Nitesh Tiwari (born 1973) is an Indian film director and screenwriter. An engineer from IIT Bombay who spent nearly two decades in advertising, he turned to cinema in his late thirties and directed Dangal (2016), the wrestling drama that remains the highest-grossing Indian film worldwide. His other films include Chillar Party, Chhichhore and a two-part adaptation of the Ramayana.
Quick Facts
| Full name | Nitesh Tiwari |
| Born | 1973, Itarsi, Madhya Pradesh, India |
| Occupation | Film director, screenwriter |
| Years active | 2011–present (film) |
| Known for | Chillar Party, Dangal, Chhichhore, Ramayana |
| Education | Indian Institute of Technology Bombay (B.Tech., Metallurgical Engineering) |
| Spouse | Ashwiny Iyer Tiwari |
| Children | 2 |
| Awards | National Film Awards for Chillar Party and Chhichhore; Filmfare Award for Best Director |
Early Life
Tiwari grew up in Itarsi, a railway town in Madhya Pradesh, in a middle-class family. He won admission to the Indian Institute of Technology Bombay, where he studied metallurgy and materials science and graduated in 1996. He has said that his years in the institute’s hostels, with their plays, pranks and friendships, shaped him more than the classroom did, and he later drew on them for Chhichhore.
Career
Instead of engineering he chose advertising, joining the agency Leo Burnett as a copywriter. He rose to become its chief creative officer in India and wrote well-known television campaigns, including several for the quiz show Kaun Banega Crorepati. It was at the agency that he met Ashwiny Iyer, an art director who would become his wife and a film director herself.
With Vikas Bahl he wrote and directed Chillar Party (2011), about a gang of children in a Mumbai housing colony who take on a politician to save a stray dog. It won the National Film Award for Best Children’s Film and for best original screenplay. His first solo film was Bhoothnath Returns (2014), with Amitabh Bachchan as a ghost who stands for election.
Dangal told the story of Mahavir Singh Phogat, a former wrestler in Haryana who trained his daughters Geeta and Babita to become international champions. Aamir Khan played the father and gained and lost a great deal of weight for the part. The film became the highest-grossing Hindi film in India up to that time and then found an enormous audience in China, taking its worldwide earnings to about 2,000 crore rupees. Tiwari won the Filmfare Award for Best Director.
Chhichhore (2019), starring Sushant Singh Rajput and Shraddha Kapoor, used a father’s memories of his engineering college to speak about exam pressure and failure. It was a commercial success and won the National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Hindi. Bawaal (2023), with Varun Dhawan and Janhvi Kapoor, was released on Amazon Prime Video. He also co-wrote his wife’s films Nil Battey Sannata and Bareilly Ki Barfi.
He is directing a two-part film of the Ramayana, among the most expensive productions attempted in India, with Ranbir Kapoor as Rama, Sai Pallavi as Sita and Yash as Ravana, and music by Hans Zimmer and A. R. Rahman. The first part was announced for Diwali 2026 and the second for Diwali 2027.
Personal Life
He is married to the director Ashwiny Iyer Tiwari, and they have twins, a son and a daughter. The couple run a production company, Earthsky Pictures.
Selected Filmography
Frequently Asked Questions
When was Nitesh Tiwari born?
Nitesh Tiwari was born in 1973, Itarsi, Madhya Pradesh, India.
What is Nitesh Tiwari known for?
Known for: Chillar Party, Dangal, Chhichhore, Ramayana.
What honours has Nitesh Tiwari received?
National Film Awards for Chillar Party and Chhichhore; Filmfare Award for Best Director.
Featured image: Nitesh Tiwari at a master class during the 48th International Film Festival of India, Panaji, Goa, 23 November 2017. Photo by Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, licensed under Government Open Data License – India, via Wikimedia Commons.
