BEST INDIAN FILM DIRECTORS
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Satyajit Ray was born in Calcutta on May 2, 1921. His father, Late Sukumar Ray was an eminent poet and writer in the history of Bengali literature. In 1940, after receiving his degree in science and economics from Calcutta University, he attended Tagore's Viswa-Bharati University. His first movie Pather Panchali (1955) won several International Awards and set Ray as a world-class director. He died on April twenty-third, 1992.- Director
- Editor
- Writer
By no means is he any glamorous director, yet Hrishikesh Mukherjee is one of the most popular and beloved filmmakers in Indian cinema. His magic lay not in the glamor or largeness so often associated with cinema, but in its simplicity and warmth.
He began his career in Bombay, 1951, as an editor and assistant director to Bimal Roy, another great director himself. His first directorial venture, Musafir (1957), centering on an old house where three unrelated stories dealing with birth, marriage and death occur in a series, was a disaster. But director Raj Kapoor was impressed and strongly recommended Hrishida as director for Anari (1959). Starring Kapoor himself and Nutan, the film was a critical and commercial success.
His next film, Anuradha (1960), about an idealistic doctor who neglects his wife to focus on his work, got him the President's Medal Award. But from then on throughout the 1960s decade, none of Hrishida films were particularly distinguishable, barring Asli-Naqli (1962), a Muslim melodrama; Anupama (1966), which was based on a true incident; Aashirwad (1968), a family drama; and Satyakam (1969), about an idealist seeing his dreams crumble after Indian independence.
Then Hrishida made what is considered his masterpiece - Anand (1971). This classic film gave a complex but compassionate look at the balance between hope, fear, life and death and saw Rajesh Khanna's greatest performance as a terminally ill man who wishes to live life to the full before he dies. It was an auspicious beginning to the 1970s, for that time proved to be an exceptionally good time for Hrishida as he gave the public excellent films like Guddi (1971), a semi-satiric look at the film industry and generally considered as Jaya Bhaduri's debut film; Abhimaan (1973), the Bachchans' greatest ever performance together; and Chupke Chupke (1975), a comedy about a newlywed professor's joke on his pompous brother-in-law. These films gave an extremely skilled and detailed look at the middle-class mentality.
Few people understood human nature as well as Hrishida - in all his films he examined their aspects, particularly their failings and foibles and the outworn values people always seem to hold on to. However in the 1980s, the advent of the superstar Amitabh Bachchan and of larger-than-life films saw Hrishida's brand of filmmaking die out. Recently he attempted a comeback with _Jhooth Bole Kauwa Kaate (1999)_, but sadly it was a futile effort as the film was a commercial and critical failure. However, the magic of his films still lingers after three decades, and he will be best remembered for his film Anand (1971), which told that people who die but remain in heart and mind do not die, but become immortal. No one justifies this truth more than Hrishida.- Director
- Writer
- Producer
C.V. Sridhar was born on 22 July 1933 in Chengalpattu, Tamil Nadu, India. He was a director and writer, known for Kalyana Parisu (1959), Nazrana (1961) and Dil Ek Mandir (1963). He was married to Devasena. He died on 20 October 2008 in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India.- Writer
- Director
- Actor
P. Padmarajan was an Indian author, screenwriter, and film director who was known for his landmark works in Malayalam literature and Malayalam cinema. Padmarajan was the founder of a new school of film making in Malayalam, along with Bharathan, in the 1980s, which created films that were widely received while also being critically acclaimed.
Padmarajan was born on 23 May 1946 in Muthukulam near Haripad in Alappuzha district as the sixth son of Thundathil Anantha Padmanabha Pillai and Njavarakkal Devaki Amma. After early schooling at Muthukulam, he studied at M. G. College and University College Trivandrum, graduating with a BSc in chemistry (1963). Subsequently, he learned Sanskrit from the scholar Cheppad Achyutha Warrier at Muthukulam. He then joined All India Radio, Trichur (1965), starting as a program announcer, and later settled at Poojappura, Trivandrum (1968); he would remain at All India Radio until 1986, when his busy involvement in films would prompt him to retire voluntarily.
His stories deal with deceit, murder, romance, mystery, passion, jealousy, libertinism, anarchism, individualism, and the life of peripheral elements of society. Some of them are considered as among the best in Malayalam literature, his first novel Nakshathrangale Kaaval (With only the stars as witness) won the Kerala Sahithya Academy award (1972).
He entered the world of Malayalam films by writing the screenplay for Bharathan's directorial debut Prayaanam (1975) to take first steps to be one of the most talented script writers to have graced Malayalam cinema.
He later began to direct films based on his own screenplays, beginning with Peruvazhiyambalam (The Street as a Choultry) (1979), which are greatly popular among the common people as well as intellectuals and film critics, while maintaining richness in artistic and thematic originality and excellence. Padmarajan was a great experimenter who explored all walks of life in his works. His screen plays had such hitherto-unheard of features and subjects - such as casting rain as a character in Thoovanthumbikal (Dragonflies in the Spraying Rain), friendship between two young school girls in Desadanakili Karayarilla (Migratory Birds Don't Cry), unusual climax (By traditional standards) in Namukku Parkkan Munthiri Thoppukal (Vineyards for us to dwell) and Oridaththoru Phayalvaan (There Lived a Wrestler). Many of his films bear the mark of his romanticism.
He is celebrated for his possibly unparalleled attention to detail in his screenplays. Some of his scripts are arguably the smoothest narratives ever penned in the Malayalam language. They are also ample proof for his keen observation, acute perception, and astute portrayal of human relationships and emotions. Many of his films have stunning and haunting climaxes, most of them not commonly portrayed in Malayalam movies. His characters were portrayed with great sensitivity and intensity on the screen and many of the scenes are generously sprinkled with humor. The dialogues of characters are quite natural, in the language of the common man, and yet have a subtle lyrical quality.
Indeed, a just case may be made that his directorial merit flowed easily from his exquisitely crafted screenplays: he never directed a film based on a script written by someone else (unlike other Malayalam film directors of comparable stature, say, Bharathan and K. G. George), and rarely adapted his script from a story not his own. Consequently, he had an unusually intimate knowledge of the characters in his films in combination with his mastery of the script.- Writer
- Director
- Actor
K. Viswanath was born on 19 February 1930 in Peddapulivarru, Guntur District, Andhra Pradesh, India. He was a writer and director, known for Sagara Sangamam (1983), Sutradhaarulu (1990) and Sruthilayalu (1987). He was married to Kasinadhuni Jayalakshmi. He died on 2 February 2023 in Hyderabad, India.- Director
- Writer
- Editorial Department
A. Bhimsingh was born on 15 July 1924 in Tirupati, Andhra Pradesh, India. He was a director and writer, known for Joroo Ka Ghulam (1972), Bhagapirivinai (1959) and Sadhu Aur Shaitaan (1968). He was married to Sukumari. He died on 16 January 1978 in Madras, Tamil Nadu, India.- Writer
- Director
- Producer
K. Balachander was born on 9 July 1930 in Nannilam, Madras Presidency, British India. He was a writer and director, known for Ek Duuje Ke Liye (1981), Thaneer Thaneer (1981) and Apoorva Raagangal (1975). He was married to Rajam. He died on 23 December 2014 in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India.- Actor
- Director
- Producer
Considered to be a man ahead of his time, Guru Dutt was one of the greatest icons of commercial Indian cinema. Although he made less than ten films, they are believed to be the best to come from Bollywood's Golden Age, known both for their ability to reach out to the common man and for their artistic and lyrical content, and they went on to become trend-setters that have influenced Bollywood ever since. But for all his genius, there was a shroud of tragedy that overshadowed his career and life.
Dutt was born in Mysore on July ninth, 1925, the eldest son of a headmaster and a housewife who was a part-time writer. As a child, he had to deal with a strained relationship between his parents, hostility from his mother's family, and the death of a close relative. He received his early education in Calcutta, and in 1941, he joined the Uday Shankar India Culture Center, where he received basic training in the performing arts under dance maestro Uday Shankar. Afterward, in 1944, he had a short stint as a telephone operator.
Dutt entered the Indian film industry in 1944, working as a choreographer in Prabhat Studios. There, he became friends with Dev Anand (whom he met when they worked on the film Hum Ek Hain (1946)) and Rehman Khan. These early friendships helped ease his way into Bollywood. After Prabhat went under in 1947, Dutt moved to Mumbai, where he worked with the leading directors of the time: Amiya Chakrabarty in Girls' School (1949) and Gyan Mukherjee in Sangram (1946).
