Tanuja Chandra is an acclaimed Bollywood film director. In addition to direction she has also authored the story for many films. She is recognized for directing woman-oriented films having the female leads as the main protagonists. Her works have been greatly acclaimed at critical as well as commercial levels. Tanuja Chandra is the sister of film critic Anupama Chandra Chopra and prominent writer Vikram Chandra.
Career of Tanuja Chandra
Tanuja Chandra started her career in the year 1995 making the directional debut with the television series titled Zameen Aasmaan. The show featured Tanvi Azmi in the lead role. Subsequently in the year 1996 she along with Shabnam Sukhdev directed another show named Mumkin. In the following year she penned the screenplay for Yash Chopra`s Bollywood flick Dil To Pagal Hai. The movie was recorded to be a huge commercial success and also proved to be turning point of Tanuja`s career. Later she joined Bhatt`s camp and collaborated with another noted Indian director Mahesh Bhatt and authored the screenplay for his critically acclaimed movie Zakhm in the year 1998. She also wrote the script along with Mahesh Bhatt for his film Tamanna.
In the same year, 1998, Tanuja Chandra made her directional debut in the film world with the movie Dushman starring Kajol in a double role. Although the film was a moderate success at the box office, it was very much praised by the critics. The lead actress Kajol also won numerous awards for her performance in the film. Her next directional venture was Sangharsh in the year 1999 under the production of Mahesh Bhatt. The film featured Preity Zinta and Akshay Kumar in the lead roles. The film failed at the box office but received appreciations from critics. In the subsequent years, Tanuja Chandra directed a number of films but many of them could not gather attention of the viewers. Her films Sur - The Melody of Life, in 2002, and Film Star, in 2005, still managed to earn applauses from critics. The films were written and directed by herself for which she won praises. In 2006 she wrote and directed Zindaggi Rocks, starring Sushmita Sen and Shiny Ahuja, and Hope and a Little Sugar. The latter was entirely shot in the US in English language.
Filmography of Tanuja Chandra
| Year | Film/Show | Role |
| 1995 | Zameen Aasmaan | Director |
| 1996 | Mumkin | Director |
| 1997 | Tamanna | Writer |
| 1997 | Dil To Pagal Hai | Writer |
| 1998 | Zakhm | Writer |
| 1998 | Dushman | Director |
| 1999 | Sangharsh | Director |
| 2001 | Yeh Zindagi Ka Safar | Director |
| 2002 | Sur - The Melody of Life | Director, Writer |
| 2005 | Film Star | Director, Writer |
| 2006 | Zindaggi Rocks | Director, Writer |
| 2006 | Hope and a Little Sugar | Director, Writer |
