One of Hindi cinema’s most acclaimed filmmakers, Prakash Jha is celebrating his 73rd birthday on Thursday. Having won many awards, including a National Film Award for Best Feature Film for ‘Damul,’ Prakash has given many of his directorial gems to the Indian cinema. His commentary on politics and social dramas through his films has brought him much acclaim. On his birthday, we take a look at some of his best works in Hindi cinema.

Gangaajal: The Holy Weapon

Written, directed, co-produced, and edited by Prakash, ‘Gangaajal: The Holy Weapon’ is a crime drama that features an ensemble cast comprising Ajay Devgn in the lead alongside Mohan Joshi, Yashpal Sharma, Mohan Agashe, Akhilendra Mishra, Mukesh Tiwari, Ayub Khan, Anup Soni, and many others in pivotal roles. Set in a fictitious town Tezpur in Bihar, the film revolves largely around crime, corruption, and political violence. Released in August 2003, it became one of the highest-grossing films of that year. It received rave reviews for the cast’s performance and won the National Film Award for Best Film on Other Social Issues.

Apaharan

After ‘Gangaajal: The Holy Weapon,’ Prakash united with most of its cast for ‘Apaharan,’ which was released in 2005. Nana Patekar and Devgn led the film while Bipasha Basu was seen as the female protagonist. While the film earned mixed reviews upon its release, it still successfully made its place in the list of Prakash’s best works. ‘Apaharan’ is set in Bihar with the backdrop of a kidnapping nexus, it shows a father-son relationship that gets twisted due to differences in ideologies.

Rajneeti

Prakash is known for casting an ensemble cast for his films and he continued his legacy of doing so with ‘Rajneeti.’ Other than Ajay and Nana, Prakash roped in Ranbir Kapoor, Manoj Vajpayee, Arjun Rampal, and Katrina Kaif in the leading roles. Although it became a blockbuster hit at the box office, 'Rajneeti’ found itself in the midst of controversies. The makers faced allegations over Katrina’s role inspired by former Congress chief Sonia Gandhi’s life. However, Prakash denied all these allegations.

Chakravyuh

Prakash is one of the few directors to have made a film on Naxalites staying true to the subject and showing some harsh realities. Starring Arjun Rampal, Abhay Deol, and Manoj Bajpayee in the leading roles, ‘Chakravyuh’ presents a story of two friends - SSP Adil Khan (Arjun) and Kabir (Abhay) who meet after many years, and form a plan to smash the Maoist group led by Rajan (Manoj). However, things go awry when Kabir, who infiltrated the Maoists to help Adil, changes sides and stands against the security forces after he begins to identify with the Naxalites.