not been forced upon with the studio mentality of ‘ye nahi karna chahiye. Ye hata do. I would say that’s a good position to be in.”
- A fan of Shah Rukh Khan, Maneesh always wanted to cast Shah Rukh Khan in his films since his graduation in California. In an interview, Manish recalled that in 2004, while he was in his film school in California, he called Shah Rukh Khan at 1: 30 am to pitch him an idea and to offer him a role in his film. Maneesh explained,
The thing, is arriving at Fan has been a very long journey, vis-Ă -vis Shah Rukh Khan. Iâll tell you a little story. It was in 2004 and I was about to graduate from my film school. I wanted to meet Shah Rukh Khan and pitch him an idea that I want to make a film with him and to ask him how to go about it. One night I was partying really hard during my college days at Cal Arts, LA, and it was 1:30 am that I called his spot boy, Subhash Da, and told him that my name is Maneesh and I am graduating from film school and I have a script for Shah Rukh Khan (chuckles). He said to call him back in 10 minutes. I thought he was just brushing me off but I did call back after 15 minutes and he said wait for a minute and then from the other side, Shah Rukh Khanâs voice comes on, âHello?â I was standing on a LA street and wondering whether this was real (smiles).”
- Amid the rumours’ of Manish Sharma dating Parineeti Chopra, a source from the set of one of Maneesh’s films said that he was extremely upset and often chided people on the film sets. In an interview, the source said,
Maneesh comes and leaves at his own sweet time. He thinks it’s alright if he arrives late. But if someone else is behind schedule, he loses it completely. He is very irritated these days. And if he spots any news story about him and Parineeti, we’ve had it!”
- In 2013, Shahid Kapoor was signed for the Yash Raj Films, Band Baaja Baaraat, directed by Maneesh Sharma; however, owing to the creative differences between Maneesh and Shahid, Shahid dropped the film. In an interview, a source from the film sets of Band Baaja Baaraat said,
Maneesh was convinced Shahid would do justice to the script of his film. Initially, Shahid too was excited about the script. But when they started working together,they realised they couldnât be on the same page most of the time.âIn fact, Shahid hadnât committed to any other project after Mausam and was totally focussed on Sharmaâs film for a while. âHowever, there came a point when he just couldnât agree with Maneesh. And Maneesh just couldnât take Shahidâs constant feedback and suggestions for modification.”
- In an interview, Maneesh Sharma shared about his favourite Hindi films. He said that his three favourite films are Chashme Buddoor (1981), Khosla Ka Ghosla! (2006), and Do Dooni Chaar (2010).
References
↑1 | India Today |
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