Maneesh Sharma

Maneesh Sharma is an Indian film director and film story writer, who made his debut with Band Baaja Baaraat (2010) which won him Filmfare Award for Best Debut Director.

Early life and education

Born and raised in Delhi, where he lived in various parts of the city, including Pitampura. Maneesh did his schooling at Delhi Public School, R K Puram. Then he received a degree in English literature from Hans Raj College, Delhi University. At college, he was involved in the theatre society and shot his debut film in 2010 there. After his graduation he moved to California to study filmmaking at CalArts. Before moving to Mumbai, he was also involved in theatre in Delhi and was a dancer in a local musical troupe.

Career

While studying filmmaking at CalArts, Maneesh worked as an associate director on Trona (2004), an English-German student film shot in Los Angeles.

Two months after his return from the US, he got a break and started his Bollywood career as an associate director and an assistant director on a number of Yash Raj Films productions such as Fanaa, Aaja Nachle and Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi, before making his feature directing debut with Band Baaja Baaraat (English title: Bands Horns and Revelry), based on a story written by himself, which was released on 10 December 2010. The film starred newcomer Ranveer Singh and Anushka Sharma in the lead roles, and was produced by Aditya Chopra under the Yash Raj Films banner. Sharma's first outing as a director garnered him India's prestigious Filmfare Award in the Best Debut Director category.

Parineeti Chopra

Parineeti Chopra (pronounced [pəriːniːt̪iː ˈtʃoːpɽaː]; born 22 October 1988) is an Indian actress who appears in Hindi films. She has received several awards and nominations, including a Filmfare and National Film Award. Chopra initially aspired to pursue a career in investment banking, but after obtaining a triple honours degree in business, finance and economics from Manchester Business School she returned to India during the 2009 economic recession and joined Yash Raj Films as a public relations consultant. Later, she signed a three-film deal with the company as an actress.

Chopra made her acting debut with a supporting role in the 2011 romantic comedy Ladies vs Ricky Bahl, a moderate box-office success. Her performance in the film garnered critical appreciation and earned her the Filmfare Award for Best Female Debut and a nomination for Best Supporting Actress. The following year she played the lead female role in Ishaqzaade, a romantic drama that proved to be a critical and commercial success. Chopra was widely praised for her role which earned her several nominations in the Best Actress category (including Filmfare) and won her the National Film Award – Special Mention. She also garnered praise for her performances in the successful romantic comedies Shuddh Desi Romance (2013) and Hasee Toh Phasee (2014).