Bollywood: The New and Young Directors

Madhuja,

I watched Life in a Metro for the first time yesterday – I just loved it!! I remembered your post and agree with you completely – It can indeed be described as a collage or an album – the sub-plots are real and we can all relate to them – the portrait that Anurag Basu had succeeded in creating in this film is too beautiful.

One of my Bengali friends says that Anurag is the best anchor she has ever seen!

Another brilliant director of new-age Bollywood is Rajat Kapoor. Have any of you seen Mixed Doubles? I have seen it on television and loved it instantly. :cheers

 

Mixed Doubles is unconventional and extremely interesting – I loved everything about the film. The film tells us volumes about director Rajat Kapoor’s ingenious and curious bent of mind. I do not think Bollywood ever had a film on a similar subject and it was a pioneering endeavor of Rajat Kapoor to make this film which can well be called an experiment. His casting of Konkona and Ranvir also shows how sharp his eyes for talent are.:thumbsup
I think the dialogues were written by him and Anurag Kashyap.

A few of the director Rajat Kapoor’s creations are Mithya, Raghu Romeo, Private Detective: Two plus Two plus One.

 

Very informative thread!

 

Anusha Rizvi is in the news these days. She is the director of the socially relevant movie on farmer suicides Peepli Live. Her husband Mahmood Farooqui is the writer and co-director the movie.
Rizvi is a history graduate from New Delhi’s St Stephens College and has also worked with NDTV. While the issue of farmers’ suicides is of great importance in the economy of the country, it is difficult for a film based on the subject to get a nationwide release. It is to Rizvi’s credit that she has been able to rope in a Bollywood super star like Amir Khan for the project. Peepli Live has been appreciated in Sundance and Berlin film festivals. Anusha Rizvi is a director to watch out for.
:cheers

 

Joyshree, you are right!!! Anusha Rizvi and her film Peepli Live is in the news these days! My bro saw the film last week and was thrilled with it. I am yet to see it!

Another director who is very promising is Neeraj Pathak! I watched Right Ya Wrong on Sunday and liked it immensely! A writer-director needs to be very smart and practical to make a movie like Right Ya Wrong. I loved that ultimate message that he tried to convey through the film.:bowdown “Right” and “Wrong” are relative concepts – what is “wrong” for the law might not be so much “wrong” for life, which is nothing but a puzzle.

 

I too watched Right Ya Wrong on Sunday and the director straightaway earned immense respect from me.

One of my friends who is into film-editing told me that Neeraj Pathak was the dialogue writer for films like Hum toh Muhabbat Karega (2000), Deewangee (2002), Iqraar-By Chance (2006). Before Right Ya Wrong, he had directed Gumnaan-the mystery (2008). His upcoming films are The Man and Gannit, both of which are expected to be released this year. He had written the songs of the film Chahat (1996).
He has written the story of the film Apne (2007) and obviously Right Ya Wrong.

Neeraj Pathak was also the screenplay-writer of the film Pardes (1997).

 

Another film director who has got a lot of media attention these days is Rajshree Ojha. Besides directing the recently released film Aisha, she has also directed a short film called Badger and a feature film called Chaurahen. It isn’t easy being a woman director in Bollywood and Ojha had her share of struggle breaking the glass ceiling.

Aisha is based on Jane Austen’s famous novel Emma. Aisha has been well appreciated and Ojha can be justifiably proud of her work. Ojha’s future projects include a period film and a romantic comedy.

 

Another young director to watch out for is Sona Jain. Her first feature film For Real is releasing on Sept 17, 2010.

Sona Jain is an Economic graduate form St Stephen’s College, Delhi University. The film For Real stars Sarita Choudhary, Zoya S Hasan and Adil Hussain. The film is about the problems in a marriage. It is told from the point of view of a six year old girl.

Sona Jain’s future projects include a Delhi based film called Delhi Aah. She has also penned down a romcom titled Rishtey hi Risthey which is being directed by Amitabh Shukla.

 

I particularly liked the work of debutante director Parmeet Sethi in the film Badmaash Company! This new writer- director has really surprised me. I was wondering what he was doing in television soaps and small character film roles for so long. It is clear from his first movie that “direction” is his area!!

The story is brilliant and so is the film! The story has everything that is needed to make a “gripping” film! I do not think any viewer watching Badmaash Company on TV last evening could switch channels midway!

I wish Parmeet all the best and hope to get more brilliant movies from him in future!
:thumbsup