Tushar Hiranandani and Nidhi Hiranandani: The National Award-Winning Duo Behind Srikanth’s Success Story

Some creative partnerships work because two people think alike. This one works because they don’t. Director Tushar Hiranandani and producer Nidhi Hiranandani, married and professionally paired under their banner Chalk and Cheese, just won the National Award for Best Hindi Feature Film for Srikanth, and their exclusive conversation that reveals exactly how that unlikely balance came together.

Tushar Hiranandani and Nidhi Hiranandani: Overvuiew

How the Win Actually Landed?

Tushar found out about the award while asleep in Goa, celebrating a birthday with Nidhi. He initially thought it was a dream and rushed to tell her, but she assumed the same and told him to go back to sleep. It took several minutes of confusion before the news actually sank in. Sitting in the ceremony surrounded by other high achievers, with the President presenting the award, is what finally made the moment feel real for both of them.

From Writer to Director: A Reluctant Leap

Tushar spent 15 years writing before ever directing, and the shift almost never happened. At 45, he had nearly decided to step back from that ambition entirely. What changed his mind was watching Aamir Khan’s show Satyamev Jayate, where he saw two grandmothers who took up sharpshooting at 65. Moved by their story, he told Nidhi it deserved a film, assuming no one would back a female-centric project. She pushed back immediately, encouraging him to direct it himself while she took on producing, a decision that eventually became Saand Ki Aankh and launched their partnership.

The Anurag Kashyap Advice That Changed Everything

Working together as a married couple wasn’t smooth at first. During their debut film, Nidhi says the two argued constantly, still figuring out where creative boundaries began and ended. A phone call from Anurag Kashyap turned things around: he suggested they stay in separate rooms while shooting together, giving each other space to think and recalibrate rather than overlapping constantly on set. That simple shift helped them define clear territories, Tushar’s on direction, Nidhi’s on production and story selection, and three films later, they’ve settled into a rhythm where creative disagreements stay professional rather than personal.

Building Rajkummar Rao’s Performance in Srikanth

For Srikanth, which tells the real story of entrepreneur Srikanth Bollapragada, the team spent significant time at a blind school in Jogeshwari, observing and learning from visually impaired individuals. Tushar credits Rajkummar Rao for piecing together a distinct set of physical mannerisms from multiple real people rather than relying on familiar cinematic portrayals of blindness. Nidhi adds that the subtle eye and eyebrow movements Rao developed closely mirror the real Srikanth, a detail she believes elevates the performance well beyond craft alone.

What’s Coming Next?

The duo has multiple grounded, real-life stories in development. The most advanced is Ragda Pachhees, centered on the first batch of women to join the Indian Army, which Tushar will direct. A second project is in the casting stage, with an announcement expected in October. Nidhi also revealed plans for a comedy, something Tushar hasn’t tackled as a director yet, promising a thoughtful spin on the genre rather than a conventional laugh-a-minute approach. The pair is also backing a Marathi film directed by Shivraj Waichal, which has already picked up eight Filmfare Awards.

Their focus on underdog, real-life narratives, following Rajkummar Rao’s career-defining work in similar territory, continues to set Chalk and Cheese apart in an industry often chasing bigger, flashier stories.

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