David (Rajinder) Dhawan is an Indian director of forty-two Hindi films, born on August 16, 1951, in Agartala, Tripura, India.  David is the father of popular actor Varun Dhawan. David studied acting and editing at the Film and Television Institute of India. He started his career editing the 1984 film ‘Saaransh’. In 1989, David made his debut as a director in the Sanjay Dutt and Govinda action film ‘Taaqatwar’. After making several more action films, David found his path forward with the 1993 action/comedy blockbuster ‘Aankhen’, starring Govinda in a dual role and Chunky Pandey. He and Govinda collaborated on eighteen films, including ‘Raja Babu’ (1994), ‘Coolie No. 1’ (1995), ‘Deewana Mastana’ (1997), ‘Hero No. 1’ (1997), ‘Jodi No. 1’ (2001), and ‘Do Not Disturb’ (2009).  In 2007, ‘Partner’, co-starring Salman Khan and Govinda, grossed a record amount of Rs. 300 Million on its opening week.  Many of his films were inspired by or remakes of other movies, such as ‘Chashme Buddoor’ (2013), originally made in 1981, ‘Main Tera Hero’ (2014), starring Varun Dhawan, a remake of ‘Kandireega’ (Telugu/2011), ‘Judwaa 2’ (2017), a remake of ‘Judwaa’ (1997), starring Varun, and his last film, ‘Coolie No. 1’ (2020), starring Varun, a remake of the original ‘Coolie No. 1 (1995), which starred Govinda. David was awarded the Filmfare Lifetime Achievement Award in 2024, for his contribution to Hindi cinema.