Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra is an Indian filmmaker, screenwriter and producer known for socially engaged Hindi cinema. He gained wide recognition with Rang De Basanti (2006), a film that drew parallels between Indian revolutionaries of the freedom struggle and contemporary urban youth, and went on to direct Delhi-6 (2009), Bhaag Milkha Bhaag (2013) and Mere Pyare Prime Minister (2018), among others.
| Full name | Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra |
|---|---|
| Born | 7 July 1963, New Delhi, India |
| Education | Air Force Bal Bharati School, New Delhi; Shri Ram College of Commerce, University of Delhi |
| Occupation | Film director, producer, screenwriter |
| Production company | Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra Pictures (ROMP) |
| Notable films | Aks, Rang De Basanti, Delhi-6, Bhaag Milkha Bhaag, Mirzya, Mere Pyare Prime Minister, Toofaan |
| Major awards | National Film Award, multiple Filmfare Awards |
Mehra was born and raised in Delhi, where his father worked at the Hotel Claridges. He studied commerce at Shri Ram College of Commerce, Delhi University. He began his professional career in advertising in the late 1980s, founding Flicks Motion Picture Company, through which he directed several hundred television commercials over more than a decade. This advertising work shaped the visual style and brevity that he later carried into feature films.
Mehra made his feature film directorial debut with Aks (2001), a supernatural thriller starring Amitabh Bachchan, Manoj Bajpayee, Raveena Tandon and Nandita Das. Though the film had a modest commercial run, it was noted for its atmospheric treatment and ambitious themes of good and evil.
Rang De Basanti (2006), starring Aamir Khan, Siddharth, Atul Kulkarni, Kunal Kapoor, Sharman Joshi, Soha Ali Khan and R. Madhavan, with music by A. R. Rahman, became a landmark in 2000s Hindi cinema. The film won the National Film Award for Best Popular Film Providing Wholesome Entertainment and was India's official entry to the Academy Awards in the Best Foreign Language Film category for that year. It also won several Filmfare Awards, including Best Film (Critics).
Delhi-6 (2009), set in the old quarters of Shahjahanabad, starred Abhishek Bachchan, Sonam Kapoor, Waheeda Rehman and Om Puri, again with a score by A. R. Rahman. The film explored communal tension and identity in contemporary India and is remembered for its music, including the song "Masakali".
Bhaag Milkha Bhaag (2013) was a biographical sports drama on the athlete Milkha Singh, with Farhan Akhtar in the title role and Sonam Kapoor, Divya Dutta and Pavan Malhotra in supporting roles. The film won the National Film Award for Best Popular Film Providing Wholesome Entertainment, and Mehra received the Filmfare Award for Best Director.
Mehra directed Mirzya (2016), a retelling of the Punjabi folk tale of Mirza–Sahiban that introduced Harshvardhan Kapoor and Saiyami Kher. He followed it with Mere Pyare Prime Minister (2018), which dealt with the issue of sanitation and open defecation through the eyes of a child living in a Mumbai slum. In 2021 he directed Toofaan, a boxing drama starring Farhan Akhtar, Mrunal Thakur and Paresh Rawal, released on Amazon Prime Video.
Through Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra Pictures, Mehra has produced and co-produced films including Teen Thay Bhai (2011) and Fanney Khan (2018). He has also been involved in social campaigns connected with his films, including initiatives related to sanitation. In 2021 he co-authored a memoir, The Stranger in the Mirror, with writer Reeta Ramamurthy Gupta.
Mehra's cinema frequently engages with civic and political subjects—nationalism, communal harmony, governance failure, gender, and the lives of ordinary citizens—within mainstream commercial frameworks. His collaborations with composer A. R. Rahman and lyricist Prasoon Joshi have produced widely popular soundtracks, and he is known for combining urban realism with stylised sequences drawn from his advertising background.
Mehra is regarded as one of the prominent directors of post-2000 Hindi cinema who brought issue-driven storytelling into the commercial mainstream. Rang De Basanti, in particular, is studied for its cultural impact on civic activism and youth political expression in India in the years following its release.