Early days and widespread success (1982–1996) Santoshi started his career in 1982 as an assistant director on
Govind Nihalani on the coming-of-age film
Vijeta (1982) and the crime drama
Ardh Satya (1983). Santoshi made his directorial debut with the action drama
Ghayal (1990), starring
Sunny Deol and
Meenakshi Seshadri in lead roles. The film tells the story of a person in search of his missing brother and the events that follow. It emerged as a blockbuster hit and a critical success, ranking as the
second highest-grossing Hindi film of the year.
Ghayal earned Santoshi his first
Filmfare Award for Best Director, the
Filmfare Award for Best Story, and the
National Film Award for Best Popular Film Providing Wholesome Entertainment. Santoshi followed it up with was the crime drama thriller
Damini (1993), which dealt with themes considered bold at the time, such as the status of women in our society and the perspective of people towards women. The film starred
Seshadri in the lead role, alongside
Deol,
Rishi Kapoor and
Amrish Puri. It opened to universal acclaim, with widespread praise for its storyline, execution and theme.
Damini also emerged as a blockbuster at the box-office and earned Santoshi his second consecutive Filmfare Award for Best Director, after
Ghayal, thus becoming the only director to have won the award for his first two films. The film is now considered a
cult feminist film and important for portraying women empowerment in cinema. The pathbreaking film was praised for breaking social taboos and handling the subject of rape with sensitivity; a rarity in Bollywood at the time. After making two back-to-back serious films, Santoshi decided to make a light film. He then wrote and directed the comedy
Andaz Apna Apna (1994), starring an
ensemble cast of
Aamir Khan,
Salman Khan,
Raveena Tandon,
Karisma Kapoor,
Paresh Rawal (in a dual role) and
Shakti Kapoor in lead roles. The film received critical acclaim upon release but emerged as a commercial failure at the box-office. It earned Santoshi his third nomination for the Filmfare Award for Best Director. However over the years, it is considered a
cult classic comedy, with its
lexicon having become a part of everyday and ordinary language. Santoshi then went on to make the action romance
Barsaat (1995), which marked the debut of actors
Bobby Deol and
Twinkle Khanna. The film emerged as a big commercial success at the box-office, ranking as the
fourth highest-grossing Hindi film of the year. The following year, Santoshi wrote and directed the action drama
Ghatak (1996), marking his third collaboration with Deol, Sheshadri, and Puri. The film received highly positive reviews from critics upon release, and emerged as a blockbuster at the box-office. It earned Santoshi the
Filmfare Award for Best Screenplay, in addition to his fourth nomination for the Filmfare Award for Best Director.
Other projects (1998–2005) His next venture was the action film
China Gate (1998), inspired from
Akira Kurosawa's epic drama
Seven Samurai (1954). It follows the story of a village that hire a group of veterans to combat bandits who terrorise them. The film received mixed-to-negative reviews from critics upon release, with criticism for its story, screenplay and execution, and emerged as an average commercial success at the box-office, ranking as the
tenth highest-grossing Hindi film of the year. However, it won Santoshi the
Filmfare Award for Best Dialogue. Santoshi began the new millennium with writing and directing another action thriller
Pukar (2000) starring
Anil Kapoor and
Madhuri Dixit in lead roles. The film tells the story of a notorious terrorist who manipulates an Indian army major's jilted lover into helping him obtain a classified military code. The film received mixed-to-positive reviews from critics upon release and emerged as a below average grosser at the box-office. Nonetheless, it won Santoshi the
Nargis Dutt Award for Best Feature Film on National Integration. He followed it up with the social drama
Lajja (2001), which told the story of four Indian women belonging to different strata of society. The film dealt with issues like
gender inequality and the status of women in our society. The film starred an ensemble cast of
Manisha Koirala, Madhuri Dixit,
Rekha,
Mahima Chaudhary, Anil Kapoor,
Ajay Devgn,
Jackie Shroff and
Danny Denzongpa in lead roles.
Lajja opened to mixed reviews from critics upon release, with criticism for Santoshi's story and screenplay. It emerged as a commercial failure at the Indian box-office, but was successful in overseas markets. His next venture was
The Legend of Bhagat Singh (2002), a biopic on the freedom fighter
Bhagat Singh, portrayed by Devgn. The film opened to positive reviews upon release, with praise for its direction, story and screenplay. It released alongside another film based on Bhagat,
23 March 1931: Shaheed, which featured
Bobby Deol as the revolutionary. Despite hype prior to release, the film emerged as a commercial failure at the box-office. The film's failure was attributed to its release on the same day as
23rd March 1931: Shaheed, with "the two Bhagats eating into each other's business". It, however, won Santoshi the
National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Hindi. Since its release,
The Legend of Bhagat Singh has been considered one of Santoshi's best works. In 2016, the film was included in
Hindustan Times's list of "Bollywood's Top 5 Biopics". Santoshi wrote and directed the ensemble neo-noir crime thriller
Khakee (2004), starring
Amitabh Bachchan,
Akshay Kumar, Devgn,
Aishwarya Rai and
Tusshar Kapoor in lead roles. The film told the story of a group of cops who get embroiled in a mystery surrounding a terrorist attack. It opened to positive acclaim upon release, with
Derek Elley of
Variety writing: "Powerhouse casting, and equally powerhouse direction by Rajkumar Santoshi, makes this an above-average example of mainstream Bollywood thrillers." The film emerged as an average success at the box-office, ranking as the
fifth highest-grossing Hindi film of the year.
Khakee reiterated Santoshi as one of Bollywood's most sought-after directors, and earned him his fifth nomination for the Filmfare Award for Best Director.
Setbacks and resurgence (2006–2009) His next venture was the action thriller family drama
Family – Ties of Blood (2006) starring Bachchan, Kumar and
Bhumika Chawla in lead roles. The film opened to negative reviews from critics upon release, and emerged as a commercial disaster at the box-office. He next wrote and directed the social action drama
Halla Bol (2008) starring Devgn,
Vidya Balan and
Pankaj Kapur in lead roles. The film was based on the life of activist
Safdar Hashmi, who was killed by political rivals while performing in a street play (by the name of
Halla Bol) in 1989. It was shot in 75 days in over 65 locations. The film emerged as his second consecutive commercial disaster at the box-office. Santoshi's career prospects improved when he wrote and directed the romantic comedy
Ajab Prem Ki Ghazab Kahani (2009) starring
Ranbir Kapoor and
Katrina Kaif in lead roles. The film opened to positive reviews from critics upon release, with particular praise for its direction, story, screenplay, dialogues. It emerged as a Semi-Hit at the box-office, grossing ₹103.21 crore (US$12.4 million) worldwide, ranking as the
third highest-grossing Hindi film of the year.
Intermittent work (2010–present) After a 4-year hiatus, Santoshi made a comeback with the action comedy
Phata Poster Nikhla Hero (2013) starring
Shahid Kapoor and
Ileana D'Cruz in lead roles. The film received mixed-to-positive reviews from critics upon release and emerged as an average grosser at the box-office. After another 10-year hiatus, Santoshi made a comeback in 2023 with two diverse ventures – the historical
Gandhi Godse – Ek Yudh and the romantic comedy
Bad Boy. Both the films opened to mixed-to-negative reviews upon release, and emerged as commercial disasters at the box-office. Since 2024, he is directing an ambitious big budget
period drama film,
Lahore 1947 starring
Sunny Deol,
Preity Zinta and
Shabana Azmi. The film is produced by
Aamir Khan. He will next direct the upcoming film
Jaat 2, starring
Sunny Deol. Its shooting will begin in 2026 and it will be released in 2027. == Personal life ==