Rajkumar Santoshi Wiki, Age, Wife, Children, Biography & More
Rajkumar Santoshi is not an actor, but a prominent Indian film director and screenwriter. He was born on 20th August 1954 in Barsi, Maharashtra, India. Santoshi started his career in the film industry as an assistant director and later directed his first film, “Ghayal” in 1990, which went on to become a box office hit. He has directed several successful films such as “Andaz Apna Apna”, “Damini”, “Pukar”, “Lajja” and “Khakee” among others. Santoshi has won several awards for his work in the film industry, including the National Film Award for Best Popular Film Providing Wholesome Entertainment for “Ghayal” and the Filmfare Award for Best Director for “Damini”.
Rajkumar Santoshi Full Details
| Born | 17 July 1956 (age 66) Madras, Madras State, India |
|---|---|
| Occupation(s) | Film director, screenwriter, producer |
| Years active | 1982–present |
| Spouse | Manila Santoshi |
| Children | 2 |
Physical Appearance
Height (approx.): 5′ 8″
Weight (approx.): 75 kg
Hair Colour: Black (half-bald)
Eye Colour: Black
Family
Parents & Siblings
His father’s name is Pyarelal Santoshi aka P.L. Santoshi, and his mother was of Tamil origin. His father was a renowned writer and director of Bollywood movies known for Khidki and Barsaat Ki Raat and passed away on 7 September 1978 due to kidney failure in KEM government hospital, Mumbai, Maharashtra. His mother was the second wife of P.L. Santoshi, and she died in 2010 due to cancer. He has an elder step-brother Anand Santoshi, who worked as an assistant director and Cheif Sound Recordist at Radiowani. He has 2 younger sisters, and one of his sisters named Padmini married Sunil Srivastav in December 1992.
Rajkumar Santoshi’s father P. L. Santoshi
Wife & Children
His wife’s name is Manila Santoshi. He has a son named Ram Kumar Santoshi and a daughter named Tanisha Santoshi, who made her debut in Bollywood with Raj’s film Gandhi Godse Ek Yudh in 2023.
Rajkumar Santoshi with his wife Manila Santoshi
Rajkumar Santoshi’s daughter Tanisha Santoshi
Controversies
Casting Couch Allegations by Mamta Kulkarni
Indian actress Mamta Kulkarni, who acted in Raj’s film China Gate in 1998, gave an interview after the film’s release and accused Raj of asking for sexual favours from her during the shooting of the movie. She alleged that when she objected to Raj’s sexual advances, he cut her screen time in the movie.
Mamta Kulkarni
Fights with Firoz Nadiadwala
In August 2013, he filed a police complaint against the Indian film producer Firoz Nadiadwala for illegally barging into his house. He also accused Firoz of threatening to kill him and sued Firoz for Rs10.24 crores. Raj said that he signed a 3-film deal for the movies Power, Babajaan and an untitled film with Firoz for Rs45 crores and received Rs. 4.25 crore for Power, Rs. 91.5 lakh for Babajaan and Rs. 25 lakh for the untitled film. He claimed that he has evidence proving that the project was dropped due to Firoz.
Sentenced to 1 year in Jail for Cheque Bouncing
On 31 March 2022, he was sentenced to 1 year in prison and asked to pay Rs 22.5 lakh within 60 days else the jail time would be extended by 1 more year. He had taken some money from the complainant Anil Jethani for the development of his business. For the repayment, he gave 3 cheques for a sum of Rs22.50 lakhs to Anil which later bounced due to insufficient funds in the account. Anil sent a legal notice to Raj through his lawyer; however, when no reply was received, Anil lodged 2 complaints for Rs17.5 lakhs and Rs5 lakhs against him in Rajkot court under Section 138 of the Negotiable Instruments Act. The case was heard in the court of Rajkot Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate N.H.Vasveliya. Rajkumar alleged that he had paid the money already and said that he is paying the price of being a celebrity. Addressing the situation in an interview, he said,
I am paying the price of being a celebrity. We are easy targets. I have faith in the judiciary and we are filing an appeal in the Courts ahead. We will get justice.”
Protest by the Crew of Gandhi Godse Ek Yudh
In May 2022, some members of the crew of his movie Gandhi Godse Ek Yudh protested in Mumbai against non-payment of dues. He assured the workers that he would pay them in a few days.
A film crew member protesting against Rajkumar Santoshi with a poster
Awards
- 1991: Won Filmfare Award for Best Story for Ghayal movie
- 1991: Won Filmfare Award for Best Director for Ghayal movie
- 1994: Won Filmfare Award for Best Director for Damini movie
- 1995: Nominated for Filmfare Award for Best Director for Andaz Apna Apna movie
- 1997: Won Filmfare Award for Best Screenplay Writer for Ghatak movie
- 1997: Nominated for Filmfare Award for Best Director for Ghatak movie
- 1999: Won Filmfare Award for Best Dialogue Writer for China Gate movie
- 2000: Won Nargis Dutt Award for Best Feature Film on National Integration for Pukar movie
- 2003: Won National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Hindi for The Legend of Bhagat Singh movie
- 2003: Won Zee Cine Award for Best Dialogue Writer for The Legend of Bhagat Singh movie
- 2005: Nominated for Filmfare Award for Best Director for Khakee movie
- 2005: Nominated for Zee Cine Award for Best Dialogue Writer for Khakee movie
- 2005: Nominated for Zee Cine Award for Best Screenplay Writer for Khakee movie
- 2009: Won ITA Scroll of Honour (Entertainment) Award for Ajab Prem Ki Ghazab Kahani movie
- 2009: Nominated for Dream Director at Stardust Awards for Ajab Prem Ki Ghazab Kahani movie
- 2009: Nominated for Best Dialogue Writer at Producers Guild Film Awards for Ajab Prem Ki Ghazab Kahani movie
Facts/Trivia
- The initial producer of his movie Ghayal, P Subbarao suggested the name of Indian actor Sanjay Dutt for his first directorial venture Ghayal; however, Rajkumar wanted only Kamal Haasan or Sunny Deol to act in the movie. Later, he chose to cast Sunny and thought to ask through Sunny’s father and Indian actor, Dharmendra; however, he later decided to approach Sunny Deol through Sunny’s assistant, Jatin Rajguru.
- Sunny Deol asked for 18 Lakh for the movie Ghayal; however, producer P Subbarao agreed to give only 12 lakhs and 6 lakhs when the movie becomes silver jubilee. Rajkumar convinced Sunny that the film would become the silver jubilee, and he agreed to act in the movie.
- He has worked as an actor in only one movie, the Indian film Halo in 1996.
- His movie China Gate was made on a budget of 20 crores in 1998, which was the most expensive movie at that time.
- Rajkumar was in love with Indian actress Meenakshi Sheshadri and wanted to marry her; however, his proposal was rejected by her. Meenakshi Sheshadri
- He got engaged to Indian actress Tanushree Kaushal; however, she moved to South Film Industry after she could not find any good work in Bollywood.
- His real surname is Shrivastav, and Santoshi was his father’s pen name, which he adopted from his father.
- In January 2015, a producer identified as Jain took away Rajkumar’s Mercedes car along with his driver. Raj owed Rs15 Lakh to Jain, and Jain went to Raj’s Juhu office to collect the money. When he did not find Raj in the office, he told Raj’s driver to drop him at Andheri and later exchanged his seat with the driver. When Raj realised that his car is missing, he went to the Police who found the car along with the driver and Raj made an agreement with Jain to return the money. [7]
- In December 2020, he announced that he would open a film academy in Madhya Pradesh, India.
