Virender Raj Anand, more popularly known as Tinnu Anand or Tinu Anand is a prominent figure in the Hindi film industry, and has worked with movies in his capacity as a director and an actor. Some of the movies he has directed, starring Amitabh Bachchan, gained him immense popularity and acclaim, thus establishing him within the industry. Their partnership was a mutually beneficial one, with Tinnu Anand having directed some of the hits that would go on to immortalise Amitabh Bachchan in the domain of Hindi films.

Born in 1945, in Peshawar (now a part of Pakistan), he completed his schooling at the Maya College in Rajasthan. He is the son of the renowned screenwriter Inder Raj Anand, and the director Siddharth Anand is his nephew. Although initially unsupportive of Tinnu’s desire to join the film industry, Inder Raj Anand later obliged and ensured his son received the best training from Satyajit Ray, who was a family friend.

His films as a director included Kaalia (1981), Shahenshah (1988), and Main Azaad Hoon (1989), which featured Amitabh Bachchan in lead roles. But what made Bachchan rise to popularity was when he bagged a role in Saat Hindustani (1969) which was originally intended for Tinnu Anand. This film marked Bachchan’s debut and got him many more offers since. Tinnu Anand also directed Major Saab (1998) under the banner of Amitabh Bachchan’s production company.

As an actor, Tinnu Anand was quite prolific, and continues to work in Hindi films to this date. Some of his most popular works as an actor include Pushpak (1987), which was his debut, Agneepath (1990), Khiladi (1992), Damini (1993), Anjaam (1994), Bombay (1995), Masoom (1996), Miss 420 (1998), Saathiya (2002), Hindustan (2006), De Dana Dan (2009), Dabangg (2010), and Dabangg 2 (2012).

He was last seen in the recent release Jee Lene Do Ek Pal (2016).