By: Rajeev Masand
Over the last five years Hindi cinema has seen the emergence of new distinct filmmaking voices. It's hard to pick the best, because there can be no perfect list. Hence what you will find, are my personal choices for the five best new filmmakers discovered in the last five years (2004-2009). It was a hard list to compile. Sacrifices had to be made.
Anyone with only one release was dropped from the list. So no Zoya Akhtar even though she deserves to be on it. You won't find Anurag Kashyap on the list either; he's dropped on a technicality.
Although his first directorial release was Black Friday in 2006, he had turned director three years ago with the as-yet-unreleased Paanch.
My choices are my own. They may not be popular choices. But think about it, can you imagine the last five years in Bollywood without such gems as Jab We Met, Chak De India!, Khosla Ka Ghosla, Johnny Gaddar or Om Shanti Om?
FARAH KHAN
Beating Bollywood's big guys at their own game, this accomplished choreographer metamorphosed into a consummate storyteller with ace technical skills.
Twice over she took Hindi cinema's most enduring formulas and turned them on their head to deliver thumping, logic-defying entertainers that were unapologetically populist and at the same time unquestionably well-written.
Essential Filmography: Main Hoon Na (2004), Om Shanti Om (2007)
Next up: Happy New Year, a dance movie with Shah Rukh Khan, currently in pre-production.
Breakout moment: The uproarious scene in Main Hoon Na in which Maj. Ram Prasad Sharma (Shah Rukh Khan) chases after the villains in a tonga named Dhanno, dodging their bullets Matrix-style.
Takes on the mantle from: Manmohan Desai
IMTIAZ ALI
With his smart, modern take on contemporary relationships and his ability to consistently find humor in seemingly dry situations, this Jamshedpur-born 'outsider' has emerged the go-to guy for urban romances.
He reinvented the formula for love stories by placing ordinary characters in ordinary circumstances and by searching for the drama within that. It helps that few come up with the kind of crackling dialogue he arms his protagonists with.
Essential Filmography: Socha Na Tha (2005), Jab We Met (2007), Love Aaj Kal (2009)
Next up: Scripting next film, possibly starring Hrithik Roshan.
Breakout moment: The priceless scene in Jab We Met in which Geet (Kareena Kapoor) insists on negotiating an hourly rate for a room in Hotel Desent, oblivious to the impression she is giving to the hotel manager.
Takes on the mantle from: Yash Chopra
DIBAKAR BANERJEE
Disregarding popular Hindi cinema's obsession with affluent protagonists and their sprawling foreign addresses, this advertising exec made a splash with his middle class-themed comedies that came packed with relatable characters.
Rooting his characters firmly in the real, placing them in a geography he knows inside out, he looks for humour in the least likeliest of places. Few filmmakers can claim to have such a thorough understanding of their characters as he does; even the bit players.
Essential Filmography: Khosla Ka Ghosla (2006), Oye Lucky Lucky Oye (2008)
Next up: Currently filming Love Sex Aur Dhoka with newcomers.
Breakout moment: The opening scene of Khosla Ka Ghosla in which Kamal Kishore Khosla (Anupam Kher) wakes up to a dream of having just died, even as his indifferent family goes about their lives normally, obsessing about their materialistic attachments.
Takes on the mantle from: Hrishikesh Mukherjee
SRIRAM RAGHAVAN
Raised on a staple diet of desi and videsi pulp fiction and stylish 70s entertainers, this FTII-grad showed a flair for the dark and edgy with his two gripping thrillers that established his credentials as a taut storyteller. Straddling the gritty with the stylish, he routinely explores the human psyche with his sinister crime dramas that are a throwback to Hollywood's noir films of the 60s.
Essential Filmography: Ek Hasina Thi (2004), Johnny Gaddar (2007)
Next up: A big-budget spy-thriller titled Agent Vinod starring Saif Ali Khan.
Breakout moment: The chilling climatic scene in Ek Hasina Thi in which Sarika (Urmila Matondkar) avenges Karan's (Saif Ali Khan) betrayal by abandoning him in a rat-infested cave.
Takes on the mantle from: Vijay Anand
SHIMIT AMIN
Like many film directors in Hollywood (where he cut his teeth working as an editor and script supervisor), he doesn't himself script the films he directs. But he twice turned promising screenplays into tight, thrilling films that pushed the boundary in terms of technical achievement too.
With a deft hand, he delivered engaging films of different genres whose only common thread was their unshowy-but-skillful direction.
Essential Filmography: Ab Tak Chappan (2004), Chak De India! (2007)
Next up: Rocket Singh Salesman of the Year, starring Ranbir Kapoor, currently in post-production.
Breakout moment: In that early scene in Chak De India!, after each hockey player has introduced herself to him by mentioning the state she represents, Kabir Khan (Shah Rukh Khan) instructs them to re-introduce themselves, this time stating only their names and the common team they represent India.
Takes on the mantle from: Ramgopal Varma
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