2020: OVERTO FRESH FILM MAKERS
As many as 13 new faces are helming big-ticket Bollywood projects this year
I was an assistant director on over 50 ad films through my teens, been Subhash Ghai’s chief AD. This is a natural progression as an artiste. ANSHUMAN JHA ACTOR-DIRECTOR
At the end of the day, cinema is a director’s medium. I am more than happy with the collections of my film [Tanhaji- The Unsung Warrior]. OM RAUT DIRECTOR
Apart from the fresh faces entering Bollywood as actors, 2020 is set to see as many as 13 directors making their debut and that too with big projects. For instance, period drama Tanhaji- The Unsung Warrior, helmed by newcomer Om Raut, did wonders at the box office. Abhishek Dudhaiya is directing Bhuj: The Pride of India. And Hardik Mehta, who co-wrote Trapped (2016), starring Rajkummar Rao, has two films ready for release — Kaamyaab and the horror comedy Roohi Afzana with Janhvi Kapoor and Rajkummar.
FIRST TIME’S THE CHARM
Getting a ₹250-crore grosser as your debut film is very rare, and Om did it with the Ajay
Devgn and Saif Ali Khanstarrer. “At the end of the day, cinema is a director’s medium. It’s always right to give control to the director, especially with a film like this, since you’re dealing with a lot of unknowns, like visual effects,” he shares.
Trade expert Atul Mohan says on this influx of new directors, “Last year too, we had seven to eight first-time directors who came up with huge successes. With a new person coming in, there’s a chance of freshness. It’s been observed since generations — when Sooraj Barjatya, Aditya Chopra came in, they had a new storytelling pattern. This happens in each decade.”
PRIOR EXPERIENCE COMES HANDY
Hardik admits making your debut as a director is not easy. “I assisted Vikramaditya Motwane, who insisted I make my own films and he’d produce them. My documentary film, Amdavad Ma Famous, won the National Award for Best NonFeature film in 2015. That helped, but you just have to keep pursuing,” he says.
Actor Anshuman Jha is set to try his hand at direction with Lord Curzon Ki Haveli. “I was an assistant director on over 50 ad films through my teens, been Subhash Ghai’s chief AD on Black & White (2008), but all of that was my process to prepare as an actor... this is a natural progression as an artiste,” says the 33-year-old.
Besides, there are some directors from the south Indian film industry who are helming a Hindi project for the first time. Raghava Lawrence directs Akshay Kumar in Laxmmi Bomb, while Gowtam Tinnanuri will direct the Hindi remake of his Telugu film, Jersey.
OFF THE BEATEN PATH
While masala films are the easiest, done right with music, dance and action thrown in, Hitesh Kewalya dared to go the different way with Shubh Mangal Zyada Saavdhan, a same-sex love story, starring Ayushmann Khurrana and Jitendra Kumar. “I wrote this one, and everyone felt this can be my first film. There wasn’t any pressure of ‘numbers’ since we knew we had good material on hand,” he says.
Kiara Advani-starrer Indoo Ki Jawani, directed by Abir Sengupta, again has a quirky subject, that of a small-town girl and her misadventures with dating apps.