Rajiv Rai

Rajiv Rai
Rai (center) with Arjun Rampal and Priyanka Chopra during the music launch of Asambhav (2004)
Born	(1955-07-18) 18 July 1955 (age 70)
Occupation	Film director
Years active	1975–2004 2022–present
Spouse	Sonam ​ ​ (m. 1991; div. 2016)​
Children	1
Father	Gulshan Rai

Rajiv Gulshan Rai (born 18 July 1955) is an Indian film director, screenwriter and film editor. The son of producer Gulshan Rai, he has directed many films under his father's production company, Trimurti Films, including Yudh (1985), Tridev (1989), Vishwatma (1992), Mohra (1994), Gupt (1997), Pyaar Ishq Aur Mohabbat (2001) and Asambhav (2004). He was married to actress Sonam from 1991 to 2016 and has a son with her.

Rai started his career as an assistant for his father Gulshan Rai's distribution and productions.

He eventually made his debut as a director with the 1985 action film Yudh. He went on to write and direct several hit films in the action and thriller genres: Tridev (1989), Vishwatma (1992), Mohra (1994), and Gupt (1997). His films are also notable for their hit music composed by Kalyanji-Anandji (in Tridev) and Viju Shah in all his subsequent films. After a four-year hiatus from the Bollywood industry, he returned to directing by introducing Arjun Rampal with his comeback venture Pyaar Ishq Aur Mohabbat (2001).^[1] This was an attempt by Rai at directing a romantic drama, a change from his previous action films. The film failed at the box office and Rai returned to the action genre with his next film Asambhav (2004), again starring Arjun Rampal, which also failed to do well. Shortly after the release of Asambhav, his father died at the age of 80 of a prolonged illness.

Following a sabbatical of two decades, Rai announced his return to direction in 2022 with a production titled Zora.^[2][3]

Rajiv Rai is known for launching the careers of many Bollywood actors and actresses and giving many artists their breakthrough in the industry.

Anil Kapoor's iconic tagline "Jhakaas" that became associated with him throughout his career, was first assigned to him by Rai in Yudh (1985).

Seasoned parallel cinema artist Naseeruddin Shah got his first breakthrough in commercial cinema as the male lead in Tridev (1992), starring in the movie's most popular song "Oye Oye". The film also helped establish Rai's future wife Sonam as an actress in Bollywood.

Divya Bharti got her breakthrough in Bollywood with the iconic song "Saat Samundar Paar" in Vishwatma (1992).

Akshay Kumar, Sunil Shetty and Raveena Tandon got their breakthrough in Bollywood with Mohra (1994), which established Kumar and Shetty as action heroes of the 1990s and Tandon as one of the leading heroines in Bollywood throughout the decade.

Kajol, known for her image as a lovable heroine in films like Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge, got her first negative role in Gupt (1997), for which she received critical acclaim. The film also established Bobby Deol in Bollywood.

Arjun Rampal was introduced in Bollywood as a lead hero in Rai's film Pyaar Ishq Aur Mohabbat (2001).

Along with artists, Rai is also known for launching the career of Viju Shah in Bollywood. Shah assisted his father and uncle, the popular Kalyanji-Anandji duo during the music composition of Yudh, during which Rai and Shah became good friends. With the permission of Kalyanji-Anandji, Rai introduced Shah as a music director in Tridev. Kalyanji-Anandji's name appeared in the film credits but Shah was credited as a music arranger, before finally being credited as the music director in Vishwatma. Shah has been Rai's frequent collaborator, composing music for all of Rai's subsequent films.

In 1991, he married Bollywood actress Sonam, whom he had directed in Tridev and Vishwatma. They have a son, Gaurav Rai (b. 1992). They divorced in 2016.^[4]

In 1997, he had to leave India with his family for the UK after a failed attempt to kill him by hitmen believed to be working for the Mumbai underworld leader Abu Salem.^[5]

• Rajiv Rai at IMDb
• Zora (Instagram handle for film promotion)