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Female DirectorsWith Luck By Chance, Zoya Akhtar proved the creative genes hadn't been passed down only to brother Farhan. Her next Zindagi Milegi na Dobara, has an all star lineup of Hrithik Roshan, Katrina Kaif, Farhan Akhtar, Abhay Deol and Kalki Coechlin. All eyes will be on Zoya to see if her early success was just luck by chance -
Female DirectorsPooja Bhatt tried to fill papa Mahesh's directorial shoes with the disastrous Paap. She went on to direct a Hindi remake of Dirty Dancing titled Holiday, Dhokha and the Himmesh Reshammiya starrer Kajraare. We think she needs to redirect her career choices -
Female DirectorsMeghna, daughter of Gulzaar and Rakhee, made her directorial debut with Filhaal, a tale of surrogate motherhood that left moviegoers cold. Her next screen outing was Just Married: Marriage Was Only the Beginning! with a cast that was destined to fail. The most recent of the lot was one of the stories in Dus Kahaniyaan. -
Female DirectorsCritically acclaimed Aparna Sen made a sensational debut behind the camera with 36, Chowringhee Lane in 1981 which won her a National Award. She has directed movies in Bengali, Hindi and English, among them the award winning Mr & Mrs Iyer and 15, Park Avenue. Most recently, she brought together Rahul Bose and Raime Sen in The Japanese Wife -
Female DirectorsDream Girl Hema Malini directed a little known Shah Rukh Khan opposite Divya Bharti in her first film behind the lens, Dil Aashna Hai. The movie was a box office hit but Hema stayed away from the director's chair after the first success. She is now in the middle of a project which stars husband Dharmendra and daughter Esha Deol. -
Female DirectorsReema Kagti made a dream directorial debut with Honeymoon Travels Pvt Ltd featuring an ensemble cast including Shabana Azmi, Amisha Patel and Dia Mirza. Her next, as yet untitled film, will feature the combined star power of Aamir Khan, Kareena Kapoor and Rani Mukherjee -
Female DirectorsTanuja Chandra's many films have mostly gone unnoticed. Her best work was showcased in her initial years as a director. 1998's Dushman with Kajol, Sanjay Dutt and Ashutosh Rana was a gripping, if gory, watch. Sangharsh, loosely based on The Silence Of The Lambs, featured a powerhouse performance from Ashutosh Rana and is considered to have been made before it's time -
Female DirectorsKalpana Lajmi experimented with story lines that explored the darker side of life in the critically acclaimed Rudaali and Daman. Both films won accolades for actresses Dimple Kapadia and Raveena Tandon, including a National Award apiece. Her last movie, Chingaari, was a box office disaster but lead actress Sushmita Sen's performance was praised. Kalpana Lajmi may not set the cash registers ringing, but she does know how to get a a great performance out of her girls -
Female DirectorsSai Paranjpye moved to cinema from Marathi theatre with Sparsh which won the National Award. She next directed Farooque Sheikh and Deepti Naval in comedies Chashme Baddoor and Katha. Her most recent big screen outing was Saaz, a fictionalized account of the lives of songstress sisters Lata Mangeshkar and Asha Bhonsle -
Female DirectorsFormer journalist Anusha Rizvi had a story to tell – and tell it she did, with a little help from producer Aamir Khan. Peepli Live, a satirical examination of farmer suicides in rural India, established Anusha as a director to watch -
Female DirectorsLeena Yadav has had little luck as a director despite the star cast she inevitable manages to score. Shabd starred Sanjay Dutt, Aishwarya Rai and Zayed Khan but failed to make any sort of dent at the box office. Teen Patti boasted of cinematic tour de forces Amitabh Bachchan and Sir Ben Kingsley but crashed and burned on release. Third time lucky, perhaps? -
Female DirectorsAfter lighting up the screen with her girl next door roles in Chasme Baddoor, Rang Birangi and Saath Saath, Deepti Naval is directing Manisha Koirala in Do Paise Ki Dhoop, Char Aane Ki Barish. Watch this space for updates on her foray behind the lens -
Female DirectorsSonam Kapoor's performance may been eclipsed by her wardrobe in Aisha but the film did bring director Rajshree Ojha onto the Bollywood radar. Her adaptation of Jane Austen's Emma holds the promise of a successful directorial career
