Rahul Dholakia

Rahul Dholakia is a director in the Hindi film industry who also works as a writer and producer. He is most widely recognised for Parzania (2007), the film that earned him a National Film Award, and his other well-known titles include Raees (2017), Lamhaa (2010) and Agni (2024). Early in his career, Dholakia made documentaries such as Teenage Parents and New York Taxi Drivers, and he directed the Hindi feature Kehtaa Hai Dil Baar Baar in 2002. His breakthrough came with Parzania (2007), the work that remains closest to his name. He went on to direct Mumbai Cutting (2008) and Lamhaa (2010). In 2017 he directed Raees, another of the films audiences connect with him most. He served as an assistant director on Shabaash Mithu (2022), and in 2024 he both directed Agni and wrote its story. Dholakia's path runs between documentary and fiction, and between the roles of director, writer and producer. Agni (2024) reflects this range, since he shaped it as its storyteller as well as behind the camera. The National Film Award for Parzania stands as the major honour of his career, and that film is still the one most closely tied to him.