Ayan Mukerji

Initial work and directorial debut (2004–2009)

Mukerji started his career as an assistant director to his brother-in-law Ashutosh Gowariker on the social drama Swades (2004), and later to Karan Johar on the ensemble musical romantic drama Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna (2006), also appearing as an extra in the latter.

After taking a short break from filmmaking, Mukerji wrote the screenplay for the 2009 coming-of-age comedy-drama Wake Up Sid and then directed it.^[5] Starring Ranbir Kapoor and Konkona Sen Sharma in lead roles, it marked the first of several collaborations between Mukerji and Kapoor. The film tells the story of a careless rich college brat (Kapoor) who is taught the value of owning up to responsibility by an aspiring writer from Kolkata (Sen Sharma). Produced by Johar's banner Dharma Productions, it opened to widespread critical acclaim for its novel concept, themes, direction, story, screenplay, soundtrack and the performances of the cast. It emerged as a commercial success at the box office, grossing ₹62 crore (US$6.4 million) worldwide.^[9][10] Wake Up Sid earned Mukerji the inaugural Filmfare Award for Best Debut Director (tying for the award with Zoya Akhtar for Luck by Chance), in addition to his first nomination for the Filmfare Award for Best Director.

Breakthrough and further success (2013–present)

Mukerji achieved his breakthrough with the romantic comedy-drama Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani (2013), starring Kapoor and Deepika Padukone in lead roles, alongside Kalki Koechlin and Aditya Roy Kapur. The film was his second under Johar's banner. It revolves around two people who meet during a trekking trip where one falls in love with the other but refrains from expressing it. They soon drift apart but end up meeting again at a friend's wedding. Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani opened to widespread critical acclaim, with high praise for its direction, story, screenplay, soundtrack, cinematography, production design, costumes and the performances of its cast. The film emerged as a major blockbuster at the box office, grossing ₹319.6 crore (US$33 million) worldwide, and ranking as the fourth highest-grossing Hindi film of the year.^[11] Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani earned Mukerji his second nomination for the Filmfare Award for Best Director. Over the years, it has emerged as a highly popular film amongst youth.^[12][13][14]

Mukerji wrote and directed the big-budget fantasy film Brahmāstra: Part One – Shiva (2022) starring Kapoor, Amitabh Bachchan, Alia Bhatt, Mouni Roy and Nagarjuna in lead roles.^[15] Produced by Johar's banner, it is the first installment of a trilogy, planned to be part of a cinematic universe titled Āstraverse. The film was first conceived by Mukerji in 2011, with core elements inspired by Indian history and stories he heard in his childhood. Unlike Mukerji's two previous ventures, it opened to mixed reviews from critics upon release, with praise for the performances, direction, visual effects, soundtrack, musical score and action sequences, but criticism for its dialogue. However, the film emerged as Mukerji's second consecutive major blockbuster at the box-office, grossing ₹431 crore (US$45 million) worldwide. It ranked as the highest-grossing Hindi film of the year, the fifth highest-grossing Indian film of the year, the highest-grossing Hindi film in overseas markets since the COVID-19 pandemic, and one of the highest-grossing Indian films of all time. Brahmāstra: Part One – Shiva earned Mukerji his third nomination for the Filmfare Award for Best Director.

Mukerji's fourth directorial was the sixth installment in the YRF Spy Universe and a circumquel to 2019 film War titled War 2 (2025) starring Hrithik Roshan, N. T. Rama Rao Jr. and Kiara Advani. The film marked his first venture to neither be produced by Dharma Productions nor feature Kapoor.^[16] It received mixed-to-negative reviews from critics and underperformed at the box-office, but nonetheless emerged as the year's third highest-grossing film.^[17]

As of August 2025, A circumquel titled Brahmа̄stra: Part Two – Dev and a sequel titled Brahmāstra: Part Three – Shiva vs Dev are in development. Mukerji is set to direct both circumquel and sequel respectively.^[18][19][20]