There are not many directors in Bollywood who can claim the kind of commercial success David Dhawan has had as a filmmaker, especially in the comic genre. Dhawan specialized in making people laugh with no thought of past, present, or future, and he did it well. Born on August 16, 1955, in Agartala, he was born Rajinder Dhavan. He changed his name to David during his time at the Film and Television Institute of India. After passing out from the institute with a gold medal, he began his career as an editor in 1978. He made his directorial debut in 1989. In that year, he made three films namely, ‘Gola Barood,’ ‘Taaqatwar’ and ‘Jurrat.’ His first big success as a director came in 1993 with the film ‘Aankhen’ starring Govinda. Dhawan’s collaboration with Govinda from the beginning of his career till 2009 produced some memorable and commercially successful films including ‘Aankhen,’ ‘Coolie No. 1,’ ‘Hero No. 1,’ ‘Partner,’ etc. Dhawan has also worked extensively with Salman Khan, Sanjay Dutt, and his son Varun Dhawan. He has been nominated twice for the Filmfare Award for Best Director (1994 and 2000).