Anandita Dudeja
10. Sudhir Mishra
“With the Emergency of ‘75 in the backdrop, do we really have any other good film?” I thought to myself about ‘Hazaaron Khwaishein Aisi’ while Sudhir Mishra was sitting right next to me and I didn’t know how to initiate a conversation with him. If there’s one thing that he can get to celluloid like no one else can, it is his awareness about the world we live in. With ‘Inkaar’ too, he pointed out something that all of urban India is facing, and how beautifully he did it. He is an intelligent man, and I like seeing how his opinions play out in screenplays.
9. Neeraj Ghaywan
Why someone with just film down is in this list, I can explain. ‘Masaan’ isn’t just any other film you anticipate that we deserve. As shallow as we might be, as human beings, we crave depth and Neeraj Ghaywan fills that void with utmost sincerity. Along with which he gave us Vicky Kaushal, and it is only brilliant directors who make good actors worthy of and accustomed to their own skill.
8. Ayan Mukherjee
He appeals to an entire generation without conforming to societal norms, maybe that is exactly what strikes the chord with millennials. But, that isn’t what I am fond of when it comes to his cinema, it is the element of being precise and concise without having to explain too much. When he made ‘Wake Up Sid’, I saw half my friends in there. He directs with instinct, finesse and knowledge. There is nothing more I want after a tiring day, than to watch an Ayan Mukherjee movie and feel nice about myself, because he makes me believe in the possibility that I might be special.
7. Farhan Akhtar
He should have continued directing films, I believe. ‘Dil Chahta Hai’ is a classic responsible for impacting people throughout a decade and if he was capable of creating that, there’s a lot more to Farhan Akhtar, the director. Akshaye Khanna’s character in the movie is the man I want to know more about, the good man who we don’t talk about. Akhtar’s vision played out pretty damn well, even in ‘Lakshya’.
6. Zoya Akhtar
Flamboyance is the word that comes to my mind when I think of her, and vulnerabilities of every character surrounding her utopian world. The contradiction of the two makes for a mind blowing movie watching experience. While her brother gave us ‘Dil Chahta Hai’, she gave us ‘Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara’, years later. Nepotism doesn’t affect me at all, when it comes to the lineage of this family. Poetry surrounds their understanding of cinema, and the two intertwined are very very dear to me.
