Saurabh Shukla

{{Infobox person

| name =

| image = Saurabh Shukla graces the screening of Sonata.jpg

| caption = Shukla at the screening of Sonata

| alt = Saurabh Shukla

| birth_date = {{birth-date and age|5 March 1963}}{{citation needed|date=January 2025}}

| birth_place = Gorakhpur, Uttar Pradesh, India

| occupation = Actor, film director, screenwriter

| yearsactive = 1984–present

}}

Saurabh Shukla (born 5 March 1963){{citation needed|date=January 2025}} is an Indian actor, screenwriter, and film director who works in Hindi and a few Tamil and Telugu films. He is best known for his roles in Satya (1998), Nayak: The Real Hero (2001), Yuva (2004), Lage Raho Munna Bhai (2006), Barfi! (2012), Jolly LLB (2013); for latter, he won the National Film Award for Best Supporting Actor.{{cite web |title=61st National Film Awards For 2013 |url=http://www.dff.nic.in/List%20of%20Awards.pdf# |publisher=Directorate of Film Festivals |date=16 April 2014 |access-date=16 April 2014 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140416181218/http://www.dff.nic.in/List%20of%20Awards.pdf |archive-date=16 April 2014 |df=dmy-all }} Other notable films are Kick (2014), PK (2014), Jolly LLB 2 (2017) and Raid (2018). He has also worked in a short documentary with Ruth Agnihotri and Rachael Agnihotri in Goa.{{Citation needed|date=November 2024}}

Early life

Born to Jogamaya Shukla, who was the first female tabla player of India and Shatrughan Shukla, a vocalist from Agra Gharana, Shukla's family left Gorakhpur for Delhi when he was two years old. He completed his schooling and did graduation from S.G.T.B. Khalsa College, Delhi. His professional career began in 1984 with entry into the theatre.[http://www.rediff.com/entertai/1998/sep/18sau.htm Fat lot of good] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090127032335/http://www.rediff.com/entertai/1998/sep/18sau.htm |date=27 January 2009 }} Rediff, 1998.

Career

Shukla began serious theatre in 1986 with roles in plays like A View From The Bridge (Arthur Miller), Look Back in Anger (John Osborne), Ghashiram Kotwal (Vijay Tendulkar) and Hayvadan. In 1991, he joined the NSD Repertoire Company – the professional wing of the National School of Drama – as an actor. The next year he got his first break when Shekhar Kapur, impressed with his work, created a role for him in Bandit Queen.{{Cite web |url=http://www.rediff.com/entertai/2002/nov/19shukla.htm |title=Shekhar Kapur told me to remain an actor |access-date=14 November 2006 |archive-date=22 March 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070322045852/http://www.rediff.com/entertai/2002/nov/19shukla.htm |url-status=live }}

Shukla also did the role of Vijay Anand's sidekick Gopi in the 1994 Doordarshan crime drama Tehkikaat. The series was directed by Karan Razdan, but Kapur directed the first episode. He also wrote and acted in Zee TV's 9 Malabar Hill.{{Cite web|url=http://archive.indianexpress.com/news/red-alert/1038066/|title=Red alert - Indian Express|website=archive.indianexpress.com|access-date=2016-07-06|archive-date=11 October 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201011202959/http://archive.indianexpress.com/news/red-alert/1038066/|url-status=live}}

He also appeared in a recurring albeit a short role of an aamir's jasoos (chieftain's spy) in the 1990s Doordarshan TV serial Mulla Nasiruddin, which had Raghubir Yadav in the lead role. The series was based on the folklore of Mulla Nasiruddin.

