Umesh Shukla

Umesh Shukla is an Indian film director, screenwriter and producer who works in Hindi cinema and comes from a strong Gujarati theatre background. He is best known for directing and co-writing the satire Oh My God! (2012), adapted from the Gujarati play Kanji Virudh Kanji that he had staged, and for which he won the National Film Award for Best Adapted Screenplay. He made his directorial debut with Dhoondte Reh Jaaoge (2009) and went on to direct All Is Well (2015), the comedy-drama 102 Not Out (2018) starring Amitabh Bachchan and Rishi Kapoor, and Aankh Micholi (2023). Earlier in his career he took small acting roles and wrote dialogue for Hindi films, and he now also produces through his banner Merry Go Round Studios.

Umesh Shukla is an Indian film director, screenwriter and producer who works in Hindi cinema and has a strong background in Gujarati theatre. He is best known for directing and co-writing the satire Oh My God! (2012), an adaptation of the Gujarati play Kanji Virudh Kanji, for which he won the National Film Award for Best Adapted Screenplay. He went on to direct films such as All Is Well (2015) and 102 Not Out (2018), the latter starring Amitabh Bachchan and Rishi Kapoor.

Umesh Shukla built his early career in Gujarati theatre, where he directed and acted in a number of plays, among them Kanji Virudh Kanji, which later became the basis for Oh My God!. He is associated with Mumbai's theatre and film scene, and has kept his personal and family life largely out of the public eye.

Before turning to direction, Shukla worked in front of and behind the camera, taking small acting roles and writing dialogue for Hindi films. This grounding in both theatre and film writing shaped his later work as a director of character-driven, dialogue-heavy comedies and dramas.

Shukla began in the film industry with small acting appearances in the 1990s and worked as a dialogue writer on films such as Kucch To Hai (2003). Alongside this, he remained active in Gujarati theatre as a director.

He made his directorial debut with the comedy Dhoondte Reh Jaaoge (2009), produced under UTV Motion Pictures and Bindass. The film introduced his taste for humour built around ordinary people caught in unusual situations.

His breakthrough came with Oh My God! (2012), a courtroom satire on faith and religion adapted from his Gujarati play, starring Paresh Rawal and Akshay Kumar. It won him the National Film Award for Best Adapted Screenplay. He followed it with All Is Well (2015), the emotional comedy-drama 102 Not Out (2018), and Aankh Micholi (2023). He also produces through his banner Merry Go Round Studios.

Umesh Shukla has not publicly disclosed his net worth, and no verified figure has been made public. As a director, screenwriter and producer, his earnings come from directing fees, writing credits and his production banner rather than from acting or endorsements.