Sudhir Mishra Wiki, Age, Wife, Family, Biography & More

Sudhir Mishra is an Indian theatre artist, film director, and screenwriter. He is known for directing the Hindi films like ‘Dharavi’ (1992), ‘Hazaaron Khwaishein Aisi’ (2003), and ‘Chameli’ (2004). He is the recipient of the National Awards for the Hindi films ‘Main Zinda Hoon’ (1988) and ‘Dharavi’ (1992).

Wiki/Biography

Sudhir Mishra aka Sudhir Bhai Mishra was born on Thursday, 22 January 1959 (age 64 years; as of 2023) in Nagpur, Maharashtra and brought up by his parents in Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh, India. His zodiac sign is Aquarius.
Sudhir Mishra’s childhood picture with his parents
Later, he pursued his graduation and M Phil in Psychology at Delhi University, New Delhi.

Physical Appearance

Height (approx.): 6′ 3″
Hair Colour: Grey
Eye Colour: Black
Sudhir Mishra with Arjun Rampal and Chitrangada Singh

Family

Sudhir belongs to a Hindu Brahmin family.

Parents & Siblings

His father, Devendra Nath Mishra, was a mathematician, author, and founding member of the Lucknow Film Society. His mother’s name is Durga Devendernath Mishra. He is the eldest among his two siblings; a brother and a sister. His younger brother, Sudhanshu Mishra, was a filmmaker.
A picture of Sudhir Mishra’s parents
Sudhir Mishra’s younger brother

Wife & Children

In 1978, he got married to the Indian actress Sushmita Mukherjee. After a few years of their marriage, the couple got divorced.
A collage of Sudhir Mishra and Sushmita Mukherjee
In 1988, Sudhir got married to the Indian film editor Renu Saluja, who was earlier married to the Indian film director Vidhu Vinod Chopra. However, in 2000, Renu died of cancer.
Renu Saluja
Sudhir is the stepfather of Rudransh Bundela and Rudranuj Bundela who are the sons of his first wife and Sushmita and her husband Raja Bundela.

Other Relative

Sudhir’s grandfather, Dwarka Prasad Mishra, was the former Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh.
Sudhir Mishra’s grandfather with Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose

Relationships/Affairs

He was rumoured to be in a relationship with the Indian actress Chitrangada Singh. It was also said that he was the reason behind the divorce of Chitrangada Singh and her ex-husband Jyoti Randhawa (a golf player).
Sudhir Mishra with Chitrangada Singh

Career

Theatre

He started his career as a theatre artist under the guidance of the Indian theatre dramatist Badal Sircar. After acting in a few theatre plays, he started writing theatre plays. He gained immense popularity as a theatre director. He has conducted various acting & direction classes at Indian Film & Television Directors’ Association, Mumbai.
Sudhir Mishra performing in a nukkad natak

Film

Screenwriter/Director

In 1983, he made his Bollywood debut as a screenwriter with the film ‘Jaane Bhi Do Yaaron.’
Jaane Bhi Do Yaaron
He made his directorial debut with the 1987 Hindi film ‘Yeh Woh Manzil To Nahin.’ Some of his other popular Hindi films as a director and screenwriter are ‘Dharavi’ (1991), ‘Chameli’ (2004), ‘Hazaaron Khwaishein Aisi’ (2005), ‘Yeh Saali Zindagi’ (2011), and ‘Daas Dev’ (2018).
Sudhir Mishra on the sets of a film

Actor

He made his acting debut with the 1985 film ‘Khamosh’ in which he played a cameo role.
Khamosh (1985)
He did cameo roles in a few other Hindi films like ‘Traffic Signal’ (2007) and ‘Raat Gayi, Baat Gayi?’ (2010).

Short Film

Sudhir has worked as a director and screenwriter in a few Hindi short films like ‘Kirchiyaan’ (2013) and ‘Life Support’ (2017).

Television

In 1996, he made his TV debut as a director with the Hindi TV serial ’17 Sherly Road,’ which aired on Zee TV.
A still from the TV serial 17 Sherly Road
He has directed a few other Hindi TV serials like ‘Chhapte Chhapte’ (1985) and ‘Nyay’ (1999), which aired on Doordarshan.
Sudhir Mishra on the sets of Chhapte Chhapte

Web Series

In 2019, Sudhir made his web series debut as a director with the Disney+ Hotstar series ‘Hostages.’
A still from the web series Hostages
He has also directed the 2022 web series ‘Tanaav,’ which streamed on SonyLIV.

Awards

  • 1987: Indira Gandhi Award for Best Debut Film of a Director for the Hindi film Yeh Woh Manzil To Nahin
  • 1988: National Film Award for Best Film on Other Social Issues for the Hindi film Main Zinda Hoon
  • 1991: National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Hindi for Dharavi
  • 1992: Award of the City of Nantes for the Hindi films Dharavi and Tied with The Need at Nantes Three Continents Festival
  • 2006: Filmfare Best Story Award for the Hindi film Hazaaron Khwaishein Aisi
    Sudhir Mishra with his award
  • 2010: Ordre des Arts et des Lettres by the French Government
  • 2016: Yash Bharti Award by the Government of Uttar Pradesh
  • 2021: Jury Award for Best Story in a Digital Film Serious Men by WM Digital Awards
  • 2021: Indian Telly Streaming Award for Best Director Digital First Series
    Sudhir Mishra- Winner of the Indian Telly Streaming Awards 2021

Facts/Trivia

  • In childhood, he used to accompany his father to watch films and theatre plays, and from there he developed an interest in Hindi films.
  • While he was pursuing his M. Phil at Delhi University, he got to know about the National School of Drama. He was influenced by the work of the NSD.
  • After acting in a few theatre plays in his college, he realised that instead of acting, film direction was his interest.
  • In an interview, he shared how he made his debut in Bollywood. He said,
    My friend Vinod Dua was interviewing Vidhu Vinod Chopra for Doordarshan and asked me to ask Vinod questions as I knew about films. Vinod, seeing my knowledge about films, asked me to come to Mumbai. He was at that time making his first film and I asked him, ‘What will I do’? He said, ‘Learn to hold the boom’. I went to Mumbai and met this liberal bunch of people Kundan Shah, Ketan Mehta, Javed Akhtar and Shekhar Kapur who became my family. Kundan would come to my house where he started writing Jaane Bhi Do Yaaro and I started co-writing the script with him.”
    An old picture of Sudhir Mishra with other actors and directors
  • He once shared that after his wife’s demise, he was so depressed that he even thought of committing suicide.
  • After working in theatres under the guidance of Indian theatre artist Badal Sircar, Sudhir moved to Pune from Delhi. In Pune, his brother was a student at the Film and Television Institute of India. Sudhir then started learning about acting and films from his brother.
  • In 2014, he was fined by the Chandigarh Police for smoking in public places.
  • In 2020, amid the COVID-19 lockdown in India, a video went viral on social media in which a few policemen were seen beating a man (who looked like Sudhir Mishra) for breaking the quarantine guidelines. The netizens heavily trolled Sudhir for this. However, Sudhir then clarified that the man in the video was not him. He tweeted,
    I am quite amused that people think I would take a beating without reacting . Every tall white haired guy is not me . What shocks me is that the glee of the troll brigade . How sick ! Whoever that coward who takes a beating like that , it ain’t me , sickos ! Get a life !”
  • Sudhir Mishra is well-versed in various languages like Hindi, English, and Urdu.
  • He is an avid dog lover and often posts pictures with dogs.
    Sudhir Mishra with a dog
  • From the age of 45, he daily practices yoga for around one and a half hours.
    Sudhir Mishra doing yoga

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