Radhika Rao

Radhika Rao is an Indian film director. Her feature film directorial debut was Lucky: No Time for Love (2005) with Vinay Sapru. Her next films were I Love NY (2015), Sanam Teri Kasam (2016) and Yaariyan 2 (2023). She also runs a film production company Rao & Sapru with her business partner Vinay Sapru.^[1]

Radhika Rao
Occupation(s)	Director, producer, screenwriter
Years active	1995–present

Career

After working with Vinay Sapru to co-direct music videos, Rao made her debut as a film director when she co-directed the 2005 film Lucky: No Time for Love with Sapru.^[2][3] According to a review by Manish Gajjar for BBC Shropshire Bollywood, the film has slow parts and some untranslated Russian dialogue, but is "a film well worth seeing," including due to the performance by Salman Khan and music by Adnan Sami.^[4] In a review for India Today, Anupama Chopra describes the film as "ambitious," with "languorously lovely shots of the snowy wasteland, St Petersburg and Russian religious iconography", but pans the second part of the film and describes the cameo by Mithun Chakraborty as "annoying."^[5]

She next co-directed the 2015 film I Love NY with Sapru. A review by Troy Ribeiro in IANS praised the production and editing of the film, but described "the entire premise" as "silly and far-fetched," and concluded, "Watch this film only if you enjoy love stories even if they defy logic or you are a die-hard Kangana Ranaut fan."^[6] In Filmfare, Rachit Gupta wrote "there are bits and pieces of this film that work" and described the directorial work as an "amateur execution" but stated, "one reason you'll be able to sit through this movie is Kangana Ranaut" and also praised the acting by Prem Chopra.^[7]

Rao then co-directed the 2016 film Sanam Teri Kasam with Sapru. A review by Shubhra Gupta in The Indian Express praised the acting by Mawra Hocane but overall panned the film.^[8] In The Hindu, Namrata Joshi writes that the film is "tailor-made" to fail the Bechdel test, and suggests "Go with a boxful of tissues if you cry easily at the movies."^[9]

Rao also co-directed the 2023 film Yaariyan 2 with Sapru. A review by Vinamra Mathur in Firstpost reflected on some of their past work together, comparing this film less favorably, but notes 25 million views of the trailer on YouTube.^[10] A review on Rediff by Deepa Gahlot describes the film as "a collection of music videos with a bare minimum plot to glue them together."^[11] A Bollywood Hungama review describes the direction by Rao and Sapru as "creative" and states they are "known for adding a lot even to their ordinary shots."^[12]

Rao and Sapru have directed more than 100 music videos over more than twenty years, including for Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, Lata Mangeshkar, Asha Bhonsle, Arijit Singh, Neha Kakkar and Jubin Nautiyal.^[13] They have also worked with the company T-Series, owned by Bhushan Kumar, to direct music videos.^[14]

Filmography

Filmography / Feature Films / Director

Movie	Year	Notes
Lucky: No Time for Love	2005	Writer & Director
I Love NY	2015	Writer & Director
Sanam Teri Kasam	2016	Writer & Director
Yaariyan 2	2023	Director

Song Director (films)

Movie	Year	Notes
Dabangg	2010	Song Director (Tere Mast Mast Do Nain)[15]
Dabangg	2010	Song Director (Chori Kiya Re Jiya)[15]
Dabangg 2	2012	Song Director (Dagabaaz Re)[15]
Dabangg 2	2012	Song Director (Saason Ne)[15]
Ramaiya Vastavaiya	2012	Song Director (Rang Jo Lagyo)[16]
Jai Ho	2014	Song Director (Tere Naina Maar Hi Daalenge)
Jai Ho	2014	Song Director (Tumko To Ana Hi Tha)
Prem Ratan Dhan Payo	2015	Song Director (Premleela)[16]
Junglee	2019	Song Director (Garje Gaj Raaj Humare)
Dabangg 3	2019	Song Director (Naina Lade Ke)[16]
Dabangg 3	2019	Song Director (Farebi Naina)

References

1. "Rao & Sapru Films". Archived from the original on 2019-07-18. Retrieved 2016-03-26.
2. "Eros International to produce Radhika Rao, Vinay Sapru's directorial Sanam Teri Kasam". Bollywood Hungama. 24 September 2015. Archived from the original on September 28, 2015. Retrieved 15 May 2016.
3. "'Lucky: No Time for Love' director Vinay Sapru: Not everybody gets Salman Khan to star in their first movie". timesofindia.com. May 3, 2021. Retrieved May 3, 2021.
4. Gajjar, Manish (April 2005). "Lucky -No time For Love". BBC. Retrieved 14 November 2023.
5. Chopra, Anupama (25 April 2005). "Film review of 'Lucky: No Time For Love' starring Salman Khan, Sneha Ullal". India Today. Archived from the original on 9 February 2023.
6. Ribeiro, Troy (11 July 2015). "I Love NY Movie Review". NDTV. IANS. Archived from the original on 16 July 2015.
7. Gupta, Rachit (11 July 2015). "Movie review: I Love New Year". Filmfare. Retrieved 14 November 2023.
8. Gupta, Shubhra (February 5, 2016). "Sanam Teri Kasam review: Mawra Hocane shows us how effervescence can light up the screen". The Indian Express. Retrieved August 15, 2018.
9. Joshi, Namrata (5 February 2016). "Sanam Teri Kasam review: Where tears rule the screen". The Hindu. Retrieved 14 November 2023.
10. Mathur, Vinamra (20 October 2023). "Divya Khosla Kumar, Meezaan Jafri, Priya Prakash Varrier's Yaariyan 2 review". Firstpost. Retrieved 14 November 2023.
11. Gahlot, Deepa (October 20, 2023). "Yaariyan 2 Review: Collection Of Music Videos". Rediff.com. Retrieved 14 November 2023.
12. "Yaariyan 2 Movie Review: On the whole, YAARIYAN 2 is a decent entertainer". Bollywood Hungama. 20 October 2023. Retrieved 14 November 2023.
13. Sen, Srijita (27 April 2021). "Vaaste to Lutt Gaye, This is the Best Time for Non-Film Music Videos: Radhika Rao and Vinay Sapru". News18. Retrieved 14 November 2023.
14. "Director Vinay Sapru Shares Details Of His And Radhika Rao's Upcoming Directorial With Bhushan Kumar- EXCLUSIVE". SpotboyE.
15. Trivedi, Tanvi (15 December 2012). "Radhika and Vinay live up to Salman's expectations". The Times of India. Retrieved 15 November 2023.
16. Kulkarni, Onkar (4 December 2020). "Sanam Teri Kasam director duo Vinay-Radhika begins working on their next! Deets inside". The Times of India. Retrieved 15 November 2023.