Shukla is also a part of a comic theater play 2 to Tango, 3 to Jive.{{Cite web|title=Saurabh Shukla hits a century with his play '2 To Tango 3 To Jive'!|url=https://www.dnaindia.com/entertainment/report-saurabh-shukla-hits-a-century-with-his-play-2-to-tango-3-to-jive-2443327|date=18 May 2017|website=DNA India|language=en|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201011203000/https://www.dnaindia.com/entertainment/report-saurabh-shukla-hits-a-century-with-his-play-2-to-tango-3-to-jive-2443327|archive-date=11 October 2020|access-date=19 May 2020}}

=Breakthrough (1998–present)=

Shukla's biggest break came when he co-wrote the script for Ram Gopal Varma's 1998 cult classic Satya and played the role of gangster Kallu Mama in the film.{{Cite web |url=http://www.rediff.com/entertai/2001/sep/24shukla.htm |title=Beyond Kallu Mama |access-date=19 June 2008 |archive-date=26 July 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080726200710/http://www.rediff.com/entertai/2001/sep/24shukla.htm |url-status=live }} He won the Star Screen Award for Best Screenplay alongside Anurag Kashyap.

"Why do I make realistic films, like Satya? Because that's the kind of films I like to do. Capturing reality is very difficult and challenging," he said in a 2000 interview to Rediff.com, making it clear that he prefers realism in his scripts. In the same interview he also talked about his preferred genre of film making – comedy:

{{cquote|If you carefully see my work, it is all [comedy]. We usually categorize subjects as comedy and serious. But there is more than just this. Like when we laugh, we sometimes also cry. There can be certain viciousness to this action if there is too much of it. It is the same with romance, which gets too much after a point. There is always a comic element in every situation.{{Cite web |url=http://www.rediff.com/broadband/2000/sep/29lead.htm |title=The Black Comedy of Saurabh Shukla |access-date=14 November 2006 |archive-date=22 March 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070322050207/http://www.rediff.com/broadband/2000/sep/29lead.htm |url-status=live }}}}

In 2003, he wrote the screenplay for Calcutta Mail. He received his first award for this film, the Zee Cine Award for Best Screenplay. In 2008, he acted in his first international film, the Golden Globe and Academy Award-winning Slumdog Millionaire, as the character Constable Srinivas. In 2013, he appeared as policeman Sudhanshu Dutta in Barfi!, a film through which director Anurag Basu and co-actor Ranbir Kapoor, he said, "revived [him] as an actor".{{cite news|last1=Sharma|first1=Sampada|title=From gaining popularity as a credible actor to winning a National Award, Saurabh Shukla's journey has been tremendous|url=http://indianexpress.com/article/entertainment/bollywood/saurabh-shukla-kallu-mama-jolly-llb-5085421/|access-date=5 March 2018|work=The Indian Express|date=5 March 2018|archive-date=5 March 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180305041307/http://indianexpress.com/article/entertainment/bollywood/saurabh-shukla-kallu-mama-jolly-llb-5085421/|url-status=live}}

Filmography

=Films=

class="wikitable"

|+Key

| style="background:#FFFFCC;"| {{dagger|alt=Films that have not yet been released}}

