Meet The Kerala Story producer Vipul Shah, who has directed Amitabh Bachchan, Salman Khan, Priyanka Chopra, A-listers

Headlined by Adah Sharma and directed by Sudipto Sen, The Kerala Story has become the surprise blockbuster of the year earning over Rs 200 crore net at the Indian box office and is now heading towards the Rs 300 crore gross mark worldwide too. It also stars Yogita Bihani, Siddhi Idnani, Sonia Balani, Vijay Krishna, Pranay Pachauri, and Pranav Misshra in key supporting roles.

The film has become one of the most controversial films in recent times as it is based on the lives of 3 Hindu women in Kerala, forced to convert to Islam and join the terrorist organisation ISIS. Since the makers initially claimed that 32,000 Hindu women in the South Indian state suffered the same fate, the film was met with opposition from several political parties.

But do you know that The Kerala Story has been bankrolled by famous filmmaker and producer Vipul Amrutlal Shah under his banner Sunshine Pictures Private Limited? 

Vipul Shah began his career by directing small plays in Gujarati theatre before his big career break came in the form of the Sony TV show Ek Mahal Ho Sapno Ka, which was the first Hindi fiction show to complete 1000 episodes and was one of the longest running serials on Indian television. He directed the show for three years from 1999-2002.

He made his directorial debut in Bollywood with the heist thriller Aankhen starring Amitabh Bachchan, Akshay Kumar, Paresh Rawal, Arjun Rampal, and Sushmita Sen among others. In 2005, he made Waqt: The Race Against Time featuring Bachchan and Kumar again. His third film Namastey London, the romantic comedy was released in 2007. 

He directed Salman Khan and Ajay Devgn in his next film titled London Dreams in 2009. He went back with his favourite collaborator Akshay Kumar for the romantic comedy Action Replayy in which Aishwarya Rai Bachchan was the leading heroine. His last directorial was Namastey England with Arjun Kapoor and Parineeti Chopra in the leading roles.

Apart from The Kerala Story, Vipul Shah has also bankrolled multiple films such as Commando: A One Man Army and its two sequels named Commando 2: The Black Money Trail and Commando 3, Holiday: A Soldier Is Never Off Duty, Force and Force 2 with the threequel planned next year, Sanak, Singh Is Kinng, and Kucch Luv Jaisaa.

Talking about his personal life, Vipul Shah tied the knot with critically acclaimed actress Shefali Shah of Delhi Crime, Dil Dhadakne Do, and Darlings fame in 2000. She was previously married to the actor Harsh Chhaya. Shefali and Vipul have two sons named Aryaman and Maurya.

READ | Meet Adah Sharma, The Kerala Story star who quit studies after school, has net worth of over Rs 10 crore now