M Night Shyamalan

M. Night Shyamalan is married to Bhavna Vaswani, whom he met while studying at New York University. The couple has three daughters. They live in their Pennsylvania estate, Ravenwood. They started the Night Shyamalan foundation, and his wife currently runs it.

M Night Shyamalan was born on 6 August, 1970 in Mahe, a small town in Pondicherry, India. His parents Nelliate C Shyamalan and Jayalakshmi are both doctors who immigrated to the US when he was barely six weeks old.

After moving to the US, the family settled in an affluent suburb at Pennsylvania, Philadelphia. He attended Waldron Mercy Academy and later joined the Episcopal Academy.

He was awarded the New York University Merit Scholarship in 1988, and went on to study at Tisch School of the Arts, affiliated to New York University, in Manhattan. He graduated in 1992 and adopted the name ‘Night’ as his second name.

Even as a child, he harbored dreams of being a filmmaker and would practice in his Super 8 camera. His parents, however, wanted him to pursue medicine but relented after they were convinced about his passion. He was greatly inspired by Steven Spielberg and collected his DVDs.

He would make his first film ‘Praying with Anger’, a semi-autobiographical drama, in 1992. He was still a student, but managed to borrow the funds required from him family and friends. He also acted in the film.

It would take a long time before he released his next movie. In 1998, he wrote and directed the comedy drama ‘Wide Awake’. The movie dealt with religion and spirituality and received mixed reviews. It was mostly filmed in Shyamalan’s school.

Despite the mixed reviews for ‘Wide Awake’, it fetched several nominations and awards upon its limited release. The cast included Julia Stiles, Rosie O’Donnell, and Camryn Manheim.

In 1999, he worked as the writer for the hit movie ‘Stuart Little’ alongside Greg Brooker. The live-action/animated movie became an international success.

In 1999, his movie, ‘The Sixth Sense’, was released. Shyamalan was the director and screenwriter of the movie. The movie was a big hit and became the highest-grossing horror movie of the year. It was also nominated for six Academy Awards and gained international recognition.

M. Night Shyamalan’s most hyped and famous film was ‘The Sixth Sense’, a psychological thriller with Bruce Willis. It remained the highest grossing film in 1999 in America and was nominated for six Academy Awards, including Best Original Screenplay, Best Picture, and Best Director.