Mishra moved to
Mumbai in 1980 and started his career as an assistant director and scriptwriter in
Kundan Shah's comedy
Jaane Bhi Do Yaaron (1983). He later worked with
Saeed Akhtar Mirza in
Mohan Joshi Hazir Ho! (1984) and with
Vidhu Vinod Chopra in
Khamosh (1985). He made his
directorial debut with
Yeh Woh Manzil To Nahin (1987), which won the National Film Award for Best First Film of a Director. Mishra went on to make films including
Main Zinda Hoon (1988),
Dharavi (1991),
Is Raat Ki Subah Nahin (1996),
Chameli (2003),
Hazaaron Khwaishein Aisi (2003),
Khoya Khoya Chand (2007),
Yeh Saali Zindagi (2011), and
Inkaar (2013). He then wrote and directed
Daas Dev (2018) starring
Rahul Bhat and
Richa Chaddha. After this, he directed
Hostages, an adaptation of the Israeli show
of the same name. The show got mixed reviews but received critical acclaim for the performances of
Ronit Roy and
Tisca Chopra. A second season for the show was made in 2020. Mishra next adapted
Manu Joseph's award-winning novel
Serious Men in co-production with Bombay Fables for
Netflix India. The film, released in October 2020, received favorable reviews by critics and viewers. Indian film critic
Mayank Shekhar said, "This is a subtle, mature satire, rather than [a] LOL
comedy of manners (would've enjoyed some of the latter too) [...] in all its overt simplicity, this is also a complex story — about failure, first; and on the underclass, only later." The film won Best Web Original Film Award at
Filmfare OTT Awards 2021, and Best Editing and Best Cinematography at the
Asian Academy Creative Awards. Actor
Nawazuddin Siddiqui received a nomination at the
International Emmy Awards and won best actor at the
Filmfare OTT Awards 2021 for his performance. ==Personal life==