Wikipedia
Priyadarshan Soman Nair is a National Award winning Indian film director, producer, and screenwriter. In a career spanning almost three decades, Priyadarshan has directed over 80 films in several Indian languages, predominantly in Malayalam and Hindi languages, besides making six films in Tamil and two in Telugu. Though Priyadarshan began his career in Malayalam cinema in 1984, he has been mainly active in Bollywood (Hindi cinema) during 2001-2010. He has done about 26 films in Hindi alone, the highest number of films done by a Bollywood director after David Dhawan. In 2013, he announced Rangrezz would be his last Hindi film for a while, and he is shifting focus to Malayalam cinema.
Best known for his comedy films, Priyadrshan has also experimented with action and thriller films frequently. His collaborations with Mohanlal were highly popular in Malayalam cinema during the 1980s and 1990s, with films such as Poochakkoru Mookkuthi, Mazha Peyyunnu Maddalam Kottunnu, Thalavattam, Vellanakalude Nadu, Chithram, Vandanam, Kilukkam, Abhimanyu, Mithunam, Thenmavin Kombath, and Kala Pani. Actors he has worked with over several films include Kuthiravattam Pappu, Jagathy Sreekumar, Innocent, Nedumudi Venu, Sreenivasan, Sukumari, Mukesh and Mammukoya.
Priyadarshan was one of the first directors in India to introduce rich color grading, clear sound and quality dubbing through his early Malayalam films. Upon entering Bollywood, he has mostly adapted stories from popular comedy films from Malayalam cinema, some from his own work and some from others. These include Hera Pheri, Hungama, Hulchul, Garam Masala, Bhagam Bhag, Chup Chup Ke, Dhol, and Bhool Bhulaiyaa. Actors he has worked with multiple times in Hindi cinema include Tabu, Paresh Rawal, Akshay Kumar, Akshaye Khanna, and Suniel Shetty.
In 2007, his Tamil film Kanchivaram won the National Film Award for Best Feature Film. The government of India honoured him by giving the Padma Shri in 2012 for his contribution towards the arts.
Priyadarshan has also directed many popular advertisement films. His most popular advertising work includes commercials for Coca Cola, American Express, Nokia, Asian Paints, Kinley and Max New York Life Insurance.