He got his big break when Dev Anand invited him to direct a film in his newly formed company Navketan Films. Dutt made his directorial debut with Gamble (1951), which starred Dev Anand. The film was an urban crime thriller that paid homage to classic film noir. However, it also carried its own elements that ensured it was not a remake of a Hollywood film: notably, songs were used to further the story's narrative, and close-up shots were used frequently. The film was a success and became a trend-setter for future crime films. On the personal front, Dutt met his wife, playback singer Geeta Dutt (née Roy), during the song-recording sessions of Gamble (1951), and they married May twenty-sixth, 1953.
Dutt's next releases were Jaal (1952) and Baaz (1953). Dutt made his acting debut in the latter film, which he also directed. But while they were average successes, he finally tasted success with Aar-Paar (1954), another crime thriller, but with a far more polished story and look. Then came Mr. & Mrs. '55 (1955), a frothy romantic comedy focusing on women's' rights; and C.I.D. (1956), yet another crime thriller in which Waheeda Rehman made her debut.
His next films, Thirst (1957) and Paper Flowers (1959), are regarded as his best work. Thirst (1957) was his masterpiece, about a poet trying to achieve success in a hypocritical, uncaring world. It was a box-office hit and is ranked as his greatest film ever. In contrast, Paper Flowers (1959) was a miserable flop at the box office: the semi-autobiographical story of a tragic love affair set against the backdrop of the film industry was deemed too morbid for the audience to swallow and went right over audience's heads. Although in later years the film received critical acclaim for its cinematography and has gained a cult following, Dutt, who had put his soul into the film, was devastated over its failure and never directed another film.
Although he had sworn off directing, Dutt continued to produce and act in films, notably the period dramas Chaudhvin Ka Chand (1960) and Sahib Bibi Aur Ghulam (1962). The latter film, interestingly, is controversial because it is debated whether Dutt had ghost-directed the film. Dutt's personal life had become complicated: he had gotten romantically involved with his protégé Waheeda Rehman and his wife Geeta Dutt had separated from him as a result. Rehman too had distanced herself from him. Also, Dutt, an ambitious person, felt he had achieved too much too soon professionally - there was nothing better to be achieved, and this caused a vacuum in his life. Unable to cope with all the trauma and emptiness, he took to heavy drinking.
On October tenth, 1964, Dutt was found dead in his bed. The cause of death was deemed a combination of alcohol and sleeping pills, although a debate still lingers over whether his death was by accident or a successful suicide attempt. Geeta Dutt suffered a nervous break-down as a result of his death and also took to alcohol, eventually drinking herself to death, dying in 1972 as a result of cirrhosis of the liver.
His death was an irreplaceable loss to Indian cinema. And it was a tragic twist of fate that his films, most of which were discounted in his life-time, would be regarded as cult classics after his death. Guru Dutt would always be known, even if posthumously, as the Guru of Bollywood's Golden Age and one of the world's most important international auteurs.- Director
- Writer
- Actor
Ritwik Ghatak was born on 4 November 1925 in Dacca, Bengal Presidency, British India [now in Dhaka, Bangladesh]. He was a director and writer, known for Reason, Debate and a Story (1974), Musafir (1957) and The Cloud-Capped Star (1960). He was married to Surama Ghatak. He died on 6 February 1976 in Calcutta, West Bengal, India.- Director
- Writer
- Producer
Adoor Gopalakrishnan is India's most acclaimed contemporary filmmaker. Born in 1941 in Kerala, a state in south India, he belongs to a family with strong links to the performing arts, especially Kathakali, a highly-stylised form of dance drama. From the age of eight Adoor began acting for the stage, later producing and directing over twenty plays, several written by him. He is the author of two books on the theatre as well as a book on the cinema, "The World of Cinema", for which he won a national award in 1983. In 1962 Adoor enrolled in the Film and Television Institute in Pune and graduated in 1965 with a diploma in Scriptwriting and Direction. The same year he founded the Chitralekha Film Society of Trivandrum as well as the Chitralekha Film Cooperative. Both played a key role in the development of film culture in Kerala. In 1972 Adoor made Swayamvaram/One's Own Choice, his first full-length feature film. It launched the New Cinema in Kerala and became one of the major films of the Indian New Wave. He has since made seven more films (along with over 25 shorts and documentaries), all of which have won major national and international awards: Kodiyettam/Ascent (1977); Elippathayam/Rat Trap (1981); Mukhamukham/Face to Face (1984); Anantaram/Monologue (1987); Mathilukal/The Walls (1990); Vidheyan/The Servile (1993), and Kathapurushan/Man of the Story (1995). Elippathayam received the prestigious British Film Institute Award in 1982; Mukhamukham won the FIPRESCI prize in 1985; Kathapurushan was honoured in India in 1995 with the National Award for Best Film. Retrospectives of Adoor's films have been held in Pesaro, Helsinki, La Rochelle, Nantes, Munich, and New York. All of Adoor's films draw on the history and culture of his native Kerala. Kerala's transition from feudalism to modernity serves as a backdrop to his complex meditations on the psychology of power, the nature of oppression, the corruption of patriarchy, and the coexistence of the modern and the feudal in post-Independence democratic India. Elippathayam, his masterpiece, vividly captures the descent into paranoia of a man trapped within his feudal universe. In Mukhamukham, a study in failed idealism, a Communist leader gives up on revolution and decides to go to sleep instead. Vidheyan, a parable-like story, deals with the abuse of power, the plight of the outsider, and the nature of a master-servant relationship. The more recent films--especially Anantaram, Mathilukal and Kathapurushan--display a new concern with interiority and reflexivity, foregrounding time, memory, consciousness, and the nature of storytelling itself. Adoor's genius lies in his ability to create visually complex films that operate on multiple levels, that are culture-specific and yet universal in significance.- Producer
- Director
- Additional Crew
Labeled the eternal romantic and with one of the best musical senses in the business, Yash Chopra is arguably India's most successful director of romantic films. Although he made action-oriented films like the ever-popular Deewaar (1975), it is in tackling love and its various aspects that he has been at his best. One of the few remaining commercial Indian directors who started their careers in the 1950s, he has successfully moved with the times from the socially significant Dhool Ka Phool (1959) to the young and cool Dil To Pagal Hai (1997).
Yash Chopra was born in Lahore in 1932, to an accountant in the PWD division of the British Punjab administration, the youngest of eight children. He began as an assistant director to I.S. Johar before working with his elder brother, the legendary B.R. Chopra; while another brother, Dharam Chopra, worked as his cameraman. He was given his first directorial opportunity with Dhool Ka Phool (1959), a melodrama about illegitimacy; it became a hit and even now remains popular today. Encouraged by this success, the Chopra brothers made a few more movies together, the most notable being Waqt (1965), India's first multi-starrer; and Ittefaq (1969), a thriller. On the personal front, Chopra married Pamela Chopra (née Singh) in 1970, and they had two children, Aditya Chopra and Uday Chopra, both working in the film industry today.
In 1973, the Chopra brothers separated, with Yash Chopra founded his studio, Yash Raj Films, and launched it with Daag: A Poem of Love (1973), a successful melodrama about a polygamous man. He then entered one of his best phases with two Amitabh Bachchan classics: Deewaar (1975) and Kabhi Kabhie (1976). These movies set the standard for the 1970s and 1980s, establishing Bachchan as the greatest and most beloved Indian film star of all time. His respective roles--a bitter criminal and a sensitive, brooding poet--are considered to be his greatest performances, although complete opposites of each other.
In the 1980s, Chopra went through a rough time. Two of his melodramas, Silsila (1981) and Faasle (1985); and two action-oriented films, Mashaal (1984) and Vijay (1988), flopped at the box office, although the latter became a critically acclaimed classic years later. However, he made a comeback with his musical love triangle Chandni (1989). The film was a huge success, with great performances by established heroine Sridevi and action hero Vinod Khanna. Then came what critics and Chopra himself considered his best film, Lamhe (1991), a beautiful film about cross-generational love. It couldn't survive the box office, however, due to its incestuous nature.
Parampara (1993), done for an outside producer, was a misfire, but then came the box-office hit and trend setter Darr (1993). Starring the then-débutant Shah Rukh Khan, it showed a sympathetic look at obsessive love and an emotion often overlooked in love--fear--and its success catapulted Khan to super-stardom. In 1995, Chopra turned to production and Aditya Chopra made his directorial debut with Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge (1995), which had the longest-running initial release in cinema history. He directed one more film, Dil To Pagal Hai (1997), a love story set against the theater, which became a huge success and a cult hit, before he retired from directing. However, in 2004, he made a grand comeback with Veer-Zaara (2004), a touching cross-border love story, which he said would be his last directorial effort.
