Ashwni Dhir is a film director and screenwriter from Bollywood who has a handful of good comedy films. He directed comedy entertainers like Son of Sardar (2012), One Two Three (2008), and Atithi Tum Kab Jaoge? (2010). All these movies earned critics’ appreciation as well as commercial success at the box office. He has also scripted the iconic TV series, ‘Office Office’, aired on SAB TV in the early 2000s.
Ashwni Dhir – Bollywood Director of Comedy Films
Dhir hails from Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh. He was born into a Punjabi family on 23 September 1968. His father worked as a bank manager at Kanpur. He graduated in Economics and subsequently studied journalism. Since young, he was more interested in writing and poetry than studies. Ashwni Dhir used to write poetry in his childhood, and spent his pocket money to buy books on poetry and Sufi music.
Bollywood films – Ankush and Pratighat– inspired him to join the film industry
He happened to watch Bollywood films – Ankush and Pratighat. The movies inspired him so much that he decided to join the film industry. He applied to the National School of Drama for the direction stream, but got rejected. Later, he took a job as a medical rep, earning 6000 rupees per month.
At the age of 21, he came to Mumbai to pursue his film dreams. With only 6000 rupees in his pocket, he vowed to himself that he wouldn’t return to his hometown unless he became successful. In search of opportunities, he started approaching film directors at their residences and at the film locations.
Ashwni Dhir got the opportunity to work as an assistant to Anil Varma. He learnt the basics of filmmaking while working as Varma’s assistant.
Dipti Naval gave him the break in television
Ashwni Dhir started his writing career through television in the early 2000s. Initially, he co-wrote shows with Dipti Naval. Later, he started writing independent projects. He scripted the TV shows – Gharwali Uparwali, Office Office, Public Hai Sab Janti Ha and LOC- Life Out of Control during the early phase of his career. Pankaj Kapur’s Office Office became an instant hit.
He later scripted the shows – Chidiya Ghar, Lapataganj, Hum Aapke Hain In Laws, Neeli Chatri Waale, Peterson Hill, Khatmal E Ishq, and Har Shaakh Pe Ullu Baithaa Hai.
He scripted and wrote dialogues for several movies before making his directorial debut
He wrote the dialogues of U Me Aur Hum and Krazzy 4 in 2008. In the same year, he marked his directorial debut with the comedy film, One Two Three. The movie included an ensemble cast of Sunil Shetty, Paresh Rawal, Tushar Kapoor, Esha Deol, Sameera Reddy, Neetu Chandra, Upen Patel and Tanisha Mukerji. The movie plot was inspired by the 1992 American film, Blame It on the Bellboy. It fared moderately at the box office, too.
Son of Sardaar is Dhir’s most successful film as a director
Following the comedy trend of his TV shows and films, he directed his second film, Son of Sardaar. This multi-star cast film starring Ajay Devgn, Sanjay Dutt, Sonakshi Sinha and Juhi Chawla was a smash hit, and it’s his most popular film. It was a remake of the 2010 Telugu film Maryada Ramanna.
He later directed the films – Atithi Tum Kab Jaoge? (2010), Guest iin London (2017), and Hisaab Barabar (2024). He scripted the Marathi film, Appa Ani Bappa in 2019.
Ashwni Dhir – Some interesting and lesser-known facts
1. The movie, Chala Mussaddi Office Office, was inspired by his popular series, Office Office. But the movie received negative reviews.
2. Son of Sardaar 2, released in 2025, was a standalone sequel of Son of Sardaar. The movie starring Ajay Devgn was a box office flop. Ashwni Dhir was not a part of this project.
3. While he is primarily recognised as a director and screenwriter, he penned lyrics for a few Bollywood tracks, usually for films he directed himself. “Jyoti Jalaile” from Atithi Tum Kab Jaoge? (2010) and Dil Mera” from Guest iin London (2017) were written by Ashwini.
4. He frequently worked with Ajay Devgn. Apart from writing dialogues for U Me Aur Hum, Ashwni Dhir cast him as the main lead in Son of Sardaar and Atithi Tum Kab Jaoge?, the movies for which he is known.
5. His film, Hisaab Barabar (2024), starring R. Madhavan, premiered at the 55th International Film Festival of India in Goa. Upon release, the film received negative reviews. This film also belonged to the comedy genre.
6. He lost his son in a road accident in 2024. His friend Saahil was driving the car, which lost control and collided with a divider. There were four people in the car at the time of the accident.
Also read: Ashwiny Iyer Tiwari – Film Director and Screenwriter from Bollywood
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