Vibhu Virendra Puri (born 28 January 1980) is an Indian director, screenwriter and songwriter. After graduating from FTII, he started assisting Sanjay Leela Bhansali and co-wrote two of his films; Saawariya (2007) and Guzaarish (2010). He has directed and written dialogues for popular web shows Taj: reign of Revenge (Zee5) and Heeramandi (Netflix). He made his feature film directorial debut with Hawaizaada (2015). Apart from films, he has directed many television commercials. He is currently working on his feature Ul-jalool IshQ.

Vibhu Puri
Vibhu_Puri,_(director)_with_the_cast_%26_crew_of_the_film_Chabi_Waali_Pocket_Watch,_briefing_the_press_during_the_37th_International_Film_Festival_(IFFI-2006)_in_Panaji,_Goa_on_November_28,_2006.jpg
Puri in 2006
Born
Vibhu Puri

(1980-01-28) 28 January 1980 (age 44)
Delhi, India
Alma materFilm and Television Institute of India
Occupations
  • Director
  • screenwriter
  • songwriter
Years active2004-present

Career

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A gold medalist from the Film and Television Institute of India (FTII), Vibhu Puri's debut feature as a director and producer, Hawaizaada, featuring Mithun Chakraborty and Ayushmann Khurrana. It is the untold story of Shivkar Bapuji Talpade, who is claimed to have been the first to build a plane. In January 2015, the film opened to great reviews by critics, though it did not make a huge impact at the box office.

Before making his feature, Puri assisted Sanjay Leela Bhansali on various feature films. He also wrote Saawariya, Guzaarish and Shirin Farhad Ki Toh Nikal Padi, all made by SLB Films. To add to it, Puri also penned songs for Guzaarish and Hawaizaada. He also assisted Vishal Bharadwaj on The Blue Umbrella.

In the world of advertising, he started off as a writer in Contract Delhi before getting into filmmaking. In the last three years,[as of?] he has been directing commercials. He has directed more than 150 films and has collaborated on campaigns with various agencies like Ogilvy, McCann, Leo Burnett, Scarecrow, Rediff, and Mudra amongst others for major brands like Maggi, HDFC, Reckitt Benckiser, P&G, Zee, Heinz, Star Sports, Dabur, Parle G, Himani, Emami, and Amazon. Puri has made films for Indian, Pakistani and Bangladeshi agencies and brands. Besides Hindi and English, he has made ad films in various languages like Telugu, Malayalam, Haryanvi, and Bangla.

Two of Puri's student films, Chaurus Chaand and Chabiwali Pocket Watch, have traveled to various film festivals in India and abroad. Both of them had the unique distinction of being selected for Indian Panorama. Chauras Chaand is an ode to the life and poetry of rebel Punjabi poet Avtar Singh Sandhu ('Pash'). Chabiwali Pocket Watch featured at many festivals including Cannes (where it was awarded Kodak emerging filmmaker of the world, 2006); has won various international awards, and also the national award from the Indian president. The film is set in Old Delhi and deals with story of a romantic Urdu poet now dying anonymously, and the struggle between his daughter and an opportunist publisher. This film was also India's official entry to the Student Oscars, 2006.

He has also served on the jury of the 57th National Awards, 2009.[1]

Discography

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Song Year Album Composer
"Sau Gram Zindagi" 2010 Guzaarish Sanjay Leela Bhansali
"Saiba"
"Chaand Ki Katori"
"Gaali Dete Hoton Ko" 2013 Chor Chor Super Chor Mangesh Dhakde
"Na Ishq Kariyo Jhalle"
"Jai Ram Ji Ki"
"Abey Chup Kar"
"Hawaizaada" 2015 Hawaizaada Rochak Kohli
"Daak Ticket"
"Maazaa My Lord" Mangesh Dhakde
"Udd Jayega"
"Dil Todne Ki Masheen" Vishal Bhardwaj
"Yaadein Gatthri Mein" Mangesh Dhakde
"Turram Khan" Rochak Kohli
"Teri Dua" Mangesh Dhakde

Filmography

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Films

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Year Title Credited as Notes
Director Screenwriter Producer
2004 Chaurus Chaand Yes Yes No Documentary short
2006 Chabiwali Pocket Watch Yes Yes No Short
2007 Saawariya No Yes No Also associate director
2010 Guzaarish No Dialogues No
2014 Tigers No Dialogues No Hindi dialogues only
2015 Hawaizaada Yes Yes Yes
2016 11 Minutes Yes No No Short
TBA Ul Jalool Ishq Yes Yes No Post-production[2]

Other roles

Year Title Role
2005 The Blue Umbrella Assistant director
2012 Shirin Farhad Ki Toh Nikal Padi Additional screenplay
2013 Chor Chor Super Chor Choreographer

Television

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Year Title Credited as Notes
Director Screenwriter
2023 Taj: Divided by Blood Yes Dialogues
2024 Heeramandi: The Diamond Bazaar No Yes Also Episodic director

Music videos

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Year Title Artist(s)
2021 "Mehendi" Dhvani Bhanushali &
Vishal Dadlani

References

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  1. ^ Khanna, Parul (27 December 2013). "Superstars 2014: Vibhu Puri spins a moving Bambai fairytale". Hindustan Times. Archived from the original on 2 January 2014. Retrieved 26 December 2014.
  2. ^ "Manish Malhotra announces his third production Ul Jalool Ishq with Vijay Varma and more". Filmfare. 3 January 2024.
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