| Denotes films that have not yet been released

Year	Film	Role	Notes
class="wikitable sortable"
1994	Bandit Queen	Kailash
1996	Is Raat Ki Subah Nahin	Vilas Pandey
rowspan="3" \| 1998	Kareeb	Birju's father
Zakhm	Gurdayal Singh
Satya	Kallu Mama
rowspan="4" \| 1999	Taal	Banerjee
Arjun Pandit	Johnny
Baadshah	Saxena
Yeh Hai Mumbai Meri Jaan	Mr. Malhotra "Chhotey"
rowspan="4" \| 2000	Hey Ram	Manohar Lalwani	Hindi-Tamil bilingual film.
Dil Pe Mat Le Yaar!!	Gaitonde
Mohabbatein	Sanjana's father
Snip!	Munna
rowspan="3" \| 2001	Nayak: The Real Hero	Pandurang
Yeh Teraa Ghar Yeh Meraa Ghar	Mama Kaanden
Moksha	Kale
rowspan="2" \| 2002	Mere Yaar Ki Shaadi Hai	Lachhu Mama
Karz: The Burden of Truth	Suraj's drunk friend	Uncredited
rowspan="7" \| 2003	Yeh Dil	Economics Teacher
Calcutta Mail	Ghatak
Raghu Romeo	Mario
Xcuse Me	Hotel Manager
Mumbai Matinee	Nitin Kapoor
Hazaaron Khwaishein Aisi	Senior Bihari Constable
Mudda - The Issue	Dinanath
2004	Yuva	Gopal
rowspan="8" \| 2005	Balu ABCDEFG	Khan's brief	Telugu film
Mumbai Xpress	Kishore Mehta
Anniyan	Cable Company Owner	Tamil film Dubbed as Aparichitudu in Telugu and Aparichit (2006) in Hindi
Yakeen	Chamanlal
Home Delivery	Pandey
Kal: Yesterday and Tomorrow	Rajesh Jalan
Chehraa	Director
Allari Bullodu	Karim Lala	Telugu film
rowspan="3" \| 2006	Mixed Doubles	Sammy
Lage Raho Munna Bhai	Batuk Maharaj
Care of Footpath	Ranga	Kannada film
rowspan="3" \| 2007	Salaam-e-Ishq: A Tribute to Love	Dotcom Paaji
Khoya Khoya Chand	Producer Khosa
Showbiz	Inder Raj Bahl
rowspan="7" \| 2008	My Name is Anthony Gonsalves	Murthy
Mithya	Shetty
De Taali	Godbole
Hari Puttar: A Comedy of Terrors	Diesel
Slumdog Millionaire	Head Constable Srinivas	English/Hindi film
Dasvidaniya	Dasgupta
Oh, My God	God
rowspan="3" \| 2009	Luck By Chance	Nand Kishore
Love Khichdi	Krishnan
Chintu Ji	Malkani
rowspan="4" \| 2010	Tera Kya Hoga Johnny	Begum
Lahore	Madhav Suri
Paathshaala	Lallan Sharma
Mirch	Satish
rowspan="5" \| 2011	Utt Pataang	Nandu Pandey
Yeh Saali Zindagi	Mehta
Aarakshan	Mantri Baburao
Shakal Pe Mat Ja	Vijay Dinanath Chauhan
Pappu Can't Dance Saala	Producer of dance album
rowspan="5" \| 2012	Staying Alive	Shaukat Ali
I M 24
Barfi!	Sudhanshu Dutta	Nominated—IIFA Award for Best Supporting Actor Nominated— Apsara Film & Television Producers Guild Awards for Best Actor in a Supporting Role
Delhi Safari	Bharela	Voice only
The Last Act	Theatre troupe director
rowspan="4" \| 2013	David	David's father
Jolly LLB	Justice Sunderlal Tripathi	National Film Award for Best Supporting Actor Screen Award for Best Supporting Actor Nominated—IIFA Award for Best Supporting Actor
Phata Poster Nikhla Hero	Gundappa Das
Kalpvriksh	Shankar Dada
rowspan="6" \| 2014	Gunday	Kaali Kaka
Main Tera Hero	Balli
Gang of Ghosts	Bhoothnath Bhaduri
Ek Tho Chance	TBA
Kick	Brijesh Mehra
PK	Tapasvi Maharaj
rowspan="2" \| 2015	Kaun Kitne Paani Mein	Braj Singh Deo
Mohalla Assi	Upadhyay Pandit
2016	Dhilluku Dhuddu	Kajal's father	Tamil film dubbed as Raj Mahal 3 (2017) in Hindi.
