Prakash Jha is an Indian film producer, actor, director and screenwriter, mostly known for his political and socio-political films such as Damul (1984), Mrityudand (1997), Gangaajal (2003), Apaharan (2005), including multistarrer hit movies Raajneeti (2010), Aarakshan (2011) Chakravyuh (2012), and Satyagraha (2013). He is also the maker of National Film Award winning documentaries like, Faces After The Storm (1984) and Sonal (2002). He runs a production company, Prakash Jha Productions. He made his debut as a feature film director with Hip Hip Hurray in 1984, scripted by Gulzar and starring Raj Kiran and Deepti Naval as leads. Next came the film he received most recognition for, Damul (1984), which won the National Film Award for Best Feature Film and the Filmfare Critics Award for Best Movie in 1985. The film was based on the bonded labour issue in Bihar. In 1986, he directed Parinati, based on the story by Vijaydan Detha. Over the years he has made over 25 documentaries, 13 feature films, two television features and three television series, including the popular TV serial Mungerilal Ke Hasin Sapne. His production company has produced five films with independent directors. In 2004, Jha directed the 112-minute film Loknayak, based on the life of Bharat Ratna Jayaprakash Narayan. In the film, Chetan Pandit played the role of Narayan and Tisca Chopra played Prabhavati Devi, the wife of JP. In 2010, Jha directed Raajneeti, a contemporary take on the epic Mahabharata. It starred Ajay Devgan, Manoj Bajpai, Naseeruddin Shah, Katrina Kaif, Arjun Rampal, Nana Patekar and Ranbir Kapoor, and was a critical and commercial success. His next venture was Aarakshan, which starred Amitabh Bachchan, Saif Ali Khan Deepika Padukone and Prateik Babbar. In 2012, Jha's release Chakravyuh starred Arjun Rampal, Abhay Deol, Manoj Bajpai, Kabir Bedi and Esha Gupta, and was released in Dussehra 2012. His next film Satyagraha (2013) starred Amitabh Bachchan and Ajay Devgn.