The ages of the director and playback singer Lata Mangeshkar, his muse, proved you need to be young, as well as crazy, at heart, to be a true romantic....- Director
- Actor
- Writer
The die-hard romantic Bharathiraja was born in Alli Nagaram, a small, sylvan village near Theni as Chinnasamy on 17 July 1941. He was the fifth child to his parents, Periya Maya Thevar and Meenatchiammaal alias Karuthammaal. His childhood passions were deer hunting and literature. As a full-blooded youth, he dreamt of making it to the dream world of filmmaking. He had an unremitting passion for acting and all the other theatrical pursuits right from his earliest days as a vagrant youth. He also happened to be a good platform speaker and went places spreading social awareness among the unlettered villagers. By the way, he got a job as a Sanitary Inspector in the Public Health Department in 1963, at a monthly salary of Indian Rs.75/-
Bharathiraja wrote, directed and acted in his first dramas "Oor Sirikkirathu" (The Town Laughs) and "Summa Oru Kadhai" (Just a Story) in Theni Pazhani Chettiyapatti village during festival seasons. This kindled the creative spirit in him and gave him the confidence to look for an opening in Tamil film industry.
As he moved to Madras to seek greener pastures and to give vent to his creative thirst, Bharathiraja staged his "Summa Oru Kadhai" and "Adhigaaram" (Power) with the help of his friends. He also took part in radio dramas and music programs. But since these opportunities were too infrequent to be depended upon for a living, he took up a job in a petrol bunk keeping his cinema ambitions intact.
After a fairly long struggle, Bharathiraja at last joined Puttannaa Ganagal as an assistant director in 1967 and still considers him his Guru. Eventually working with Krishnan Nair, Avinasi Mani and A. Jaganathan, he learned the grammar of film making and got his first directorial opportunity in 1977.
Bharathiraja is married to Chandra Leelavathi, and they have two children - son Manoj (the hero of ' Tajmahal') and daughter Janani.- Cinematographer
- Director
- Writer
Balu Mahendra was born on 20 May 1939 in Sri Lanka. He was a cinematographer and director, known for Moondram Pirai (1982), Kokila (1977) and Veedu (1988). He was married to Ahileshwari. He died on 13 February 2014 in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India.- Writer
- Actor
- Director
J. Mahendran was born on 25 July 1939 in Ilaiyangudi, Madras Presidency, British India. He was a writer and actor, known for Mullum Malarum (1978), Nenjathai Killathe (1980) and Uthiri Pookkal (1979). He died on 2 April 2019 in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India.- Director
- Producer
- Writer
Shyam Benegal was born on 14 December 1934 in Tirumalagiri, Hyderabad State, British India. He is a director and producer, known for Ankur: The Seedling (1974), Bhumika (1977) and Trikal (Past, Present, Future) (1985). He is married to Nira Benegal.- Writer
- Director
- Producer
Fazil was born in 1953 in Alleppey, Kerala, India. He is a writer and director, known for Manichithrathazhu (1993), Poove Poochudava (1985) and Killer (1992).- Director
- Art Director
- Writer
Bharathan was born on 14 November 1947 in Vadakkancheri, Trichur, Kerala, British India. He was a director and art director, known for Thevar Magan (1992), Prayanam (1975) and Thakara (1979). He was married to K.P.A.C. Lalitha. He died on 29 July 1998 in Madras, Tamil Nadu, India.- Writer
- Producer
- Director
The man who revolutionized Tamil-language cinema, Mani Ratnam is the biggest director in south India and one of the most respected directors in all of India. Each of his films contain its own unique style, with beautifully photographed songs and unique back-lighting. However, his films contain substance as well as style--Ratnam has dealt with a wide variety of topics, from the classic Indian love story to political thrillers.
He was born in Madras in 1956. Filmmaking was in his blood; he was the son of film producer 'Venus Gopalratnam' and his brother was G. Venkateswaran, a film distributor turned producer. Ironically, however, he studied at Madras University and received a management degree at the Jamnalal Bajaj Institute of Management Studies in Mumbai, and had initially started out as a management consultant. His first film, Pallavi Anu Pallavi (1983), starring Anil Kapoor, didn't make many waves, although it won the State Award from Karnataka that year, but even though he made two films in Tamil and one in Malayalam, nothing worked for him until he broke through with Mouna Ragam (1986). Starring Revathi, the film told the tale of a woman who, although forced into an arranged marriage, chooses to maintain a platonic relationship with her husband. The film was noted for its sophisticated approach and execution of an extremely sensitive topic.
His next film, Nayakan (1987), was also arguably his greatest. A take-off on Francis Ford Coppola' legendary The Godfather (1972), it established Ratnam as the leading director of Tamil-language Cinema and won its leading actor Kamal Haasan the National Award for Best Actor. The film draws on 30 years of Tamil Nadu's celebrity images and directly played to the anti-Hindi feelings of Tamil Nadu when the protagonist, beaten up, tells the Hindi policeman in Bombay, "If I ever hit you, you will die!"
Then came the best of his early work - Agni Natchathiram (1988), Geethanjali (1989), and Anjali (1990). The first was a tale of conflict between two step-brothers. Shot with glossy camera work, the film resembled a cross between an advertisement and a music video, and set a trend for a whole new visual style in Tamil-language Cinema. The next, Geethanjali (1989), shot in Ooty to create a soft and poetic mood, was a touching love story between two terminally ill people with less than six months left. The third, Anjali (1990), about a disabled child brought back to her family with two normal children had been chosen by India to be sent to the Oscars for Best Foreign-language Film, but it did not receive a nomination. The next year saw his first, and only collaboration so far, with the Tamil superstar Rajni Kant in the film Thalapathi (1991). It also starred Mamooty, along side a host of other actor. This star studded film was a gritty tale of an orphan who grows up to become a notorious gang member in Chennai. The story was inspired by the great epic of Mahabharata.
It was Roja (1992) that made Ratnam a household name all over India. A patriotic love story set against the backdrop of Kashmiri terrorism, the film was dubbed in Hindi and became a huge national success. It enforced Ratnam as a director of style and substance, as well as proving a highly auspicious debut for the now-acclaimed music director A.R. Rahman, whom Ratnam had discovered. It helped that India's at-the-time election commissioner T. N. Seshan took the rare step of officially endorsing the film. Thiruda Thiruda (1993), a remake of Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969) was a misfire, but Ratnam bounced back with Bombay (1995), a politically charged romance between a Hindu man and a Muslim woman during the 1993 riots in Mumbai. The film underwent some controversy due to its slightly anti-Muslim viewpoint, but it contributed widely to the success of the film.
Continuing his political obsession, Ratnam made Iruvar (1997), based on the MGR-Karunanidhi affair, and Dil Se.. (1998), which starred superstars Manisha Koirala and Shah Rukh Khan. The latter was Ratnam's first Hindi-language film. Based on the northeast Indian problem, it told the story of a radio executive and a revolutionary. It had an excellent cast, beautifully crafted scenes, and most of all one of A.R. Rahman's greatest tunes--but did not go down too well with the audience, who hailed it as a strange and confusing film that headed nowhere. However, today it is held as ahead of its time, being that it was shot pre-9/11, and is now hailed as a contemporary classic.
He returned to familiar ground with Alai Payuthey (2000), which tackled the story of a couple in love that goes through the trials and tribulations of marriage. His subsequent film, Kannathil Muthamittal (2002), which told the tale of an adopted girl meeting her terrorist mother, saw Ratnam back in form as one of the greatest storytellers in Indian Cinema. His next film, Yuva (2004), saw Ratnam return to Hindi-language cinema after six years, but in spite of some fine flourishes, the film largely failed to work. However, don't take him too lightly: he is sure to return with something new next time....- Director
- Writer
- Producer
Sen is one of his nation's most politically active filmakers. After having studied physics at university in Calcutta, Sen worked as a freelance journalist, a salesman of patent medicines and a sound technician in a film studio. In the mid-1940s he joined the Indian People's Theatre Association and at that time began to read about and study film. The association had links to the Communist Party of India and this heralded the beginning of Sen's involvement with Marxist politics. In 1956 Sen made his debut with Raat Bhore (1956), the first of his 30 (as of 2002) films. Although his first film was openly political, he achieved national status as the director of a comedy, Bhuvan Shome (1969). Influenced by Italian neorealism and the work of fellow countryman Satyajit Ray, Sen used location shooting and non-professional casts in his early films. By the 1970s he was making wider use of symbolism and allegory. Although he remains politically committed, Sen feels that the "difference between party Marxists and a private Marxist like me is that others think they pocketed truth, whereas I am always in search of truth... " Sen's films have won numerous international awards. The Case Is Closed (1982), a scathing look at the hypocritical reaction of a bourgeois Calcutta family to the death of a servant boy, took home the Jury Prize from the 1983 Cannes Film Festival.- Actress
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His passion for cinema immediately draws your attention, making you realize that Ashutosh Gowariker would not have been anywhere except behind the camera, however tempting the choice. An actor who took to film direction after almost a decade in front of the camera, Ashutosh has acted in Hindi films, Marathi films, television serials and commercials and although the transition from acting to direction was difficult, it was destined.