rowspan="3" \| 2017	Jolly LLB 2	Justice Sunderlal Tripathi
The Wishing Tree (2017)	Dhaba Owner
Jagga Jasoos	Ex IB Officer Sinha
rowspan="3" \| 2018	Raid	Rameshwar "Rajaji" Singh a.k.a. "Tauji"
Shabhash Kundu	Robin Roy
Daas Dev	Awadesh Pratap Chauhan
rowspan="9" \| 2019	Fraud Saiyaan	Murari Chaurasia
Family Of Thakurganj	Baba Bhandari
Albert Pinto Ko Gussa Kyun Aata Hai?	Nayyar	Remake of classic Albert Pinto Ko Gussa Kyoon Aata Hai{{cite tweet\|user=taran_adarsh\| author=Taran Adarsh\|date=6 March 2019\|number=1103226358522556416\|title=Manav Kaul, Nandita Das and Saurabh Shukla... #AlbertPintoKoGussaKyunAataHai - an official remake of the cult classic by Saeed Akhtar Mirza - to release on 12 April 2019... Directed by Soumitra Ranade... The 1980 classic starred Naseeruddin Shah, Shabana Azmi and Smita Patil. https://t.co/e3JaquzPMI}}
The Zoya Factor \| Nikhil's dad \|
The Verdict - State vs Nanavati \|Russi Karanjia \|Web series on ALTBalaji and ZEE5
Ujda Chaman \|Guruji \|{{cite web \|url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/hindi/bollywood/news/ujda-chaman-trailer-ayushmann-khurranas-bala-to-face-competition-from-sunny-singhs-ujda-chaman/articleshow/71388372.cms \|title='Ujda Chaman' trailer: Ayushmann Khurrana's 'Bala' to face competition from Sunny Singh's 'Ujda Chaman' \|publisher=Times of India \|date=1 October 2019 \|access-date=1 October 2019 \|archive-date=4 November 2019 \|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191104012107/https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/hindi/bollywood/news/ujda-chaman-trailer-ayushmann-khurranas-bala-to-face-competition-from-sunny-singhs-ujda-chaman/articleshow/71388372.cms \|url-status=live }}
Bala \|Hari Shukla \|
Pagalpanti	Raja Sahab \|{{cite tweet\|user=BazmeeAnees\| author=Anees Bazmee\|date=10 March 2019\|number = 1104628671019573251 \|title=Meet Raja Sahab aka @saurabhshukla_s ! #pagalpantionset @TSeries @PanoramaMovies @AnilKapoor @TheJohnAbraham @ArshadWarsi @PulkitSamrat @Ileana_Official @UrvashiRautela @kriti_official https://t.co/Qw17g2fUNh}}
Aadhaar \| Parmanand Singh \|
2020 \|Chhalaang \| Mr. Shukla \|
rowspan="3" \|2021 \|Madam Chief Minister \| Master Suraj Bhan
The Big Bull \|Manu Malpani \|
Tadap{{Cite web\|date=20 December 2021\|title=Tadap 2021 Film - Best Supporting Performance From Saurabh Shukla\|url=https://in.bookmyshow.com/movies/tadap/ET00307544}} \|Ishana's father \|
rowspan="3" \|2022 \| Shamshera \| Shamshera's friend, Bali's ally \|
Drishyam 2 \|Murad Ali \|
Bhediya \|Bagga, Bhaskar's boss \|
2025 \| {{pending film\|Jolly LLB 3}} \| Justice Sunderlal Tripathi \| Filming
{{TBA}}	! style="background:#FFFFCC;"\| Identity Card {{dagger\|alt=Film has yet to be released}}	Ghulam Nabi	Post-production
{{TBA}}	! style="background:#FFFFCC;"\| No Rules for Fools {{dagger\|alt=Film has yet to be released}}	TBA	Post-production
{{TBA}} \|{{Pending film\|Manohar Pandey}} \|TBA \|
2025 \|Raid 2 \|Rameshwar Singh "Tauji" \|

