Top 10 Film Directors of Bollywood | Minds Behind The Curtain!

Top 10 Directors of Bollywood! 

In a country where the lead actor is generally considered to be the most important person in a movie, here we are providing you a list of people who tell those actors how to act, when to act, what to act and most importantly provide them a world to act. Enjoy the list of the top 10 Directors of Bollywood !

10. Priyadashan

Priyadarshan style is not of the typical Hindi flicks. His comedy is more close to reality and looks less of a natural and impossible events. He went on to direct Hindi comedy movie such as hulchul, garam masala, bhul bhulaiya amongst many more which were hit movies. In 2008 he was awarded special honor jury award for his work for Indian cinema in 2012 he was awarded the Padma Shri for his contribution towards art. He has been nominated and awarded built several times. He was married to Lissi, a film actress who has worked with in 16 of his own films.

9. Ashutosh Gowarikar

His passion for cinema immediately draw your attention, making you realise that Ashutosh Gowarikar would not have been anywhere except behind the camera, however tempting the choice. An actor who took to film direction after almost a decade in front of the camera, Ashutosh has acted in Hindi films, Marathi films, television serials and commercials and although the transition from acting to direction was difficult it was destined.
His diverse exposure as an actor whetted his appetite to helm a project taking on the directorial reign for the first time with Pehla Nasha a murder mystery in 1993. Though the film did not do very well at the box office, it helped Ashutosh find firm ground as a director. He followed this up with Baazi, a thriller in 1995 which enjoyed average success but lead Ashutosh on a journey in search of better script.

8. Zoya Akhtar

Zoya Akhtar is that rare filmmaker who can depict the perspectives of male as well as female protagonists. Her films are rarely skewed towards one point of view and are distinguished by their emotional balance. Each time there is a conflict in the plot and character as shown in dealing with it the way most real people do there is a rarely any melodrama even the not so easy to like characters are shown as believable and full of heart be it the fruits rising in luck by chance are the over possessive fiance and self is father in Zindagi Na milegi dobara you care about character even when they are up to no good.

For long are filmmakers have been selling us montage shots of firang tourist attractions coupled with hammy extras to pass off as locals. But with Zindagi Na milegi dobara Zoya managed to transport her audiences to the breathtaking places being shown on screen. Zoya has raised the bar for all and prove that travel scenes in the movies is much more than just snappily edited postcards, it's about making the audience a part of the characters journey.

7. Kamal Swaroop

Swaroop is well acclaimed filmmaker and screenwriter. He graduated from film and television institute of India in 1974 and later on did he postgraduate studies at the institute in 1982 he assisted sir Richard Attenborough in the filming of Gandhi. His feature Om-Dar-B-Dar (1998) is still considered a path breaking film and it has a massive cult following among cinephiles Swaroop's career, spanning 42 years, covers a broad range of films, channel promo for channel V India, ads and Radio Spots. In 2014 he directed the battle of Banaras produced by mediant and went on to release tracing phalke in 2015 for film division of India. Later on he made Pushkar Puran (2016) and Atul (2016) based on the world-renowned Dadaist artist Atul Dodiya.

6. Vishal Bhardwaj

Vishal Bharadwaj is an Indian film director, writer, composer, singer and producer. He has directed 10 feature films, produced 5 and composed music for more than 40. His directorial work includes Makdi, The blue Umbrella, kaminey, 7 khoon maaf, Matru ki bijlee ka mandola, Rangoon, Pataka as well as internationally acclaimed Shakespeare trilogy Maqbool, Omkara and Haider prominent films written and produced by him are Ishqiya, Dedh Ishqiya and Talvar.

He has received three international awards Makdi receive the best film award at Chicago international children's film festival. Omkara won the best artistic and division in cinema awarded the Cairo international film festival and Haider won the people choice awarded the Rome film festival. He has also received 7 national awards best music direction for Godmother, best children's film for The blue umbrella special jury award for Omkara best music direction for this Ishqiya best dialogues and best music direction for Haider and best screenplay for Talvar.

5. Vikramaditya Motwane

Story is everything... As someone who enjoys watching all kind of films, Motwane's criterion for what makes a good film is quite simple. Story, story, story.  Everything else is pure technicality. he reiterates before eleborating. "You can be technically strong and focus all your efforts on elements like casting, music, cinematography and sets but they are all just add-ons. End of the day, filmmaking is really about how well you tell a story."

A moviemaker who began his career as assistant director to Sanjay Leela bhansali, Motwane espouses that making short films is an ideal way to kick start a career in film making. "It is the only way" he states adding you can assist another director and learn the ropes of craft over the years but becoming director is about finding your own voice and you have got to experiment. Make bad short films make mistakes now you don't want to make a mistake with your first movie now, do you? he quotes discover yourself through the process find your strength your voice he advises.

4. Hansal Mehta

As John F Kennedy famously said, "Change is the law of life and those who looked only to the past or present a certain to miss the future." It seems Hansal Mehta is a believer of the same. Films like Dil pe mat le yaar, Ye Kya ho raha hai, Woodstock Villa, Shahid, Citylights, aligarh and simran but it was only after Shahid that everything changed for the better. Each of these films told a different human story. 

He carved a niche for his films and made it to the list of most promising directors this 2.0 version of Hansal Mehta was extremely busy before the lockdown he was working on a film title Challaang with Rajkumar Rao and a web show based on harshad Mehta meteoric rise and fall.

3. Dibakar Banarjee

What sets Diwakar Banerjee apart as a filmmaker is his in-depth understanding of his subjects he doesn't translate his characters in stories to function only in the cinematic space in street he creates an elaborate map at three dimensional reality for his stories to existing in.

The death metaphor used to sinister effects by energy is a much effective drop in a film like Shanghai which comments on the moral degeneration of a state.

But it is not just the themes and the metaphors or the script and the camera. It is the logic behind everything that he puts on the screen. The very experimental LSD (2010) is decidedly uncouth and garish. The violence is too real and so is the voyeurism. This one disgusts you completely.

2. Rajkumar Hirani

An expert at understanding the psyche of the Indian moviegoer. His movies are light hearted but a revolve around significant societal issues. What is really special about Hirani is that his films don't just do well at the box office but they also have a good shelf life. In most of his films there is one protagonist who is afraid to tell the female protagonist that he loves her.

What differentiates Hirani from other filmmakers is his ability to create a story where he can deftly use humour to question the mindset of the audience.

He is a visionary who continues to stand out in his fraternity. Munna Bhai MBBS was his directorial debut and it broke all formula conventions associated with the Bollywood. It was a cult in itself!

1. Anurag Kashyap

Anurag Kashyap is a filmmaker who is in a league of his own. With a certain type of audience, his movies explore different set of genres too, which he and undoubtedly excels in. On the contrary, Kashyap was not one of those people born to make films. He was pursuing zoology till the day he watched Bicycle Thieves (1948) at film festival in 1993. That was when he left everything behind and and arrived to Bombay to pursue filmmaking and now he is one of the best film makers our industry has.

Majorly revolving around thrill, crime and politics his films make for a delightful watch for the right kind of audience of course.

His major films are Gangs of Wasseypur, Dev D, Ugly, Gulal, Black Friday and Mukkabaaz.