His diverse exposure as an actor whetted his appetite to helm a project, taking on the directorial reign for the first time with Pehla Nasha (First Love), a murder mystery in 1993. Though the film did not do very well at the box office, it helped Ashutosh find firm ground as a director. He followed this up with Baazi (The Game), a thriller, in 1995, which enjoyed average success, but led Ashutosh on a journey in search of a better script.
With Lagaan, which released in 2001, Ashutosh veered away from most norms in the making of a mainstream commercial Hindi film - a period drama, set in rural India; it's language a dialect; most of its characters were dressed in loincloths; it included a British cast; it was a musical, and a sports film put together! It was produced by Aamir Khan who also starred in it. Lagaan was nominated at the Academy Awards in the Best Film in a Foreign Language category for 2001 and earned plaudits worldwide for its meticulous execution and evocative performances.
His fourth feature film, Swades, was written, produced and directed by him, starring Shah Rukh Khan. The film released worldwide in 2004 to critical acclaim and attained huge success at the international box office.
February 2008 saw the release of his most ambitious magnum opus Jodhaa Akbar, an epic romance. This brought together two of the most respected actors, Hrithik Roshan and Aishwarya Rai Bachchan. The film won the Best Foreign Film in the International Film Festival of Sao Paulo in Brazil, South America and the Grand Prix Best Film and Best Actor in the International Film Festival Golden Minbar in Kazan, Russia, as well as sweeping all of the Indian Film Awards.
His next film saw him take on a new genre with What's Your Raashee?, being Ashutosh's first romantic comedy, based on the Gujarati novel Kimball Ravenswood by Madhu Rye. The film featured Harman Baweja and Priyanka Chopra.
Khelein Hum Jee Jaan Sey is a period thriller starring Abhishek Bachchan and Deepika Padukone, based on the book 'DO and DIE: The Chittagong Uprising 1930-34' by Manini Chatterjee.
His last release, Mohenjo Daro, set in the Indus Valley Civilization stars Hrithik Roshan and debutant Pooja Hegde along with a stellar supporting cast including Kabir Bedi and Arunoday Singh.
Ashutosh has now engaged in the filming of his newest magnum opus Panipat, which is slated to release on December 6th, 2019. Based on the legendary third battle of Panipat, which took place on 14th January 1761 between the Marathas and King of Afghanistan, Panipat promises to be his grandest outing yet.- Director
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Priyadarshan is an Indian film director and screenwriter. He has worked in the Hindi and Malayalam film industry for almost 40 years and has directed over 90 films.
He completed his early education at Government Model School in Thiruvananthapuram. He later pursued his bachelor's degree from Mahatma Gandhi College and Master of Arts in Philosophy from University College Thiruvananthapuram. Priyadarshan was a voracious reader, which sparked his interest in writing and led him to write short plays and skits for All India Radio in college.
He began his career in the Malayalam Film Industry in the early 1980s. He started his career as a director with Poochakkoru Mookkuthi (1984) in 1984. The film did surprisingly well and ran for almost 100 days in theatres across Kerala. He continued this slapstick comedy style and later made Oodarathuammava Aalariyam (1984) and Onnanam Kunnil Oradi Kunnil (1985).
Later that year, he demonstrated versatility by directing the crime drama Parayanumvayya Parayathirikkanumvayya (1985). In the same year, Priyadarshan made his first film with Mohanlal titled Punnaram Cholli Cholli (1985).
1988 was a landmark year in Priyadarshan's career. He directed Vellanakalude Naadu (1988) with Mohanlal in the lead role. It was a political satire crime film that revolved around the prevalent corruption in the country. The film was the biggest hit of that year and successfully ran for 200 days in theatres.
Later that year, he directed and released Chithram (1988), his career's biggest hit. The film completed 366 days in the theatres and broke all the records of his previous collections.
Later, these records were broken by his other film, Kilukkam (1991), released in 1991. Kilukkam starred Mohanlal, Revathi, and Jagathy Sreekumar in lead roles. Priyadarshan's next three releases - Abhimanyu (1991), Advaitham (1991), and Thenmavin Kombath (1994) were also commercially successful and ran for 100 days in the theatres.
Priyadarshan actively worked in the Malayalam film industry for almost two decades (the 1980s and 1990s). After this, he took a short break from Malayalam cinema. He then started focusing on Hindi cinema. He worked as a director and screenwriter in Hindi cinema for nearly a decade.
Priyadarshan debuted in Hindi cinema with Muskurahat (1992), a remake of his film Kilukkam. While the movie didn't perform well at the box office, he made a comeback with the action-crime film Gardish (1993), starring Jackie Shroff. The film was a massive hit, earning two Filmfare Awards for Best Action and Best Art Direction.
In 2000, Priyadarshan directed the comedy movie Hera Pheri (2000) starring Akshay Kumar, Suniel Shetty, and Paresh Rawal. The movie is an Indian cult classic and is considered one of the best comedy films in the history of Hindi cinema. Priyadarshan's career in Bollywood took off after Hera Pheri (2000), and he went on to direct comedy blockbusters such as Hungama (2003), Garam Masala (2005), and Phir Hera Pheri (2006).
In 2021, he directed the period drama Marakkar: Lion of the Arabian Sea (2021), set in the 16th century. The film, starring Mohanlal, earned Priyadarshan the National Film Award for Best Feature Film.
Priyadarshan has been awarded several state and national awards for his work in Hindi and Malayalam cinema. He won the Filmfare Award for Best Film (Critics) for Virasat (1997) in 1997 and the Filmfare Award for Best Director in 2009 for his movie Kanchivaram (2008). In addition to his cinema accolades, the then President of India also awarded Priyadarshan a Padma Shri in 2012 for his contribution to Indian cinema.- Writer
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Shankar is an Indian film director and producer who works mainly in Tamil cinema. He started his career as an assistant director to SA Chandrasekar and now he is the highest paid director in the country. He made his debut in Gentleman (1993) and since 2015 he has directed 12 movies. He won the CNN-IBN Indian of the Year 2010, in the Entertainment category.- Actor
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Kamal Haasan was born November 7, 1954 in Paramakudi, Ramanathapuram District, Tamil Nadu. He debuted as a child artiste in the film "Kalathoor Kannamma" (1960). Since then, he has starred in nearly 220 films in the major Indian languages - Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam and Hindi. He has been a part of the film industry for 60 years, as of 2020. His journey in cinema has seen him do various roles - from child artiste, to romantic lead to one of the most respected and revered heroes of the film industry today.
He has famously said that he is a reluctant actor. He has an avid interest in every aspect of film making and is known for his work as a choreographer, director, and writer, as well.
He wrote his first script at age 18 for the film "Unarchigal" (1976), which was then followed by films that have gone on to become cult classics - Rajapaarvai (1981), Sathya (1988), Apoorva Sahotharargal (1989), Thevar Magan (1992), Mahanadi (1994), Kurudhippunal (1995), Avvai Shanmugi (1996), Hey Ram (2000), Pammal K Sambandam (2002), Panchathanthiram (2002), Anbe Sivam (2003), are a few of the films etched in popular memory for having set the bar for craftsmanship in the fields of screenplay, script, and dialogue.
He is also a prolific writer of fiction and non-fiction in Tamil and his published work is testament to his constant exploration of structure and form.
Kamal Haasan's strong convictions in his art have led to some of Indian cinema's most path-breaking films like Pushpak / Pushpaka Vimaanam / Pesum Padam (1987). Kamal Haasan also worked as a choreographer while transitioning as a well-known child artiste to the lead actor in a feature length film. Some of his best-known work as a dancer can be seen in Saagara Sangamam (1983) and the popular hit Punnagai Mannan (1986).
Kamal Haasan is also a student of Carnatic music, studying under musical maestro Dr. Balamuralikrishna. One of his biggest hits as a playback singer was the song "Inji Iduppazhagi" for the film Thevar Magan.
His career as a director began with the film Chachi 420 (1997), the Hindi remake of Avvai Shanmugi. Since then he has called the shots for critically acclaimed films like "Hey Ram" and "Virumaandi".
He has never hesitated to state his opinions and encourage debate about topics that are socially relevant. He is a rationalist in thought and moderate in opinion and a humanist in philosophy. The need to be socially conscious is seen in the way his fan clubs have revamped themselves into entities that carry out charity and volunteer work.- Composer
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Vishal Bhardwaj is an Indian film director, writer, composer, singer and producer. He has directed ten feature films, produced five and composed music for more than forty. His directorial work includes Makdee, The Blue Umbrella, Kaminey, 7 Khoon Maaf, Matru Ki Bijli Ka Mandola, Rangoon, Pataakha as well as the internationally acclaimed Shakespeare Trilogy - Maqbool, Omkara and Haider (adapted from Macbeth, Othello and Hamlet, respectively). Prominent films written and produced by him are Ishqiya, Dedh Ishqiya and Talvar (based on the Noida double murder case).
