Anurag Singh

Anurag Singh Thind (born 17 November 1979) is an Indian film director, screenwriter and producer who mainly works in Punjabi and Hindi cinema. His directorial work includes the critically and commercially successful Hindi films Kesari and Border 2 (2026), alongside Punjabi movies such as Jatt & Juliet (2012) and Jatt & Juliet 2 (2013). He also directed the National Award Winning Punjabi film Punjab 1984 (2014).

Early and personal life Anurag Singh was born in Jalandhar, Punjab, into a family of professors. Singh, a medical student, travelled to Australia to study film. He grew up in Jalandhar and is currently living in Mumbai, Maharashtra.

He married his childhood sweetheart Madhurjeet Sarghi, a theatre artist and actress who also hails from Jalandhar. In 2016, Singh and Sarghi had a child together.

Career During his early career, he assisted Bollywood director Raj Kanwar for several years before directing a Bollywood film of his own for Kanwar's production house. The film Raqeeb starring Jimmy Shergill, Sharman Joshi, and Tanushree Dutta was a commercial letdown. Upon release, it received mixed-to-negative reviews and was a box office flop.

Singh began working in Punjabi cinema and directed his debut film Yaar Annmulle with actor Arya Babbar in the lead role. The coming of age comedy film emerged as a breakout project for Singh as it was declared a 'hit' by Box Office India. He established himself in Pollywood with the movie Jatt & Juliet in 2012. Starring Diljit Dosanjh and Neeru Bajwa, it followed the rivalry and eventual friendship of the two characters played by the pair of actors, while navigating foreign life. The romantic comedy turned out to be a blockbuster and emerged as the highest grossing Punjabi film up to that point. It was also awarded several accolades.

Following the success of Jatt & Juliet, he worked exclusively with Diljit Dosanjh in several films in the Punjabi language, which achieved record-breaking success, including the comedies Jatt & Juliet 2 (2013) and Disco Singh (2014), the period drama Punjab 1984 (2014), and the superhero comedy Super Singh (2017). He also produced Shadaa (2019) starring Dosanjh, another major success. These films won him the PTC Punjabi Film Award for Best Director three times. His film Punjab 1984 won the Best Feature Film in Punjabi award at 62nd National Film Awards.

Singh made his return to Bollywood with the 2019 war film Kesari, which is based on the historic Battle of Saragarhi. The film featured Akshay Kumar and Parineeti Chopra in the lead roles, supported by an ensemble cast, and was co-produced by Karan Johar and Zee Studios. Upon its release, Kesari received mixed reviews but achieved significant commercial success. It earned ₹201 crore and became the highest-grossing film of Singh's career.

In 2021, he produced the Punjabi romantic comedy Puaada, starring Ammy Virk and Sonam Bajwa. Similar to his previous films, it was well received, and became the first Indian box office hit of the year following the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2022, he penned the story for Bollywood film Jugjugg Jeeyo.

Singh next directed Border 2, the sequel to the cult classic Border (1997). It stars Sunny Deol, who was previously offered the lead role in Kesari (2019), but turned it down. It also features Varun Dhawan, Diljit Dosanjh, and Ahan Shetty, marking Dosanjh's first collaboration with Singh since Shadaa (2019).

Filmography

Assistant director Ab Ke Baras (2002) Andaaz (2003) Humko Deewana Kar Gaye (2006)

Awards and nominations

Award Year Category Nominated work Result Ref(s) ETC Bollywood Business Awards 2020 The 100 Crore Club Kesari Filmfare Awards Punjabi 2018 Best Film Super Singh 2020 Best Film Shadaa National Film Awards 2015 Best Feature Film Punjab 1984 PTC Punjabi Film Awards 2012 Best Director Yaar Annmulle Best Screenplay Best Dialogues 2013 Best Director Jatt & Juliet 2014 Best Director Jatt & Juliet 2 Best Screenplay 2015 Best Director Punjab 1984 Best Director Best Story Best Screenplay Best Dialogues Best Screenplay Disco Singh Best Dialogues Yamagata International Documentary Film Festival 1999 Ogawa Shinsuke Prize Kaise Jeebo Re!