After studying zoology at the Hansraj College in New Delhi, Anurag Kashyap began writing for television at the age of 22, before moving on to film with "Satya" in 1998. In 1999, he was scriptwritter on "Kaund" and "Shool". He directed his first film "Paanch" in 2003, which was censored soon after. He continued writing scripts for such directors as Deepa Mehta and Mani Ratman before earning critical acclaim for "Black Friday" (2004), which he both wrote and directed. He penned "No-Smoking" in 2007, which went on to win acclaim at the Rome Film Festival.

Selected festival history: Annecy IAFF, Pusan IAFF, Bollywood & Beyond (Stuttgart)

Awards: BAF Award for Best Animated  Feature Film (Ficci Frames Mumbai),  Contribution to Indian Cinema (IFFA Awards),  Best Visual Effects (Zee Cine Awards), Best Visual Effects (Apsara Awards)