Contemporary directors with original works in Hindi cinema (Part 2)

The first part of this article had great names in original filmmaking like Imitiaz Ali and Zoya Akhtar etc.

This is second list of directors with talented names that have raised the bar of quality cinema in India with original and creative projects.

Anand Gandhi - He changed the meaning of indie cinema by crafting his first feature film ' Ship of Theseus.' The movie with a philosophical theme of same name gave inspiration to experimental filmmakers. His first movie which was a short 'Right here right now' itself was a unique in terms of filmmaking as it seems to be made in single shot. The film also message of how compassion and aggression are contagious.

Amol Gupte - This director dedicates his movies to social issues revolving around Indian children. His directorial debut 'Stanley ka Dabba' focused on child labor. Both of his movies featured his son 'Partho Gupte' in the lead.

Raj Dk - Raj Nidimoru and Krishna D.K. ( or Raj D.K.) are alumni of IIT and were the first to release full length feature film which was a zombie comedy titled ‘Go Goa Gone.’ Their debut release was an interesting crime comedy '99' which reflected the topics like match fixing and launch of mobile phone with the backdrop of year 1999. Their crime comedy drama 'Shor in the city' was a hyperlink film which was also inspired from local incidents appear in newspapers.

R Balki - An admaker turned director, Balki has experimented in his films. His first was based on relationship of an aged man with middle aged lady. It was not an inspiration of 'Lolita' or 'Nishabd' but a different take on this subject. His next flick was 'Paa' where a rare disease 'Progeria' was presented in light hearted manner with father-son relationship.
His third directorial venture 'Shamitabh' also was a concept representing a mute actor using another man's voice to become star in film industry. All his movies have some interesting storyline with peppy dialogues. Amitabh Bachhan remains central character in all of his movies.

Shoojit Sircar - Another quality filmmaker with original screenplays, Sircar has tried multiple genres. His first feature 'Yahaan' was a romantic war drama which was not much of a success. His next romantic comedy 'Vicky donor' was a big hit due to interesting representation of the subject of sperm donation.
Whether it is an espionage drama ‘Madras Café’ (based on Rajiv Gandhi’s assassination) or light hearted movie ‘Piku,’ the director has managed to craft his work with total originality.

In case you find your favorite director missing from this list, this might be due to the fact he / she has directed movies from screenplay inspired from other films or book.

Contemporary directors with original works in Hindi cinema   (Part 1)  

Indian cinema is said to be inspired largely from the west. It also refines some of the existing plots with major themes like corruption or vengeance etc.

These Indian directors through their creative instinct are giving the Indian cinema valuable movies which are neither inspired by any written piece of literature nor are copied from any foreign film.

• Sriram Raghavan – He is the maven of the neo-noir thrillers in Indian cinema. Through his movies including Ek Hasina Thi, Johnny Gaddar and Badlapur, he was able to extract some intense performances from actors like Neil Nitin Mukesh, Urmila Matondkar and Varun Dhawan.
Though none of his movies proved to be blockbuster, most of them gained rave reviews from the critics and have done average to above average business.
                                   

 • Zoya Akhtar – She started her career with drama Luck By Chance which focused on Indian cinema in a satirical manner. It was followed by multi-starrer road film Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara which not only introduced adventure sports from the Spanish world to the Indian masses but also gave a message on living the life to the fullest.
 Her upcoming film Dil Dhadakne Do is a drama based on dysfunctional Punjabi family and will release in 2015.
Other than keeping multiple actors in the form of ensemble casting or cameo appearances, actor Farhan Akhtar is always part of her projects.

                                       

 • Sudhir Mishra – He started as a screenwriter in critically acclaimed movies like Jaane Bhi Do yaaron and Mohan Joshi Hazir Ho.
Most of his movies including Dharavi, Chameli, Hazaaron Khwaishein Aisi etc have artistic touch due to which his movies are less popular among the masses. Screenwriting of all his directorial ventures is also done by him.
                                         

 • Madhur Bhandarkar – His cinema focuses on the negative dimension of the various spheres of the Indian society. The titles of his movies are based on the theme of the movie itself like Traffic Signal, Page 3, Corporate and Fashion etc.
Most of the protagonists in his line of cinema are females except the film Jail where a male (played by Neil Nitin Mukesh) was the leading character.

                                     

 • Imtiaz Ali – India has a huge market for rom-coms most of which are either to too simple in nature or are inspired by some Hollywood work. This director makes sure that the concept and storyline of his romantic movies is not based on the clichés. Through his movie Rockstar, he gave a new taste to Indian audiences and himself was evolved as a director.
                                       

These directors make sure that we as Indians can be proud of artistic works created by these without any need of inspiration from existing array of films !