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Best Directors in India : Films, Television and OTT

Who are the best directors of all time? That’s a harder question to answer than you might think. Is it those whose work came first and created the foundation of early cinema? Is it those who have advanced cinema most spectacularly? Or maybe it’s those whose work every filmmaker and screenwriter should know? 

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A film director is responsible for supervising the artistic elements and segments of a film. Their main duties including reading and editing screenplays, directing actors, and working with editors during the post-production phase to produce a visually captivating and captivating end product. The director of the film is in charge of all the moving parts that need to come together during video production. 

These experts are hired by numerous companies to produce advertisements or movies. This means that in order to complete a project, film directors must work not only with a creative team but also with business owners and other specialists. On a film set, a movie director oversees every artistic and visual aspect of the production. 

Read More : Top 10 Directors in India

They frequently read the script aloud to the characters, encouraging them to do actions that highlight their dialogue and visually tell the story in an engaging way. Film directors work with Visual Artists, Camera Crew Mates, Set Designers, and Editors to ensure that all creative elements fulfil their final vision and production goals. They also decide on the film’s style, tone, and atmosphere. 

A lot of filmmakers have attended both conventional and informal schools. Some people learn everything on their own at first, driven only by passion. Some aspire to complete a university program or attend a community college in order to progress their careers as filmmakers. Bachelor’s degrees in cinema or filmmaking are available to those who are interested in this field.  

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Here’s the list of top film directors of India and some of their best work:

S.S. Rajamouli 

His action blockbuster “Baahubali: The Beginning” became the highest grossing Indian film in history and the second most grossing Indian film to date in India. The digitally shot picture won multiple awards and received praise from critics both domestically and abroad. 

His most recent film, “RRR”, has eclipsed the box office milestones set with “Baahubali 2: The Conclusion”. The plot revolves around the lives of two Indian rebels, Alluri Sitaram Raju and Komaram Bheem. NTR Jr, Alia Bhatt, Ram Charan, and Ajay Devgn star in the Rs. 400 crore film. 

Rajamouli has received numerous accolades, including three National Film Awards, four Filmfare Awards South, and five state Nandi Awards. Baahubali: The Beginning also made history by becoming the first Telugu film to win Best Feature Film at the 63rd National Film Awards. His RRR has also created history by becoming the first Indian feature film to win an Oscar. The film’s ‘Naatu Naatu’ soundtrack by MM Keeravani was awarded the Best Original Song Award at the 95th Academy Awards. 

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Director in india

Anurag Kashyap

After penning a television serial, Kashyap received his big break as a position of a co-writer in Ram Gopal Varma’s murder thriller Satya (1998) and made his debut film as a director and the film was “Paanch”, but unfortunately the film released in the cinemas put to hold because of censorship concerns, but eventually got released in the year 2007 which got positive reviews. 

He gave major hits including a short film- Mumbai Cutting, a film called That Girl in Yellow Boots (2011) and the box office hit movie series “Gangs of Wasseypur” in the year 2012, a crime film. Other films and series during the period 2013-2020 were The Lunchbox, Lootera, Ugly, NH10, Raman Raghav, Mukkabaaz, Sacred Games, Choked, and many others, and these were produced or directed in which Kashyap played a significant role and some of them were produced from different production houses which Kashyap co-founded eventually. 

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Rajkumar Hirani

Rajkumar Hirani

Hirani made his debut as a director and gave Bollywood industry a gem “Munna Bhai M.B.B.S.”, a comedy movie in the year 2003, with an outstanding star cast of Sanjay Dutt, Boman Irani, Jimmy Sheirgill, Gracy Singh, Sunil Dutt, and Arshad Warsi. It was about the nominal protagonist (acted by Sanjay Dutt), a goon heading to a medical school who is supported by his buddy (Circuit, acted by Warsi). 

Hirani’s second directorial endeavor was 3 Idiots (2009), again a comedy film yet a whole different thought and experience with the stars Aamir Khan, Sharman Joshi, R. Madhavan, Boman Irani, and Kareena Kapoor Khan. He later directed movie Sanju released in the year 2018. The film depicts the life of Bollywood actor/star Sanjay Dutt (one of Hirani’s fairly close collaborators). Upon release, it primarily garnered excellent reviews from reviewers and was appreciated for Ranbir Kapoor’s work; others condemned its image-cleansing of its main character. 

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Director in india

Karan Johar

Informally known as KJo in the Hindi film industry was born initially as Rahul Kumar Johar on the 25th of May, 1972, Karan Johar is an Indian filmmaker, director, and tv personality who predominantly works in Hindi movies. Through Dharma Productions, he has established the careers of a number of accomplished actors and performers. In addition to receiving multiple National Film Awards and Filmfare Awards, Karan was also bestowed with the fourth-highest civilian accolade in India—the “Padma Shri”—by the Indian government in 2020. 

