Indian actor and director, studied applied arts and used to paint, then during the second half of the 1960s he turned to theatre acting and directing. He played his first film roles in the early 1970s. For his role in Gol Maal (1979) by director Hrishikesh Mukherjee he won a Filmfare award for best actor. Mid 1980s he slowed down his acting career to devote himself to film directing. His debut was Akriet (Unimaginable, 1981), then he directed Ankahee (1985) and carried on making television serials in the following five years. He made his third feature film Thodasa Roomani Ho Jaayen in 1990. Bangarwadi (The Village Had No Walls, 1995) helped him make a breakthrough internationally, and he was awarded Crystal Globe at the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival in Czech Republic. This was followed by Daayraa (The Square Circle, 1996), Kairee (2000) and Paheli (2005), which was very well received with the audiences and nominated for Oscar for best foreign film. His last films are Samaantar (2009), And Once Again (2010) and Dhoosar (2011).