He has received 3 international awards: Makdee (2002) received the Best Film award at the Chicago International Children's Film Festival, Omkara (2006) won the Best Artistic Contribution in Cinema award at the Cairo International Film Festival and Haider (2014) won the People's Choice award at the Rome Film Festival. He has also received 7 National Awards: Best Music Direction for Godmother (1999), Best Children's Film for The Blue Umbrella (2005), Special Jury Award for Omkara (2006), Best Music Direction for Ishqiya (2010), Best Dialogues and Best Music Direction for Haider (2014) and Best Screenplay for Talvar (2015).- Producer
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Sanjay Leela Bhansali is among the most celebrated Film Makers of the Bollywood. Having worked with the biggest stars of Indian Film Industry, Bhansali is the most sought-for director of the Bollywood. He started his career as an assistant director to Vidhu Vinod Chopra. If one has to name his 'niche' genre, it would definitely be Mega-Musicals. From Devdas to Bajirao Mastani, Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam to Saawariya, love of cinema and music, proclaims through every movie he writes or direct.
His 1999 Romantic-Drama, Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam, starring heartthrob duo Salman-Aishwarya became one of the most critically cherished movies of the Genre. Amitabh Bachan, starrer Black was equally appreciated by the critics. But he made his presence felt with 2002 adaptation of the Hindi literary masterpiece, Devdas, for a silver-screen experience. He received a nomination for Best Foreign Film at BAFTA for the movie.
Devdas has become a name synonymous with a passionate, intense love that does not find consummation. This similar theme has been repeated numerous time in the literary work. And one of them is Romeo & Juliet. He translated this classic tale into Indian Folk Idiom.- Director
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Deepa Mehta is a transnational artist and a screenwriter, director, and producer whose work has been called "courageous", "provocative" and "breathtaking". Her visually lush and emotionally resonating films have played at every major international film festival; receiving numerous awards and accolades, and have been distributed around the world. Deepa was born in India and received a degree in philosophy from the University of New Delhi before immigrating to Canada. She began her career making documentaries in India.
In 1991, Deepa's first feature film Sam & Me, which stars Om Puri, won a Special Jury Mention in the Camera D'Or section at the Cannes Film Festival. Between 1992-1994 she directed two episodes of The Young Indiana Jones, produced by George Lucas for ABC. In 1993, Deepa directed her second feature film Camilla, a Canada-UK co-pro starring Jessica Tandy, Bridget Fonda, Elias Koteas, Maury Chaykin, Graham Greene, and Hume Cronyn. Fire, which Deepa wrote and directed, is the first film in her Elemental Trilogy (Fire, Earth, Water). Fire opened Perspective Canada at the 1996 Toronto International Film Festival, where it was runner-up for the People's Choice Most Popular Film Award. It played at the New York Film Festival and won many awards worldwide, including the Audience Award for Best Canadian Film at the Vancouver International Festival, the Special Jury Prize at the Mannheim-Heidelberg International Film Festival and Silver Hugo Awards for Best Direction and Best Actress in Chicago.
Earth, based on Bapsi Sidhwa's acclaimed novel about Partition, Cracking India, is the second film in the Elemental Trilogy. It premiered as a Special Presentation at the 1998 Toronto International Film Festival, and won the Prix Premiere du Public at the Festival du Film Asiatique de Deauville and the Critics' Award at the Verona Schermi d'Amore International Film Festival. Bollywood/Hollywood was a change of pace. Written and directed by Deepa, it is a lighthearted, affectionate comedy about two mismatched lovers. It opened Perspective Canada at the 2002 Toronto International Film Festival and was a tremendous crossover box office success. It remains one of the top 10 grossing English language Canadian movies. In 2003 Deepa co-wrote and directed the Canada-UK co-pro The Republic of Love, based on a Carol Shields novel.
After a disrupted and hazardous production history Deepa's final film in the Elemental Trilogy Water opened the 2005 Toronto International Film Festival, and was the first Canadian film acquired by US distributor Fox Searchlight. Water is a powerful, hauntingly tragic story, set in Benares (Varanasi) about a child widow who at the age of eight is forced to enter a house of widows where she has to live for the rest of her life. The movie was to have been shot in India in 2000, but Hindu fundamentalists fomented riots, burnt sets, and issued death threats against the director and actors, forcing production to shut down and the filmmakers to leave the country. Water was successfully remounted in Sri Lanka and completed shooting in June 2004, and features many of India's most renowned actors.
Water was an enormous success. It was nominated for an Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film at the 79th Annual Academy Awards, and has screened at festivals around the world, winning many awards, and remains an audience favourite. The Vancouver Film Critics Circle named Deepa Mehta the Best Canadian Director of 2006. This fall (2015) is the 10th anniversary of Water's launch.
In 2006 Deepa made a documentary about domestic violence in Toronto's immigrant families called Let's Talk About It, which continues to be used in community outreach programs. She then thematically segued into the feature film Heaven On Earth, which explores arranged marriages and isolation. Starring Preity Zinta, the film had its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival in 2008. It was awarded a Silver Hugo for Best Actress at the Chicago International Film Festival, and received the Best Screenplay Award at the Dubai International Film Festival. It also won the Youth Jury Award at the Schermi d'Amore Film Festival in Verona and the Audience Award at the River to River Florence Indian Film Festival.
In 2012, Deepa completed her epic cinematic adaptation of Salman Rushdie's famous novel about the history of India in the 20th century, Midnight's Children. A novel that won three Booker prizes. The movie, with 127 speaking parts, and covering five distinct time periods from 1917-1977, was a vast, ambitious undertaking and has screened all over the world, including the Telluride Film Festival, Toronto International Film Festival, Vancouver International Film Festival, and the BFI London Film Festival. Midnight's Children was chosen as the Best Feature Film of 2013 at the Directors Guild of Canada's Awards.
Deepa's work as an artist, as a progressive voice about social issues, and her generous mentorship have often been recognized. She has received numerous honorary degrees and many awards and honours, among them: The Life of Distinction Award from the Canadian Centre of Diversity, The Excellence in the Arts Award from the Canadian Civil Liberties Association, and the Woman of Distinction, President's Award from the YMCA. She is a recipient of the Governor General's Lifetime Artistic Achievement Award for Film. Most recently, in 2013, Deepa was appointed as an officer to the Order of Canada, Canada's highest civilian honour, for her work as a "groundbreaking screenwriter, director, and producer." She is also a recipient of the province of Ontario's highest honour, the Order of Ontario.- Director
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Accomplished Film Director/Writer/Producer Mira Nair was born in India and educated at Delhi University and at Harvard. She began her film career as an actor and then turned to directing award-winning documentaries, including So Far From India and India Cabaret. Her debut feature film, Salaam Bombay! was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film in 1988; it won the Camera D'Or (for best first feature) and the Prix du Publique (for most popular entry) at the Cannes Film Festival and 25 other international awards. Her next film, Mississippi Masala, an interracial love story set in the American South and Uganda, starring Denzel Washington and Sarita Choudhury, won three awards at the Venice Film Festival including Best Screenplay and The Audience Choice Award. Subsequent films include The Perez Family (with Marisa Tomei, Anjelica Huston, Alfred Molina and Chazz Palminteri), about an exiled Cuban family in Miami; and the sensuous Kama Sutra: A Tale of Love, which she directed and co-wrote. Nair directed My Own Country based on Dr. Abraham Verghese's best-selling memoir about a young immigrant doctor dealing with the AIDS epidemic. Made in 1998, My Own Country starred Naveen Andrews, Glenne Headly, Marisa Tomei, Swoosie Kurtz, and Hal Holbrook, and was awarded the NAACP award for best fiction feature. Nair returned to the documentary form in August 1999 with The Laughing Club of India, which was awarded The Special Jury Prize in the Festival International de Programmes Audiovisuels 2000. In the summer of 2000, Nair shot Monsoon Wedding in 30 days, a story of a Punjabi wedding starring Naseeruddin Shah and an ensemble of Indian actors. Winner of the Golden Lion at the 2001 Venice Film Festival, Monsoon Wedding also won a Golden Globe nomination for Best Foreign Language Film and opened worldwide to tremendous critical and commercial acclaim. Nair's next feature was an HBO original film, Hysterical Blindness. Set in working class New Jersey in 1987, the film stars Uma Thurman, Juliette Lewis, Gena Rowlands. Thurman and Lewis play single women looking for love in all the wrong places, while Rowlands, who plays Thurman's mother, adds to her daughter's hysteria when she finds Mr. Right in Ben Gazarra. The film received great critical acclaim and the highest ratings for HBO, garnering an audience of 15 million, a Golden Globe for Uma Thurman, and 3 Emmy Awards. Following the tragic events of September 11, 2001, Nair joined a group of 11 renowned filmmakers, each commissioned to direct a film that was 11 minutes, 9 seconds and one frame long. Nair's film is a retelling of real events in the life of the Hamdani family in Queens, whose eldest son was missing after September 11, and was then accused by the media of being a terrorist. 11.09.01 is the true story of a mother's search for her son who did not return home on that fateful day. In May 2003, Nair helmed the Focus Features production of the Thackeray classic, Vanity Fair, a provocative period tale set in post-colonial England, in which Reese Witherspoon plays the lead, Becky Sharp. The film is scheduled to release in Fall 2004. Nair's upcoming projects include Tony Kushner's Homebody/Kabul for HBO, and Hari Kunzru's The Impressionist, and there are also plans to take Monsoon Wedding to Broadway. Mirabai Films is establishing an annual filmmaker's laboratory, Maisha, which will be dedicated to the support of visionary screenwriters and directors in East Africa and India. The first lab, which is only for screenwriters, will be launched in August 2005 in Kampala, Uganda.- Writer
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Rituparno Ghosh is a Bengali film director. He has won 12 National Film Awards in India and several awards at international film festivals abroad. He began directing in advertising. In 1992, he made a low-key film debut with a children's feature titled Hirer Angti (The Diamond Ring). His second movie Unishe April (19 April), won the 1995 National Film Award Since then, Ghosh has directed Dahan, Utsab, Chokher Bali, Asukh, Bariwali, Antarmahal and Raincoat (in Hindi). He won the National Award for best direction for his bengali film "Abohoman" starring Jishu Sengupta, Ananya Chatterjee, Dipankar Dey and Mamata Shankar in India in 2010.- Writer
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S.S.Rajamouli is an Indian filmmaker who primarily works in Telugu cinema. He is one of the most celebrated filmmakers ever of the Indian film industry and pioneered the Pan-Indian films movement. Rajamouli was born in a Telugu family to V. Vijayendra Prasad and Raja Nandini. Both his parents hail from Andhra Pradesh.
