Mostly known for his magnificent periodic dramas, Ashutosh Gowariker is an Indian director, actor, producer and screenwriter. He has made movies like Lagaan, Swades, and Jodha Akbar. Lagaan became the third Indian film to be nominated for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film after Mother India and Salaam Bombay!.

Early Life
Born on 15th February 1964 to Ashok and Kishori Gowariker in Kolhapur, Maharashtra, Ashutosh graduated from Mithibai College, Mumbai with a Bachelors of Science degree in chemistry. During his college days, he participated in various plays, which led him to realize his passion for cinema. Subsequently, he began his career as a model for Govind Nihalani and Jenny Pinto for Closeup toothpaste and Lifebuoy soap.

Personal Life
He is married to Sunita Gowariker, daughter of actor Deb Mukherjee and sister of Bollywood director, Ayaan Mukherjee.

Movie Career
Ashutosh broke into the Hindi film industry as an actor with Ketan Mehta`s movie Holi, in 1984. He then appeared in various films like Woh, Kabhi Haan Kabhi Naa, Goonj, Chamatkar, and Bharat Ki Khoj. He also acted in TV shows like C.I.D and Circus. Alongside, he featured in award-winning Marathi films like Vazir and Sarkarnama.

As A Director

Ashutosh Gowariker turned director with the romantic drama Pehla Nasha, starring Deepak Tijori, Pooja Bhatt, and Raveena Tandon. The movie received negative reviews and failed at the box office.His second film Baazi, starring Aamir Khan and Mamta Kulkarni in the lead, was declared a hit.

In 2001, Ashutosh directed the cult movie Lagaan. This Victorian period film, which starred Aamir Khan and Gracy Singh in the lead roles, was a mega blockbuster both domestically and internationally. It tells the tale about how a small village whose dwellers are bowed down by high taxes, find themselves in an extraordinary situation when a proud officer challenges them to a game of cricket as a bait to avoid taxes. The movie went on to become one of the biggest hits of 2001 and was ranked No. 55 in Empire magazine`s "The 100 Best Films of World Cinema". In 2011, it was listed in Time magazine`s special The All-TIME 25 Best Sports Movies. Produced by Aamir Khan, Lagaan went on to win eight National Film Awards and nine Filmfare Awards.

His next directorial venture, which was also written and produced by him, was the Shah Rukh Khan-starrer drama film Swades: We The People. The movie received widespread critical success and was later dubbed in Tamil and released under the title Desam. In 2008 came his historical romantic drama Jodha Akbar, starring Hrithik Roshan and Aishwarya Rai Bachchan. He then directed and produced box office failures like What`s Your Rashee? and Khelein Hum Jee Jaan Sey.

Ashutosh`s 2016 release includes another period romance Mohenjo Daro. Produced by Siddharth Roy Kapur and Sunita Gowariker, the movie stars Hrithik Roshan and Pooja Hegde in the lead roles. His 2019 release includes Panipat.