Rajkumar Hirani (born November 20, 1962), also called Raju Hirani, is an Indian filmmaker, director, producer, and editor known for his works in Hindi films. He is the recipient of several accolades, including four National Film Awards and eleven Filmfare Awards. Hirani is referred to as one of the most successful filmmakers in Indian cinema. His movies are often lighthearted but revolve around significant societal issues with humor and emotional intelligence.

Starting his career as a film editor after passing out of FTII in editing, a bad experience forced him to shift to ad films, where he made several successful ads. He edited his first film as a professional editor, Vidhu Vinod Chopra’s Mission Kashmir (2000). Although Hirani wanted to make films, he took a one-year break and came back with the script of Munna Bhai MBBS to Chopra to help him finance it, and Chopra produced it himself.

The film was released in 2003 and became a widespread critical and commercial success. It won the National Film Award for Best Popular Film Providing Wholesome Entertainment and the Filmfare Critics Award for Best Film, earning Hirani his first Filmfare Award for Best Screenplay and a nomination for Best Director.

After the success of MBBS, the sequel Lage Raho Munna Bhai (2006), which was the second highest grosser of the year, and the coming-of-age drama 3 Idiots (2009), both of them won the National Film Award for Best Popular Film Providing Wholesome Entertainment and were nominated for the Filmfare Award for Best Film, Best Screenplay, and Best Director. 3 Idiots, which was also a huge commercial success, became the highest-grossing Indian film of its time.

His next is the science fiction religious satire PK (2014) with Aamir Khan as an alien again, the highest-grossing Indian film of its time, and the biography drama Sanju (2018) based on Sanjay Dutt, released with critical and commercial success. Both films were nominated for Best Film and Best Director at the Filmfare Awards, and PK won Best Screenplay. Domestically, both films are currently the fifth and seventh highest-grossing Bollywood films, respectively. He was accused of sexual abuse during the MeToo movement in India. He is the founder of the production house Rajkumar Hirani Films. His upcoming film is Dunki, with Shah Rukh Khan.