Rajamouli has directed 12 feature films so far, including mega blockbusters like Baahubali: The Beginning, Baahubali: The Conclusion, and RRR. Through his Baahubali series, Rajamouli pioneered the Pan-Indian films movement. His next film, tentatively called SSMB29, is a globetrotting action adventure & first collaboration with "Superstar" Mahesh Babu which is is expected to begin its production in 2024.
Eega (2012) won nine awards at the Toronto After Dark Film Festival, including the Most Original Film. Baahubali films have received six Saturn Award nominations with Baahubali 2 (2017) winning the Best International Film. His latest directorial "RRR" (2022) received various international accolades including the 1st Academy Award for India, a Golden Globe Award for the song "Naatu Naatu" & nomination for Best Foreign language film, and a Critics' Choice Movie Award for Best Foreign Language Film.
A self confessed "film freak", Rajamouli's penchant for filmmaking is best captured by the word "emotion". He has often stated that his films are based on stories driven by human emotions. While scaling up his work with "larger-than-life" themes over the years, Rajamouli maintained his signature style of filmmaking that allows audience to simmer in the thrills and emotions of the story with less dialogue.
He is a recipient of various national and international honors including a prestigious New York Film Critics Circle award, a Critics' Choice Movie Award, two Saturn Awards, and four National Film Awards. In 2016, the Government of India honoured him with the Padma Shri (fourth-highest civilian award of the Republic of India), for his contributions in the field of art. In 2023, he was included on the Time's list of the 100 most influential people in the world- Producer
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Anurag Singh Kashyap (born 10 September 1972) is an Indian film director, producer and screenwriter. Kashyap made his directorial debut with as yet unreleased Paanch, with Kay Kay Menon as the lead. As a filmmaker, he is known for Black Friday (2004), a controversial and award-winning Hindi film about the 1993 Mumbai bombings, followed by No Smoking (2007), Dev D (2009), Gulaal (2009), That Girl in Yellow Boots (2011) and Gangs of Wasseypur (2012). As a screenwriter, he wrote the scripts for the Filmfare Award-winning Satya (1998) and the Academy Award-nominated Canadian film Water (2005). He founded his film production company, Anurag Kashyap Films Pvt. Ltd. in 2009.- Writer
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Mysskin is an Indian film director and screenwriter. He made his directorial debut in 2006 with Chithiram Pesuthadi. His other directorials Anjathe and Nandalala received high critical acclaim. He has also proved his acting skills by starring as a mentally challenged person in Nandalala.
Mysskin made his directorial debut with the low budget film Chithiram Pesuthadi which went to become one of the biggest hits of the year. A simple love story, it became a hit owing to the unique style the film was written in
His latest film, Yuddham Sei, a dark thriller was a huge hit at the box office as well. His visual style and directing prowess was appreciated and talked about by everybody. He has now started pre-production works on his magnum opus - Mugamoodi to be produced by UTV Motion Pictures. The film will star Jeeva as a superhero.- Writer
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Rajkumar Hirani is an Indian film director and editor. Hirani has directed five Hindi films, including Munna Bhai M.B.B.S., Lage Raho Munnabhai, 3 Idiots, PK and Sanju, and all of which have been commercial and critical successes. Most of which have won several awards, including the national awards. Among his awards, include 11 Filmfare Awards. He is the founder and owns the production house Rajkumar Hirani Films.- Producer
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Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra is a director, writer and producer who established Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra Pictures (Romp) in India. Romp has cultivated in them an attitude to pioneer the way for the new wave and new age cinema from India, by identifying talent (writers & directors) from India and telling Indian stories to the world.
Rakeysh has written, produced and directed the film Rang de Basanti (Color of Sacrifice) (2006), with an ensemble of Indian and International cast. Rang De Basanti won 4 National Awards (President's Medals), was India's official entry to the Oscars 2006- 2007 It was also nominated by British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) in the Best Foreign language film category 06-07.
Rakeysh went onto make Delhi -6 (2009) which is set against the backdrop of the caste and religious divide of the Indian social fabric. Delhi -6 has achieved tremendous critical acclaim and was an official selection at the prestigious Venice Film Festival . It won two National Awards (President Of India Medals). The Variety has termed it as un-bollywood , and "a step forward from Rang De Basanti , ushering an era of new age Indian cinema."
In 2011, Rakeysh's documentary film Bollywood: The Greatest Love Story (which was co-directed by Jeffery Zimbalist) was an official selection at the Cannes 2011 to celebrate 100 years of Indian Cinema. It is a docu feature, an avantgarde take on how Indian cinema has reflected the changing socio-political landscape since India got independence from the British Raj.
His film Bhaag Milkha Bhaag (2013) was set in the backdrop of when India gained freedom from the British in 1947, and the bloody ethnic violence that led to the massacre of thousands and the displacement of millions. This story is about the triumph of the undying human spirit, based on the life of the greatest Indian Olympian Milkha Singh , also known as "The flying Sikh". The film made a clean sweep at all the popular film awards in India, including two National Film Awards (President of India Medals).
Mirzya - (2016) which is a contemporary take on the legend of Mirza-Sahiban, a tragic love story told as a musical spectacle premiered at the London Film Festival. It was showcased at Chicago Film Festival , Busan Film Festival etc.
He has recently finished his latest project named 'Mere Pyaarey Prime Minister' which is under post production and due to release Summer of 2018. It is the story of an 8 year old boy's desire to build a toilet for his mother.
Rakeysh is also producing the under production film 'Fanney Khan', starring Anil Kapoor, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan and Rajkumar Rao. It is also expected to release by Summer of 2018.- Producer
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A close friend of Shahrukh Khan, he assisted Yash Chopra's Yash Raj Films during the early days of of his career, making his directorial debut with the mega-hit Kuch Kuch Hota Hai (1998). He also had a popular chat show named Koffee with Karan (2004) The success of "KKHH" made him one of the most high-profile directors in the Hindi-language Mumbai Film industry, popularly known as Bollywood.
Also a close friend of Aditya Chopra, he has been a creative member of Yash Raj productions such as Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge (1995), Veer-Zaara (2004), Dil To Pagal Hai (1997), and Mohabbatein (2000).
Johar's success has guaranteed him worldwide distribution of his production company, Dharma Productions, for many years to come.- Producer
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Vetrimaaran is an Indian film director, screenwriter and film producer, who works in the Tamil film industry. Vetrimaaran made his directorial debut with the Polladhavan. His second feature film Aadukalam won six National Film Awards. He produces films under his production company, Grass Root Film Company. His movie Visaranai (2016) was selected as India's official entry to the Academy Awards.His film Asuran (2019) was named as the National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Tamil.- Writer
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Five feature films, three short films, one web series, six Filmfare awards, an Emmy nomination and India's official entry to the Oscars outlines Zoya Akhtar's unique ability to tell stories that break the conventional norms and create waves globally.