=Web series=

class="wikitable"
Year ! Title ! Role ! Platform ! Notes
2022 \| Yeh Kaali Kaali Ankhein \| Akheraj Awasthi "Vidrohi", Purva's Father \| Netflix \|
2023 \|Pop Kaun? \|KBC \|Disney+ Hotstar \|

class="wikitable"

Year

! Title

! Role

! Platform

! Notes

2022

| Yeh Kaali Kaali Ankhein

| Akheraj Awasthi "Vidrohi", Purva's Father

| Netflix

2023

|Pop Kaun?

|KBC

|Disney+ Hotstar

=As writer and director=

class="wikitable sortable"
Year !Film !Director !Producer !Screenwriter !class="unsortable" \| Notes
style="text-align:center;"\|1998 \|Satya \| \| \|{{yes}} \|Star Screen Awards for Best Screenplay with Anurag Kashyap
style="text-align:center;"\|2000 \|Dil Pe Mat Le Yaar!! \| \| \|{{yes}} \|
rowspan="3" style="text-align:center;"\|2003 \|Raghu Romeo \| \| \|{{yes}} \|
Calcutta Mail \| \| \|{{yes}} \| Nominated—Zee Cine Award for Best Screenplay
Mudda - The Issue \|{{yes}} \| \|{{yes}} \|
rowspan="2" style="text-align:center;"\|2005 \|Chehraa \|{{yes}} \| \|{{yes}} \|
Mumbai Xpress \| \| \|{{yes}} \|
style="text-align:center;"\|2007 \|Salaam-e-Ishq: A Tribute to Love \| \| \|{{yes}} \|
style="text-align:center;"\|2008 \|Mithya \| \| \|{{yes}} \|
rowspan="2" style="text-align:center;"\|2009 \| Acid Factory \| \| \|{{yes}} \|
Raat Gayi Baat Gayi? \|{{yes}} \| \|{{yes}} \|New York South Asian International Film Festival for Best Film with Rajat Kapoor
rowspan="2" style="text-align:center;"\|2011 \|Utt Pataang \| \| \|{{yes}} \|
Pappu Can't Dance Saala \|{{yes}} \|{{yes}} \|{{yes}} \|
rowspan="2" style="text-align:center;"\|2012 \|Fatso! \| \| \|{{yes}} \|
I M 24 \|{{yes}} \| \|{{yes}} \|
2023 \|Dry Day \|{{yes}} \| \|{{yes}}

class="wikitable sortable"

Year

!Film

!Director

!Producer

!Screenwriter

!class="unsortable" | Notes

style="text-align:center;"|1998

|Satya

|{{yes}}

|Star Screen Awards for Best Screenplay with Anurag Kashyap

style="text-align:center;"|2000

|Dil Pe Mat Le Yaar!!

|{{yes}}

rowspan="3" style="text-align:center;"|2003

|Raghu Romeo

|{{yes}}

Calcutta Mail

|{{yes}}

| Nominated—Zee Cine Award for Best Screenplay

Mudda - The Issue

|{{yes}}

rowspan="2" style="text-align:center;"|2005

|Chehraa

|{{yes}}

Mumbai Xpress

|{{yes}}

style="text-align:center;"|2007

|Salaam-e-Ishq: A Tribute to Love

|{{yes}}

style="text-align:center;"|2008

|Mithya

|{{yes}}

rowspan="2" style="text-align:center;"|2009

| Acid Factory

|{{yes}}

Raat Gayi Baat Gayi?

|{{yes}}

|New York South Asian International Film Festival for Best Film with Rajat Kapoor

rowspan="2" style="text-align:center;"|2011

|Utt Pataang

|{{yes}}

Pappu Can't Dance Saala

|{{yes}}

rowspan="2" style="text-align:center;"|2012

|Fatso!

|{{yes}}

I M 24

|{{yes}}

2023

|Dry Day

|{{yes}}

=As lyricist=

Year	Film	Notes
class="wikitable sortable"
2006	Mixed Doubles

Awards

Shukla won the National Film Award and the Screen Award for the Best Actor in a Supporting Role for his performance in Jolly LLB.{{Cite web |url=http://movies.ndtv.com/bollywood/ship-of-theseus-bhaag-milkha-bhaag-win-national-awards-509404?pfrom=home-topstories |title=Ship of Theseus, Bhaag Milkha Bhaag win National Awards | NDTV Movies.com |access-date=16 April 2014 |archive-date=16 April 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140416114423/http://movies.ndtv.com/bollywood/ship-of-theseus-bhaag-milkha-bhaag-win-national-awards-509404?pfrom=home-topstories |url-status=live }}