Ayan's grandmother, Satidevi Mukherjee (née Ganguly), wife of Sashadhar Mukherji, was the sister of pioneer actors Ashok Kumar and Anup Kumar, as well as singer Kishore Kumar. Ayan's grandfather's brothers were film producer Prabodh Mukherjee, director Subodh Mukherjee and Ravindra Mohan Mukherjee, the grandfather of actress Rani Mukherjee. Ayan's father's brothers were actors Joy Mukherjee, Subir Mukherjee and Shomu Mukherjee, who is the husband of actress Tanuja and the father of actresses Kajol and Tanisha Mukherjee.[5][6]
Mukerji started his career as an assistant director to his brother-in-law Ashutosh Gowariker on the drama Swades (2004), and later to Karan Johar on the romantic drama Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna (2006), also appearing as an extra in the latter.
After taking a short break from filmmaking, Mukerji wrote the screenplay for the 2009 coming-of-age film Wake Up Sid and then directed it.[4] Starring Ranbir Kapoor and Konkona Sen Sharma in lead roles, it marked the first collaboration between Mukerji and Kapoor. The film tells the story of a careless rich college brat who is taught the value of owning up to responsibility by an aspiring writer from Kolkata. Produced by Johar's banner Dharma Productions, it opened to widespread critical acclaim for its novel concept, themes, direction, story, screenplay, soundtrack and the performances of the cast. It emerged as a commercial success at the box office, grossing ₹62 crore (US$7.8 million) worldwide.[8][9]Wake Up Sid earned Mukerji the inaugural Filmfare Award for Best Debut Director (tying for the award with Zoya Akhtar for Luck by Chance), in addition to his first nomination for the Filmfare Award for Best Director.
Mukherji in 2012
Mukerji's second venture was the romantic comedy Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani (2013), starring Kapoor and Deepika Padukone in lead roles. The film was his second under Johar's banner. The film revolves around two people who meet during a trekking trip where one falls in love with the other but refrains from expressing it. They soon drift apart but end up meeting again at a friend's wedding. The film opened to widespread critical acclaim, with high praise for its direction, story, screenplay, soundtrack, cinematography, production design, costumes and the performances of its cast. The film emerged as a major blockbuster at the box office, grossing ₹319.6 crore (US$40 million) worldwide, and ranking as the fourth highest-grossing Hindi film of the year.[10]Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani earned Mukerji his second nomination for the Filmfare Award for Best Director. Over the years, it has emerged as a highly popular film amongst youth.[11][12][13]
Mukerji's next wrote and directed the big-budget fantasy film Brahmāstra: Part One – Shiva (2022) starring Kapoor , Amitabh Bachchan, Alia Bhatt, Mouni Roy and Nagarjuna Akkineni in lead roles.[14] Produced by Johar's banner, it is the first installment of a trilogy, planned to be part of a cinematic universe titled Āstraverse. The film was first conceived by Mukerji in 2011, with core elements inspired by Indian history and stories he heard in his childhood. Unlike Mukerji's two previous ventures, it opened to mixed reviews from critics upon release, with praise for the performances, visual effects, soundtrack, musical score and action sequences, but criticism for its dialogue. However, the film emerged as Mukerji's second consecutive major blockbuster at the box-office, grossing ₹431 crore (US$54 million) worldwide. It ranked as the highest-grossing Hindi film of the year, the fifth highest-grossing Indian film of the year, the highest-grossing Hindi film in overseas markets since the COVID-19 pandemic, and one of the highest-grossing Indian films of all time. Brahmāstra: Part One – Shiva earned Mukerji his third nomination for the Filmfare Award for Best Director. Its two sequels, titled Brahmа̄stra: Part Two – Dev and Brahmāstra: Part Three, are being developed simultaneously and slated to release in December 2026 and 2027 respectively.[15][16][17]
