Indrajit Lankesh

Directing · Born September 22, 1976

**Indrajit Lankesh** (born September 22, 1976) is an Indian filmmaker, producer, journalist, and television personality based in Bengaluru. Known for his glossy, youth-centric, and cosmopolitan directorial style, he has worked across Kannada and Hindi cinema, alongside serving as the longtime publisher of the weekly tabloid *Lankesh Patrike*. The son of iconic writer, journalist, and National Award-winning filmmaker P. Lankesh, Indrajit grew up in an influential literary and media environment. Following his father's passing in 2000, he took over as the editor and publisher of *Lankesh Patrike*, managing the publication while launching his own career in cinema. He made his directorial debut with the romantic comedy *Thuntata* (2002), which was a box-office success and earned him the V. Shantaram Award for Best Debut Director. He followed it with *Lankesh Patrike* (2003) starring Darshan, and the romantic drama *Monalisa* (2004), starring Dhyan and Sadaa, which won the Karnataka State Film Award for Best Director. In 2006, Lankesh directed the romance *Aishwarya*, starring Upendra, which famously marked the feature film acting debut of global star Deepika Padukone. His subsequent directorial projects include *Huduga Hudugi* (2010), *Dev Son of Mudde Gowda* (2012), *Luv U Alia* (2015), the Hindi biographical drama *Shakeela* (2020) starring Richa Chadha, and *Gowri* (2024), which launched his son Samarjit Lankesh. Beyond filmmaking, Lankesh is widely recognized by Kannada households as the permanent celebrity judge on the hit comedy series *Majaa Talkies*. Seated front and center across all three seasons, his laughter, candid reactions, and friendly banter with host Srujan Lokesh formed a core part of the show's format.