Zoya's directorial journey began with Luck By Chance (2009), followed by Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara (2011), Dil Dhadakne Do (2015), and the internationally acclaimed Gully Boy (2019), which have since acquired cult status, and won numerous global awards and accolades. The globally celebrated series Made in Heaven (2019) for Amazon Prime and the international Emmy nominated Lust Stories (2018) for Netflix have further extended Zoya's reach as a universal storyteller. Zoya's most recent directorial, The Archies (2023) is the official adaptation and the first ever feature film of the globally revered Archie comics.
Through Tiger Baby, Zoya has also turned producer - with Made in Heaven (2019), Eternally Confused and Eager for Love (2022), Dahaad (2023), The Archies (2023) and Kho Gaye Hum Kahan (2023) already under her belt, and many more exciting projects to come!- Director
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Ram was born on 11 October 1974 in Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu, India. He is a director and writer, known for Peranbu (2018), Thanga Meengal (2013) and Taramani (2017).- Writer
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Thiagarajan Kumararaja was born and bred in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India. He enrolled for a Visual Communications course at the Loyola College, Chennai, but dropped out shortly after to make films. Kumararaja cited that it was composer Ilaiyaraaja's music that animated him to come to films and to study Visual Communications in the first place. However, he discontinued his studies in 1998 and started to work as a freelance copywriter and photographer for a while. He went on to shoot advertisement films and also directed a five-part documentary on South Indian Temples, Sthala Puranam for Vijay TV. In 2005, he participated at the one-minute film competition 60 Seconds to Fame by Ability Foundation, aiming for the prize money. His short film Becky was awarded the first prize at the AbilityFest2005. Kumararaja then collaborated with Pushkar-Gayathri, writing the dialogue of their directorial debut Oram Po (2007). He would later write all songs for their second project Va (2010) as well. Through Pushkar-Gayathri, Kumararaja met S. P. B. Charan, who agreed to produce his first feature film Aaranya Kaandam.
Kumararaja began writing his maiden film in December 2006. Although he had wanted to make a "racy film" - he wrote the climax part first, before going on to add multiple story lines - he said that the film had eventually turned out to be a "leisurely paced film, taking its own time to unfold". Kumararaja met Charan in January 2007 and narrated him the script for two hours. Filming was supposed to commence by late 2007, but Charan opted to produce another film first. Aaranya Kaandam was launched in December 2008, with Bollywood actor Jackie Shroff, who was being introducing to Tamil films, Ravi Krishna and Sampath Raj in the lead roles. Kumararaja took more than one and a half years to complete the film, which was entirely shot in and around Chennai. Upon completion, the film ran into trouble when the regional censor board in Chennai refused to clear it, demanding 52 cuts due to profanity and excessive violence. Kumararaja expressed that he made the film for a matured audience and not for children, while adding that he expected difficulties in the censorship. Since he wanted to present the film uncompromisingly to the audiences, he and Charan approached the Central Tribunal at Delhi, that cleared the film. Dubbed as the first neo-noir film in Tamil cinema, Aaranya Kaandam opened to strong critical acclaim, winning the Grand Jury Award for Best Film at the 2010 South Asian International Film Festival, and two prizes at the 59th National Film Awards, including the Indira Gandhi Award for Best First Film of a Director for Kumararaja.- Writer
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Selvaraghavan is an Indian movie director, actor, and screenwriter who predominantly works in the Tamil film industry. He has directed numerous genre films, from romantic to science fiction and fantasy; he has done it all. He also owns a production company named White Elephants, along with Yuvan Shankar Raja and Arvind Krishna.
His brother Dhanush is an acclaimed actor, and his sisters are doctors.
He completed his Bachelor of Engineering in mechanical engineering before he began working in the Tamil film industry since his family insisted that he complete his education before joining the film industry. He also worked several part-time jobs while in college until he found satisfaction as a writer.
Selvaraghavan's debut work as a screenwriter and director was in the Tamil film Thulluvadho Ilamai (2002), which also starred his brother Dhanush and marked his first role.
He also wrote the lyrics of the song Kann Munnae Eththanai Nilavu in the film. Selvaraghavan and his family invested all their savings in this venture. The movie started slowly but picked up pace later and became a sleeper hit at the box office.
He went on to direct films like Kaadhal Konden (2003), which was a romantic thriller and starred Sonia Agarwal, and veteran comedian Nagesh. The film became a blockbuster, giving Dhanush and his career a breakthrough in the Tamil Film Industry. The film was remade across the country in several languages. He directed several movies, including 7/G Rainbow Colony (2004), a juvenile love story, and Pudhu Pettai (2006), featuring Dhanush as the main lead alongside Sonia Agarwal once again.
He then ventured into Telugu films. His first Telugu film as a writer and director is Aadavari Matalaku Ardhalu Verule (2007). The film starring Venkatesh Daggubati and Trisha Krishnan explores the themes of romance and drama. He took experiences from friends who were unemployed graduates like the film's protagonist. The film opened with positive reviews and eventually became one of the biggest successes of the Telugu Film Industry that year.
He wrote Yaaradi Nee Mohini (2008) in 2008. Then he went on to direct and wrote Ayirathil Oruvan (2010), where he wrote the lyrics of all the songs except Thai Thindra Mannae and Pemmanae, Mayakkam Enna (2011), which he coproduced with Gemini Film Circuit, Irandam Ulagam (2013), which amounted to Rs. 60 crores was his costliest production, Maalai Nerathu Mayakkam (2016), NGK (2019), where he wrote the song Pothachaalum, Nenjam Marappathillai (2021), and Naane Varuven (2022).
He started working as an actor in 2022 with the film Beast (2022). And then he went on to act in other films like Saani Kaayidham (2022), which was released on the OTT Platform Amazon Prime Video, Naane Varuven (2022), which was a cameo appearance, Bakasuran (2023).
Selvaraghavan was nominated for the best director award at Filmfare South Awards in 2004 for Kaadhal Konden (2003), in 2005 for 7/G Rainbow Colony (2004), in 2007 for Pudhu Pettai (2006) and in 2010 for Ayirathil Oruvan (2010). Furthermore, he won the world record film at the Edison Award for the movie Ayirathil Oruvan (2010). He was also nominated at the SIMA Awards in the best film category for the movie Mayakkam Enna (2011).- Writer
- Actor
- Producer
Nagraj Popatrao Manjule (born 24 August 1978) is an Indian film director, actor, producer, scriptwriter, poet, screenwriter, filmmaker and he works in the Marathi Cinema. Manjule grew up in Jeur village in the Solapur district of Maharashtra. He belongs to the traditionally-nomadic Waddar community, a Dravidian tribe.
He earned his M.A. in Marathi literature from University of Pune, followed by a master's in communication studies from New Arts, Science and Commerce College, Ahmednagar. His first National Award-winning short film Pistulya is a reflection of his 'felt experience'.
His debut feature film, Fandry, was released in February 2014.
Manjule's second film, Sairat, premiered at the 66th Berlin International Film Festival. Like Fandry and Pistulya, it deals with caste discrimination and honour killing, a practice still widespread in parts of India. Sairat is currently the highest grossing Marathi film of all time.
Manjule is making his directorial debut in hindi films with Jhund starring Amitabh Bachchan. he known for his Marathi film Sairat, short-film Pistulya for which he received National Film Award in Non-Feature Film category.
At the 61st National Film Awards, Fandry won the Indira Gandhi Award for Best Debut Film of a Director. In 2018, Manjule published a book of poetry in Marathi titled Unhachya Katavirudhha which won the Bhairuratan Damani Sahitya Puraskar.- Writer
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- Producer
Imtiaz Ali is an Indian film director, actor and writer. In 2005, he made his directorial debut with the film Socha Na Tha. However, it was his second film Jab We Met (2007) that brought him success and fame. His 2009 film Love Aaj Kal gained much critical success, and was declared a super hit at the box office. His movie Rockstar (2011) was also a commercial and critical success. Imtiaz Ali had his origins in Jamshedpur, Jharkhand.He was brought up in Patna and Jamshedpur. He had his early education in Patna- D.B.M.S. English school, Jamshedpur,and later attended University of Delhi in Delhi, where he took part in college theater. He started Ibtida the dramatic society of Hindu College. Thereafter he moved to Mumbai and did a diploma course from Xavier Institute of Communication.- Writer
- Producer
- Director
Neeraj Pandey (born 17 December 1973) is an acclaimed Indian film director, producer and screenwriter. In his first movie A Wednesday, his work was largely praised by audiences as well as the critics. A Wednesday also won many awards in different categories. His second film Special 26 (2013) was equally appreciated by the public and the critics. Not just a filmmaker but a writer too, Neeraj has written a novel named 'Ghalib Danger' in 2013. He also directed the movie Baby (2015) starring Akshay Kumar which received critical acclaim from the audience and was a huge success.The movie Rustom which was produced by Neeraj, was released on 12 August 2016 and received mixed reviews by critics but was a runaway commercial success. His last movie was a biopic on cricketer M.S.Dhoni titled M.S. Dhoni: The Untold Story which was loved by the audience.. He aims at making more commercial content in the sports genre. Neeraj has carved a niche for himself in the film industry with his adept handling of different topics and is one of the most sought after Directors of his generation.
