Shukla’s family left Gorakhpur for Delhi when he was two years old. After completing his schooling, he graduated from Khalsa College, Delhi. His professional career began in 1984 with his entry into theater.Shukla began serious theater in 1986 with roles in plays like A View From The Bridge (Arthur Miller), Look Back In Anger (John Osborne), Ghashiram Kotwal (Vijay Tendulkar) and Hayvadan. In 1991, he joined the NSD Repertoire Company – the professional wing of the National School of Drama – as an actor. The next year, he got his first break when Shekhar Kapur, impressed with his work, created a role for him in Bandit Queen. Shukla also took the role of Vijay Anand’s sidekick Gopi in the 1994 Doordarshan crime drama Tehkikat. The series was directed by Karan Razdan, but Shekhar Kapur directed the first episode.Shukla’s biggest break came when he co-wrote the script for Ram Gopal Varma’s 1998 cult classic Satya and essayed the role of gangster Kallu Mama in the film. He won the Star Screen Award for Best Screenplay alongside Anurag Kashyap.In 2003, he wrote the screenplay for Calcutta Mail. He received his first award for this film, the Zee Cine Award for Best Screenplay. In 2008, he acted in his first international film, the Golden Globe and Academy Award winning Slumdog Millionaire, as the character Constable Srinivas.
Saurabh Shukla
Movies
Delhi Safari
Delhi Safari is the story of a journey undertaken by a cub leopard, his mother, a monkey, a bear and a parrot when the forest they live in is on the verge of destruction. A man is on the run to destroy the forest in order to erect a balcony.…
Aarakshan
Following the Mandal Commission report and the Supreme Court of India’s decision to maintain a 27 percent reservation for Dalits and lower/backward castes, right-winged political parties organize protests. The Principal of Shakuntala Thakral Mahavidyalal, a non-government college which is exempt from this mandate, gets in the limelight when it’s Principal,…
Lage Raho Munna Bhai
A hilarious underworld gangster known as Munna Bhai falls comically in love with a radio host by the name of Jahnvi, who runs an elders’ home, which is taken over by an unscrupulous builder, who gets the residents kicked out ironically with the help of Munna’s sidekick, Circuit, while Munna…
Lahore
Dheerendra Singh is a kick-boxer, who after beating Gajanan Dinan, has been selected to represent India in the 14th Annual Kick-boxing tournament in Kuala Lumpur where he will be pitted against Pakistan’s Noor Mohammad. He is engaged to Neela Chaudhary, and lives with his widowed mother, and a cricketer brother,…
Love Khichdi
Vir is a bachelor from a small town working as a sous-chef in a five-star hotel in Mumbai. A handsome, charming, macho idiot who flirts with, yearns for and lusts after any woman who is friendly but seems unattainable. From his man-hating maid, whom he ogles as she wipes his…
Satya
A young man named Satya (J.D Chakravarthy) comes to Mumbai from South India in search of a job. Jailed for something he did not do, the once-honest young man meets an underworld boss, Bhiku Mhatre (Manoj Bajpai) in jail and joins his gang. He lives in a poor neighborhood, where…
Shakal Pe Mat Ja
Delhi Airport’s Chief Security Officer, Om Prakash, is told that his officers have apprehended four males on airport property, filming and taking photographs without authorization. The four suspects are Ankit Sharma, his school-going brother, Dhruv; Rohan Goverdhan Malhotra, and Bulai. The suspects ridicule them and mockingly ask the guards to…
Main Tera Hero
Sreenath Prasad aka Seenu is the most notorious boy in Ooty. He drops out of college in Ooty in order to pursue education in a Bangalore college. Here he falls in love with Sunaina. But Sunaina is forced to marry Angad, a local police officer, who is more of a…
Gunday
Based in Calcutta during its most unsettled times in the 1970s, the film deals with the inseparable life of Bikram and Bala. The story of 2 boys, boys who became refugees. Refugees who became gun couriers. Gun couriers who became coal bandits, coal bandits who became Calcutta’s most loved, most…
Bandit Queen
The movie tells the story of the bandit queen Phoolan Devi who was sent to prison in 1983 and got free in 1994. For five years she was prosecuted by the Indian police and turned into a legend (like a modern Robin Hood) by the Indian press. Although the press…
Mere Yaar Ki Shaadi Hai
