BizAsia’s Top 5 Directors of 2017

It’s the directors who quite often make a film what it is. This year, there have been some very interesting films with unconventional stories which have been appreciated and praised by both critics and audiences. BizAsiaLive.com looks at the five directors who have stood out in the last 12 months.

Amit Masurkar – ‘Newton’
With ‘Newton’, the talented Amit Masurkar marked his second outing as director. The film’s selection at the Oscars was something that should have made people sit up and take notice if they hadn’t done so before. Masurkar’s expertise was exactly what made ‘Newton’ and all the stars who were a part of it the kind of film that’s subtle but has a great impact. With a cast headed up by Rajkummar Rao, Masurkar managed to portray this rather interesting story about voting in elections in a small village in a relatable and comic fashion.

R S Prasanna – ‘Shubh Mangal Saavdhan’
With this Ayushmann Khurrana and Bhumi Pednekar starrer, R S Prasanna step foot in Bollywood for the first time, having directed a Tamil film in 2013. The topic of the film was almost taboo – erectile dysfunction. However, the way Prasanna brings the story to the audiences put the subject to a family audience. He didn’t make it uncomfortable to watch with parents or older family members but portrayed a couple’s real problem in a comical and thought-provoking way. There was a freshness which perhaps an acclaimed filmmaker may not have quite got right and we think Prasanna’s future projects will definitely be ones to watch out for.

Ashwiny Iyer Tiwari – ‘Bareilly Ki Barfi’
The ever talented Ashwiny Iyer Tiwari was known for her film ‘Nil Battey Sanata’ in 2015. She returned with ‘Bareilly Ki Barfi’ this year, a story written by her husband Nitesh Tiwari. With this small town story surrounding three main characters played by Ayushmann Khurrana, Rajkummar Rao and Kriti Sanon, Tiwari touches the heart of the audiences by making each bit of the film seem like it’s ordinary life. She brings out great performances in Khurrana, Rao and Sanon as well as Pankaj Tripathi and Seema Pahwa. The result was an engaging and wonderful film which strikes quite a chord.

Anurag Basu – ‘Jagga Jasoos’
Although ‘Jagga Jasoos’ received wholly mixed reviews, we think Anurag Basu deserves a place on the top five list. With this film, he absolutely caters to the young audiences with the various depictions of the main character Jagga (Ranbir Kapoor) and his adventures. The film makes for an interesting watch for the adults too, with Kapoor showing his versatility all over again. Basu should definitely be commended for making such a film, which is a refreshing take on a musical which Bollywood is known so well for.

Shree Narayan Singh – ‘Toilet – Ek Prem Katha’
‘Toilet – Ek Prem Katha’ was another example of how B-town filmmakers are pushing the boat out in terms of topics to bring to the forefront. Shree Narayan Singh deals with a story about open defecation in this film, which starred Akshay Kumar and Bhumi Pednekar in the lead roles. He puts just the right amount of ingredients for the audiences to see what the plight of real women in small villages is in India and he also encourages those who “run” the villages to take notice of the issue. Kumar and Pednekar’s performances were praised in this film and no doubt that credit goes mostly to this director.

As always, no list is complete without a couple of special mentions for those who didn’t quite make the cut but deserve to be recognised. The first of the two in this instance is debutante Advait Chandan for ‘Secret Superstar’. The film was not only well received but did well at the box office too, with Zaira Wasim in the lead, putting out her singing talent to the world in secret. Chandan’s attention to detail and grasp of human emotions was there for all to see and it made for great viewing, which even audiences outside India identified with.

The second is Ali Abbas Zafar for ‘Tiger Zinda Hai’. It’s not easy taking over a franchise which started off with another director, more so when it’s the super talented Kabir Khan. However, Zafar puts his own stamp on this second instalment and creates another success after last year’s ‘Sultan’. The film’s huge success at the box office has quite literally revived the whole year’s worth of films and for this he can’t be missed off this list.