David Lagachu
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5. Zoya Akhtar
The constant accusation that is hurled at Zoya Akhtar is that she is an elitist as far as the subject matter of her films are concerned however she insists that there is a difference between making films about rich people and for rich people. No one deny the fact that her films have entertainment value and are quite intelligent despite being staying true to the traditional Bollywood rules like singing and dancing. She had mentioned it innumerable times in numerous interviews that if she was not a filmmaker she would have been as clueless as the rest of us. So here we have a strong headed, clear minded and a talented female filmmaker who knows her job inside out and a privileged one at that – she is the daughter of the famous Bollywood lyricist Javed Akhtar and the sister of Farhan Akhtar. Nobody should be surprised if tomorrow she decides to make a Hollywood film as she is clearly well versed in international cinema and the exchange of talents between different countries is at a peak now.
4. Anurag Kahsyap
His films are regularly selected for screening at the glamorous Cannes film festival and have served as a jury at the Venice film fest. He is candid enough to admit that he owes his initial bout of recognition to Torrents as his first film ‘Paanch’ never got a theatrical release. His struggle to release films continued with ‘Black Friday’ until ‘Dev. D’ came along in 2009 and changed his fortune for the better. Today his association with a film is enough to garner critical acclaim and unprecedented attention. He is perhaps the first predominantly art house filmmaker to get a budget of over 100 crore to make his film ‘Bombay Velvet’. If you can overlook the commercial disaster aspect of the film, the act itself was revolutionary as it meant that people are willing to invest money in offbeat films as long as it is well marketed and have saleable stars. Often referred to as the Tarantino of Bollywood post ‘Gangs of Wasseypur’ it would be entirely Hollywood’s loss if they don’t employ him soon enough.
3. Sanjay Leela Bhansali
Right from his first film ‘Khamoshi: The Musical’ Bhansali showed it to the world that he is aesthetically blessed and that good looking actors and shiny costumes doesn’t necessarily take away from the seriousness of a film. TIME magazine called his ‘Devdas’ one of the ten best films of the millennium so far and EMPIRE magazine included it in its list of 100 best films of world cinema. Currently he is busy shaping up his magnum opus ‘Padmavati’ with the real life couple Ranveer Singh and Deepika Padukone in the lead. Each and every frame of his films is like a painting and music naturally plays an important role in his grand scheme of things. Bhansali is an old soul at heart and his taste is very classical so much so that he will make Hindi films even in Hollywood. Now that would be something, wouldn’t it?
2. Ritesh Batra
Yes, he has already been hired by the independent production companies of Hollywood! But we want him to also be hired by big studios. Ritesh Batra became an internationally recognized director with his first film itself. ‘The Lunchbox’ which had its world premiere at Cannes instantly catapulted him into a director to look out for. Positive word of mouth and critical appreciation in international film journals made sure that it proved to be commercial success worldwide. There was a lot of hullabaloo regarding sending the film as India’s official entry to the Oscars as many claimed it had potential to win India’s first foreign language Oscar. Alas it was never meant to be. However the next year UK’s BAFTA award honoured it with a nomination in the same category. While we have been discussing about possibilities of Indian directors working in Hollywood, Batra went a step ahead and directed a Hollywood film ‘The Sense of an Ending’ with the likes of Charlotte Rampling and Emily Mortimer in the cast. Although it had a low profile and limited release it was greeted with decent reviews. We are already waiting for his next Hollywood venture.
1. Vikramaditya Motwane
He made his directorial debut with ‘Udaan’ a coming-of-age flick that struck gold at Cannes and won multiple awards at the 2011 Filmfare awards. His next film ‘Lootera’ touched many hearts even though it failed to set the cash registers ringing. After serving as the producer for daring films like ‘Queen’, ‘Ugly’ and ‘NH10’ his third directorial venture ‘Trapped’ released earlier this year to overwhelming critical response. He is a new-age and relatively younger filmmaker who experiments with different genres and doesn’t shy away from putting money where his mouth is. Motwane spearheads a group of talented filmmakers (such as Abhishek Chaubey) who are the future of filmmaking in India and the future definitely looks bright in their able hands. Motwane’s open-mindedness and his knack for experimentation make him a suitable candidate for crossing over to Hollywood.
