Actor · Director

2 series in the catalog

Amar Kaushik is an Indian filmmaker. He is best known for directing the Maddock Horror Comedy Universe films Stree (2018), Bhediya (2022), and Stree 2 (2024), as well as the satire Bala (2019).

Early life

He was born in Kanpur city in the state of Uttar Pradesh in a Gaur Brahmin family.

Amar Kaushik grew up in Medo, Arunachal Pradesh where his father was a forest ranger who worked for the Indian Forest Service and his mother Shashi was a school teacher. When he was 10 years old, the family moved to Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh. He later studied mass communications in Delhi and moved to Mumbai in 2006.

Career

Kaushik began his film career in 2008, working as Raj Kumar Gupta's assistant director on Aamir. He teamed up with Gupta again to serve as associate director for No One Killed Jessica and Ghanchakkar. In addition to crew duties, Kaushik had small acting roles in each of the three films. After working as an associate director on the Onir films Sorry Bhai!, I Am and Shab, Kaushik ventured into solo directing with his short film "Aaaba". The script was written by Kaushik and based on a story by his mother. It was funded with loans from his friends, including Raj Kumar Gupta. Shot entirely in Ziro, Arunachal Pradesh, "Aaba" was screened at the Toronto International Film Festival and won the Special Jury Prize for Best Short Film at the 2017 Berlin International Film Festival.

Kaushik began shooting his feature film Stree in January 2018. Starring Rajkummar Rao and Shraddha Kapoor, the horror film was released on 31 August 2018. Stree became a surprise hit, earning ₹125.57 crore by 1 October. The sequel to Stree titled Stree 2 was theatrically released worldwide on 15 August 2024, garnering positive critical reception. The film grossed over 873.70 crore* at the box office. Kaushik's upcoming projects include an untitled film on the subject of surrogacy. One of the most notable and commercially successful movies directed by Kaushik is the 2019 movie "Bala" starring Ayushmann Khurrana, Bhumi Pednekar and Yami Gautam.