Gone are the days when male directors used to dominate the Bollywood industry. Today, more female filmmakers are making a mark in the industry with meaningful cinema. Besides names like Deepa Mehta and Mira Nair, who have carved a niche for themselves in the west, many have delivered beautiful and entertaining films in Bollywood as well and one among them is Gauri Shinde.
After impressing the audience with brilliant movie English Vinglish, Gauri is back with Shah Rukh Khan and Alia Bhatt starring Dear Zindagi, which releases on November 25. Gauri, who is prominent filmmaker R Balki's wife, stands outs among other young female directors with her amazing story-telling skills.
Unlike her contemporaries whose films usually revolve around complex relationships and boost of ensembled cast, Gauri's films focus on female protagonist and talk about gender stereotypes.
The Dear Zindagi director avoids unnecessary gimmick while narrating a story and presents her film in a genuine manner. Her films are light-hearted but delivers strong message and brings in the positivity among the audience. This however, is not the case with most of the other female filmmakers, who focus mainly on fun and entertainment.
Besides Gauri, here are a few young female Bollywood directors and the subjects they deal with.
Zoya Akhtar, who has helmed Luck By Chance, Bombay Talkies, Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara and Dil Dhadakne Do, narrates coming-of-age stories and portray larger than life characters. Zoya's films talk about complex relationships; be it between two lovers or friends.
Meghna Gulzar: Daughter of veteran lyricist Gulzar, Meghna is a fearless filmmaker, who doesn't deter from narrating sensitive tales, which mostly remains untouched even by the male filmmakers. Her directorial debut Filhaal, dealt with a sensitive topic of surrogacy.
Farah Khan: The choreographer-turned-filmmaker is more into making mainstream masala films. Her films like Main Hoon Na, Om Shanti Om, Tees Maar Khan and Happy New Year are for pure entertainment purpose.
Pooja Bhatt: Mahesh Bhatt's daughter Pooja has tried her hands in helming different kinds of films. She made her directorial debut with Paap. Although it didn't make an impact at the box office, her third venture Dhokha did earn a lot of critical acclaim.
Reema Kagti: Kagti too has helmed different genre of films. After Honeymoon Travels Pvt Ltd and Talaash: The Answer Lies Within, Kagti is next trying her hands on a completely different topic – a sports biopic Gold, starring Akshay Kumar. The film will narrate the story of India's first Olympic gold win as a free nation.
