Atul Agnihotri

Early and personal life Atul Agnihotri was born into a Punjabi Hindu (Brahmin) family, the son of Rohit Agnihotri, an actor of yesteryears who quit films after a brief stint and later tried his hand at business. Their first child Ayaan Agnihotri was born on 12 June 1993 and their daughter Alizeh Agnihotri, who became an actress, was born on 21 September 1995.

Career Acting Agnihotri's career stretches back to 1983 when he made a brief appearance as a child artist in Pasand Apni Apni (1983) in which his cousin Rati Agnihotri was the heroine. He went on to act in several other films throughout the 1990s and early 2000s with his most notable hits being Krantiveer (1994), Naaraz (1994), Aatish (1994), Chachi 420 (1997), Yeshwant (1997), and Hum Tumhare Hain Sanam (2002).

As film director After being restricted to supporting and second lead roles, Agnihotri abandoned acting and turned to film direction. He made his directorial debut with the 2004 film Dil Ne Jise Apna Kahaa which starred his brother-in-law Salman Khan along with Bhoomika Chawla and Preity Zinta in the lead roles.

As film producer Agnihotri's second directorial venture, Hello (2008) had been the first film produced by him. His second film as a producer was Bodyguard, starring his brother-in-law Salman Khan with Kareena Kapoor. The film was directed by Siddique, who is otherwise active in Malayalam cinema and who had directed the original Malayalam version of the same film.

In 2014, Agnihotri produced his next film, O Teri starring relative newcomers Pulkit Samrat, Bilal Amrohi and Sarah Jane Dias. The film was directed by debutant director Umesh Bisht; thus, it gave an opening to a large number of newcomers.

Agnihotris next project was producing Ali Abbas Zafar's Bharat starring Salman Khan, which released on Eid 2019. Bharat was an official adaptation of 2014 Korean film, Ode to My Father which depicted modern Korean history from the 1950s to the present day through the life of an ordinary man. Agnihotri confirmed: "It's the journey of a country and also a person, both of whom go by the name of Bharat."

Filmography As actor Pasand Apni Apni (1983) – Anil Sir (1993) – Karan Aatish (1994) – Avi (Baba's Brother) Krantiveer (1994) – Atul Dhayal Naaraaz (1994) – Ajay Pandit Gunehgar (1995) – Rohit Veergati (1995) – Shlok Bambai Ka Babu (1996) – Amit Yeshwant (1997) – Inspector John Frank Jeevan Yudh (1997) – Rohit Rai Chachi 420 (1997) – Himself (in song "Gare Dore") Yeh Aashiqui Meri (1998) – Shekhar Choudhry Khote Sikkey (1998) – Rohit Hote Hote Pyaar Ho Gaya (1999) – Atul (Bunty) Piyo Gayo Pardesh (2000) Hum Tumhare Hain Sanam (2002) – Prashant Jaani Dushman: Ek Anokhi Kahani (2002) – Man driving red car Sanam Teri Kasam (2009) – Gopal Vaada Raha (2009) – Suraj Sharma (Cameo)

Director Dil Ne Jise Apna Kahaa (2004) Hello (2008)

Producer Hello (2008) Bodyguard (2011) O Teri (2014) Bharat (2019) Radhe (2021) Farrey (2023)