Love hits people in all sorts of ways. To Sanjay (Uday Chopra) however, love hit him like a ton of bricks. Sanjay is the dithering Casanova, constantly bungling up his romantic liaisons, till one day the phone rings. Anjali (Sanjana) his childhood friend is getting married. It’s now that the…
Mirch
Maanav is a struggling filmmaker who does not want to compromise on his script. His girlfriend Ruchi is a successful film editor who arranges for him to meet Nitin, a producer. Nitin likes the script but is not very sure of its box office potential. Maanav then suggests a story…
Hey Ram
The film starts with Saketh Ram as a very old man and almost immediately goes into flashback. As a young man he is among his friends, in conviviality. He has taken a Bengali wife, Aparna, and everything is wonderful in his life, However the year is 1946, and the imminent…
Hum Paanch
Medical representative Anand Mahtur lives middle-class life with his second wife Beena and five daughters. His first wife passed away when her three daughters were very small; Anand has two daughters with Beena; and they all live as a family–including Anand’s first wife, who speaks to him from her photo…
I M 24
Saying the truth was always difficult, and lying, they say, is much simpler. Shubendu lives by the tougher option. But when this honest, 42 year old balding writer falls in love with a 22 year old beauty queen, he is tempted to lie. What’s more, his jerk of a roommate,…
Utt Pataang
Mumbai-based Ramvilas Sharma has just broken-up with Sanjana Mahadik, a former bar dancer, with whom he had a six month relationship. His private-detective friend, Nandan Pandey, attempts to counsel him over this break-up, and even encourages him to meet other women. Ramvilas does meet with a homeless woman, Koel Datta,…
Songs
PK
P. K. is a comedy of ideas about a stranger in the city, who asks questions that no one has asked before. They are innocent, child-like questions, but they bring about catastrophic answers. People who are set in their ways for generations, are forced to reappraise their world when they…
Paathshaala
Rahul Prakash Udyavar joins Saraswati Vidya Mandir, which is located in Mumbai’s Eastern suburbs, as an English Teacher. Shortly thereafter he also agrees to teach music at the request of Nutritionist, Anjali Mathur. With the school facing shortage of funds, pressure is being brought by Manager Lallan Sharma to try…
Yeh Hai Mumbai Meri Jaan
Orphaned Raju Tarachand is cared for by his maternal uncle, Brij, and aunt, Basanti, in Nainital. Raju decides to re-locate to Mumbai to make a name for himself in a firm run by Chaturvedi. Upon arrival, he finds out that Chaturvedi’s firm has gone bankrupt. He goes job-hunting, ends up…
Yeh Saali Zindagi
After Bade falls out of favor of Member of Parliament, Verma, he is arrested, held in a cell without any trial, and is humiliated and beaten everyday. His brother Chhotte and others conspire to secure his release by kidnapping Verma’s to-be son-in-law, Shyam Singhania. Things do not go exactly as…
Jolly LLB
Rajpal a top lawyer is defending Rahul Dewan son a business tycoon in a hit and run case.Jolly is a small time lawyer who comes to stay with his uncle in Delhi and consider’s Rajpal his idol.When he finds hi fellow lawyer has gained fame after filing a PIL in-court…
Dasvidaniya
37-year old Mumbai-based Amar Kaul lives a middle-classed lifestyle with his deaf and widowed mother, and is employed as an Accounts Manager with Suraj Pharmaceuticals. His boss, Dasgupta, who is always snacking, abuses him, and often makes him not only work late but also asks him to finish work at…
Jung
Honest and diligent police officer Veer Chauhan believes in arresting law-breakers and placing them in the lock-ups for trial in a court of law, while his colleague inspector Khan feel that the police should take action upon apprehending the criminals–that is, shooting them to death. Thus, Veer and Khan don’t…
Fun Facts
Was to direct the shelved film S.D. Productions JANEMAN JAAN LE TU (2002) Starring Amod Sinha (son of producer Vinay Sinha) and Sai Deodhar (daughter of director Shrabani (SILSILA HAI PYAR KA) Deodhar and cinematographer Debu Deodhar) in the lead along with Rajat Kapoor, Aditya Shrivastava, Vijay Raj and Om Puri. Music is by Anand-Milind..
Was directing a film that got shelved. " Kuch Dil Ne Kaha"" Starring Abhay Deol.directed by Saurabh Shukla and produced by Ajay Tuli. Saurabh got busy with acting assignments Hansal Mehta was approached. The film was eventually shelved.This was in 2001."