With the release of his smash successful film “Kuch Kuch Hota Hai” in 1998, Karan made his directorial debut and was awarded the National Film Award for Best Popular Film for entertaining as well as the Filmfare Award for Best Director and Best Screenplay. 

He received his 2ndFilmfare Award for Best Director for the social drama movie “My Name Is Khan” came in the year 2010.  

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Mani Ratnam
Image Source: wikipedia.org

Mani Ratnam

Even though Mani Ratnam comes from a family of filmmakers, he showed little early interest in film. After receiving his doctorate degree in management, he started working as a consultant. His first film role was in the 1983 Kannada picture Pallavi Anu Pallavi. If the films he made after this one didn’t do well, he would have less offers. 

However, the 1986 release of Mouna Ragam, his sixth film as a director, elevated him to a prominent position in Tamil cinema. His critically acclaimed and nationally nominated films, including “Nayakan” in 1987 and “Anjali” in 1990, fulfilled the necessary criteria to be officially authorized as India’s Academy Award entries. 

The romantic trilogy “Mouna Ragam” (1986), “Alaipayuthey” (2000), and “O Kadhal Kanmani” (2015), as well as the terrorist trilogy “Roja” (1992), “Bombay” (1995), and “Dil Se..” (1998), among Mani Ratnam’s best-known works. 

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Sanjay-Leela-Bhansali-​.jpg

Sanjay Leela Bhansali

One of Bollywood’s most renowned filmmakers is Sanjay Leela Bhansali. Being the most sought-after director in Bollywood, Bhansali has collaborated with the biggest names in the industry. He began his career working as Vidhu Vinod Chopra’s assistant director.  

Bhansali started out as Vidhu Vinod Chopra’s assistant, helping with the production of Kareeb and Parinda, 1942: A Love Story. Following his outstanding “Khamoshi: The Musical” debut, he went on to make some great films, including Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam, Devdas, Black, and Guzaarish. Even if Guzaarish was influenced by “The Sea Inside” in Spanish, it is still one of his greatest pieces. 

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Vishal Bhardwaj - Director in india

Vishal Bhardwaj

Film director, writer, composer, singer, and producer Vishal Bhardwaj is from India. He has composed music for almost forty feature films, produced five, and directed ten. Among the many films he has directed are Makdee, The Blue Umbrella, Kaminey, 7 Khoon Maaf, Matru Ki Bijli Ka Mandola, and Rangoon. 

Having begun his career as a composer in the Hindi film industry, he is among the most gifted filmmakers in India with a superb sense of music. Being successful in all capacities—director, writer, screenwriter, producer, composer of music, and playback singer—makes him a true all-arounder. It’s not simple to adapt Shakespeare’s books for Indian cinema, but he’s done a fantastic job with films like Maqbool and Omkara. 

Dibakar Banerjee -Director in india

Dibakar Banerjee

June 21, 1969, saw the birth of Dibakar Banerjee in New Delhi, India. His works as a writer and filmmaker include Shanghai (2012), Sandeep Aur Pinky Faraar (2021), and Detective Byomkesh Bakshy! (2015). 

Godfather of outstanding low-budget films, he has cemented his unique position in the Hindi film industry with productions such as Khosla Ka Ghosla (2006). Shanghai (2012), Love Sex aur Dhokha (2010), and Lucky Oye! (2008). Such filmmakers are rare in the Indian cinema industry. 

Mahesh Bhatt

Mahesh Bhatt

On September 20, 1948, Mahesh Bhatt was born in Bombay, India’s State of Bombay. He is a director and producer, best known for Saaransh (1984), Zakhm (1998), and Raaz (2002).  His early directing career was marked by critically acclaimed films, including Sadak, Zakhm, Janam, Saaransh, Arth, and Naam. 

Subsequently, he wrote a number of commercial films in a variety of genres, including comedies like Duplicate and tragedies like Hum Hain Rahi Pyar Ke. However, his most well-known works are thrillers like Inteha, Jism, Murder, and Woh Lamhe, the majority of which are outright copies of Hollywood productions.

Tigmanshu Dhulia

On July 3, 1967, Tigmanshu Dhulia was born in Allahabad, Uttar Pradesh, India. He is an actor and filmmaker, best known for Saheb Biwi Aur Gangster (2011), Paan Singh Tomar (2012), and Gangs of Wasseypur (2012). 

He began his career in 1994 as the casting director of Bandit Queen, progressed to become a writer for Tere Mere Sapne (1996) and Dil Se.. (1998), and finally became a director for Haasil (2003). He has been successful in all of these capacities. In addition to his excellent performances in Saheb Biwi Aur Gangster (2011) and Paan Singh Tomar (2012), he recently demonstrated his acting prowess in Gangs of Wasseypur (2012) as Ramadhir Singh.