In 2016, his Production House Friday Filmworks and Reliance Entertainment entered into a joint venture and formed Plan C Studios.
He has also directed a Web Short 'Ouch' with Manoj Bajpayee and Pooja Chopra which is nominated for Filmfare Short Film Award 2017. As the co-producer, his recent blockbuster Toilet- Ek Prem Katha is getting critical appreciation from the film industry and the audience. His upcoming movie is Aiyaary which is set to release on 2018 starring Sidharth Malhotra and Manoj Bajpayee- Director
- Actor
- Writer
Lijo Jose Pellissery is an Indian actor and filmmaker who predominantly works in the Malayalam film industry. He is known for his nonlinear storylines and unconventional approach to directing films.
Pellissery earned his Master's degree in Business Administration from the Indian Institute of Plantation Management, Bangalore, before venturing into the film industry.
He began his career as an assistant to ad filmmaker Manoj Pillai and proceeded to make short films.
In 2010, he debuted as a feature film director with Nayakan (2010). He followed it up with City of God (2011), using the hyperlink cinema format as the narrative structure. He went on to direct films like Amen (2013), Angamaly Diaries (2017), R.I.P. (2018), Jallikattu (2019), Churuli (2021), and Nanpakal Nerathu Mayakkam (2022).
Pellissery has won several awards. He was the recipient of the Kerala State Film Award for Best Director, and he also won the Silver Peacock Award for Best Director for two of his movies, R.I.P. (2018) and Jallikattu (2019).- Actor
- Director
- Writer
Gautham Vasudev Menon (born 25 February 1973), also known as GVM, is an Indian film director, screenwriter and producer who predominantly works in Tamil cinema. He has also directed Telugu and Hindi films, which are remakes of his own Tamil films. Many of his films have been critically acclaimed, most notably his romantic films Minnale (2001), Vaaranam Aayiram (2008), Vinnaithaandi Varuvaayaa (2010) and his thrillers Kaakha Kaakha (2003), Vettaiyaadu Vilaiyaadu (2006) and Yennai Arindhaal (2015). Vaaranam Aayiram won the National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Tamil. Menon produces films through his Photon Kathaas film production company. His production Thanga Meengal (2013) won the National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Tamil. Menon was born to a Malayali father and a Tamil mother on 25 February 1973 in Ottapalam, a town in the Palakkad district of Kerala. Although born in Kerala he grew up in Anna Nagar, Chennai. He earned a bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering from Mookambigai College of Engineering, Pudukkottai.- Writer
- Director
- Actor
Jeethu Joseph is an Indian film director, screenwriter, and producer who predominantly works in Malayalam cinema. He has also worked in a few Tamil and Bollywood films. Jeethu made his directional debut with the 2007 police procedural film Detective and later went on to direct five successful films: the family drama Mummy & Me (2010), the comedy My Boss (2012), the thriller Memories (2013), the family-thriller Drishyam (2013), the revenge-drama Oozham (2016) and the action-thriller Aadhi (2018). Jeethu gained popularity after the release of Drishyam, which became the highest-grossing Malayalam film ever. Jeethu made his Tamil debut with Papanasam (2015), Thambi (2019) and Hindi with The Body (2019).- Writer
- Director
- Producer
Karthik Subbaraj is an Indian film director. He started his career working as a software engineer in Bangalore working for Infosys. During this period he got interested in film making. He learnt the basics of film making, during a one-day workshop run by Sanjay Nambiar. He made a short film "Kaatchipizhai" in Madurai, which was selected for "Naalaya Iyakunar"- Director
- Writer
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Anubhav Sinha was born on 22 June 1965 in Allahabad, Uttar Pradesh, India. He is a director and writer, known for Article 15 (2019), Mulk (2018) and Thappad (2020).- Actor
- Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
- Producer
Dileesh Pothan is a path-breaking Indian director, producer and actor from Malayalam cinema. Pothan began his career as an associate director on the 2010 film 9 KK Road, and went on to be an assistant director with producer-director Aashiq Abu for five films. He also made his acting debut with a scene in Aashiq Abu's 2011 film Salt N' Pepper. He has since acted in 44 films till date. Dileesh Potha's directorial debut was the exceptional 2016 comedy-drama film Maheshinte Prathikaaram, starring Fahadh Faasil. The movie received the Best Feature Film in Malayalam Award at the 64th National Film Awards, and set a new bar for story telling in Malayalam cinema. Pothan also won the Best Director Award at the 64th Filmfare Awards South. His second film as director was Thondimuthalum Driksakshiyum (2017), again starring Fahad Fasil. This film was once again a major critical and commercial hit, and won the Best Feature Film in Malayalam Award at the 65th National Film Awards. His third and most recent movie, Joji, also starring Fahadh Faasil, released to glowing reviews nationally on Amazon Prime in April 2021. Dileesh successfully ventured into producing with the block-buster 2019 cult film, 'Kumbalangi Nights' and is producing 'Thankam' starring himself, Fahad Faasil and Joju George.- Writer
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Anjali is a leading Indian film director and screenwriter. She completed her post-graduate degree from London Film School with honors in editing, producing, and directing film; her graduation film Black Nor White premiered at the Palm Springs International Film Festival and received the BFI award for Best Short Film. Anjali made her writing and directorial debut with the feature Manjadikuru (Lucky Red Seeds), a coming of age drama set in 1979, for which she received the FIPRESCI award for Best Malayalam Film and Best Indian Debut. Anjali has also written the critically and commercially acclaimed Ustad Hotel, for which she received the National Film Award for Best Screenplay - Dialogues. Her next feature film, Bangalore Days, revolving around the life of three Malayali cousins, emerged as a cult classic. Anjali's feature film Koode, showcasing issues of caste, migration, and child sexual harassment while dealing with themes of loss and solace, released to wide critical and commercial success in India and internationally. Having worked on projects in India, the Middle East, and the UK, Anjali's films provide a nuanced insight into the migrant experience and cross cultural interactions and she has received multiple National and State awards for her work in cinema. Her recent film Wonder Women delicately makes us aware of the beliefs, confusion, and questions regarding pregnancy and childbirth. Anjali is also one of the founding members of the Women in Cinema Collective (WCC), an organization that focuses on gender equality in the Malayalam film industry. She started a production company, Little Films India, in 2006 where she leads content and production affairs. Anjali is currently developing her next feature film and an anthology for a leading production house.- Producer
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Pa. Ranjith is an exciting prospect in the new age of Tamil film directors. His debut film was a cult romantic comedy film Attakathi, which had positive reviews and his next film was Madras (2014), which showcased the life of North Madras people and their daily life. It was a blockbuster. The neat story-telling with no nonsense in logic and screenplay makes his movies more exciting. His next film was Kabali, which starred the famous Tamil actor Superstar Rajinikanth. The film received mostly positive reviews and went on to become a massive blockbuster. All of Pa. Ranjith's films have one element in common: They express the lives and culture of Dalit people and the oppression they face in contemporary society. Since he himself is from the Dalit community, his fans are claiming that his films have opened up a new facet of Tamil cinema. His next film, Kaala (2018), also stars Superstar Rajinikanth as the protagonist.- Writer
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- Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Sudha Kongara was born on 29 March 1989 in Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh, India. She is a writer and director, known for Soorarai Pottru (2020), Irudhi Suttru (2016) and Guru (2017).- Writer
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- Producer
Lokesh Kanagaraj is an Indian film director who works primarily in the Tamil film industry who started his film career with the 2016 anthology film called Aviyal.He was born in Kinathukadavu, Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu, India. He majored in fashion technology before pursuing his MBA. He was an ex bank employee. He pursued his passion which is towards film making by participating in a corporate short film competition. The judge of the competition was director Karthick Subbaraj. He then encouraged Lokesh to continue making films.- Director
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- Producer
Mari Selvaraj was born on 7 March 1984 in Tamil Nadu, India. He is a director and writer, known for Pariyerum Perumal (2018), Karnan (2021) and Maamannan (2023). He is married to Divya Mari Selvaraj.- Director
- Writer
- Editor
Halitha Shameem is a film director, screenwriter, editor who works in Tamil Cinema, her debut movie is Poovarasam Peepee followed by Sillukarupatti which made her a popular and bags bunch of awards. Her other movies are Aelay, Minmini in which First half directed in 2015, second half directed with same actors in 2019 as it requires different age group of the artists, instead of using different actors for different age groups, waited for 4 years for the actors to grown up and filmed with the same actors.