Wednesday, March 25, 2009

Women Bollywood Directors

We are bringing to you some of the well-known Women directors of B-town.

Farah Khan

Farah Khan

Farah made a modest beginning with an assitanta and then an independent choreographer in Bollywood and over the years has made the biggest of stars dance to her command (literally). However, even as she was choreographing hits such as Chaiyya Chaiyya, Dhol Bajne Laga, Woh Ladki Hai Kahan and several other numbers, there was always a filmmaker hidden inside of her. The choreographer has been an ardent movie-buff. At 21,she decided that she would one day direct a film. She fulfilled this long-time desire with the smash-hit Main Hoon Naa starring good friend Shah Rukh Khan in the lead. The two paired up once again to deliver one of the biggest hits ever - Om Shanti Om - and since then Farah has been a name to deem with. Considering she is the mother of triplets when one sees her manage it all with a smile on her face, it indeed makes us salute the lady.

Zoya Akhtar

Zoya Akhtar

Coming from a filmy family, films were a natural progression for Zoya Akhtar (daughter of veteran lyricist and writer Javed Akhtar and his ex-wife Honey Irani). So it came as no surprise that the young and talented girl decided to make films, her profession. She had been tending dreams of turning director since the age of 18 and her role-models include a diverse range of filmmakers from Mani Ratnam to Martin Scorcese and Satyajit Ray to Farah Khan. Zoya made an impressive debut with Luck By Chance this year.

The film gave an inside view of the happenings in the film industry and Zoya`s debut venture was praised by one and all. Indeed, if her debut flick is any indication of things to come, Zoya Akhtar certainly is one lady to watch out for in the future.

Meghna Gulzar

Meghna Gulzar

Meghna Gulzar is yet another woman who has made a name for herself in Bollywood. Daughter of veteran lyricist Gulzar, Meghna aka Bosky, made her directorial debut with the sensitive tale of surrogate motherhood - Filhaal. The movie won her critical acclaim but didn`t set the cash registers ringing. For her next venture, she chose a light romantic entertainer Just Married which had some wonderful performances from its lead cast of Fardeen Khan and Esha Deol. Meghna`s most recent flick was Dus Kahaniyaan where she directed one of the short stories.

Kalpana Lajmi

Kalpana Lajmi

Kalpana Lajmi debuted as a costume director with Shyam Benegal`s Bhumika starring Smita Patil. She made her directorial debut with the Shabana Azmi- Naseeruddin Shah starrer Ek Pal. After a hiatus, Kalpana made a comeback with Rudaali which fetched its lead actress Dimple Kapadia the National Award for Best Actress. Few years later, history repeated itself again when Raveena Tandon also bagged the National Award for Best Actress for Kalpana`s socially relevant film Daman. This talented director certainly has a penchant for giving her leading ladies award winning roles.

Pooja Bhatt

Pooja Bhatt

Pooja Bhatt made an impressive debut as a teenager in father Mahesh Bhatt`s flick Daddy. After impressing one and all with her acting prowess in films like Dil Hai Ki Manta Nahin, Sadak, Sir, Tamanna and Zakhm, Pooja took everyone by surprise when she decided to take an indefinite break from acting. However, just as Pooja the actor called it a day, Pooja the filmmaker was unleashed.

She first started out producing films like Dushman, Jism etc. and then took the giant leap to direct with the John Abraham- Udita Goswami starrer Paap. Her first two directorial ventures Paap and Holiday didn’t exactly set the box office on fire but her third venture Dhokha did fetch a lot of critical acclaim.

Now Pooja is busy directing the Himesh Reshammiya starrer Kajraa Re.

Reema Kagti

Reema Kagti

Reema Kagti decided to fulfill her ambitions of becoming a director through the conventional way. She first assisted Farhan Akhtar on Dil Chahta Hai and Lakshya. Her work paid off when Farhan`s company Excel Entertainment offered her a chance to direct her first film Honeymoon Travels Pvt. Ltd. The story of six couples on a honeymoon to Goa struck a chord with the masses and the critics and Reema shot to fame. If the buzz is to be believed, Reema`s next will be a thriller. We can`t wait to watch it!

Nandita Das

Nandita Das

The dusky beauty Nandita Das created a niche for herself in the world of parallel cinema through sensitive performances in films such as Fire, 1947: Earth, Bawandar, and Ramchand Pakistani. In fact Nandita is only the second Indian celebrity to be invited (after Aishwarya Rai in 2003) to be a part of the jury at the world famous Cannes International Film Festival in 2005. Having achieved a fair amount of acclaim for her acting prowess, Nandita decided to don the director`s hat with Firaaq - a story set one month after the ghastly Gujarat riots. While the film is yet to release in India, it has made the rounds at several prestigious international film festivals. In fact, those who have seen the film are convinced that Nandita is a promising director.

Besides the above mentioned names, there are a couple of more female directors who are slowly but surely creating a niche for themselves
namely, Shona Urvashi (Chupke Se, Saas Bahu Aur Sensex), Leena Yadav (Shabd, Teen Patti) and Madhureeta Anand ( Mere Khwabon Mein Jo Aaye).

Here`s saluting these lovely ladies who have managed to hold their own in this male dominated industry.

No comments:

Post a Comment