Nitesh Tiwari is an Indian film director, screenwriter, and lyricist. He was born and raised in Tiwari family at Itaasi, Madhya Pradesh. He graduated from the Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay, in 1996 with a Bachelor's degree in Metallurgy and Material Science Engineering. He is married to Ashwiny Iyer Tiwari, who was his colleague and creative director at Leo Burnett. She is also a film director, producer, and writer.He made his directorial debut by co-directing Chillar Party (2011), which won the National Film Award for Best Children's Film for that year. He then directed the supernatural political drama Bhoothnath Returns (2014).In 2016, Tiwari scripted and directed Dangal which was screened at the Beijing International Film Festival in April 2017 and the second annual BRICS Film Festival in June 2017.He has garnered the Filmfare Award for Best Director at the 62nd Filmfare Awards, and the Telstra People's Choice Award at the 2017 Indian Film Festival of Melbourne. His next, Chhichhore (2019), a comedy, earned him numerous nominations and acclaim as well.