2022 had its fair share of debutant directors like Abhishek Pathak, who directed one of the most successful movies of the year, Drishyam 2, and Tushar Jalota, whose Dasvi got a substantial amount of praise on the digital platform.
Jasmeet K Reen was a remarkable directorial discovery; her Darlings was one of OTT’s most successful films on Netflix.
Subhash K Jha lists 2023’s new directors that he’s looking forward to.
Photograph: Kind courtesy Aasmaan Bhardwaj/Instagram
This year begins with Aasmaan Bhardwaj’s Kuttey.
Aasmaan seems to have inherited his father Vishal Bhardwaj’s style of dark crime-infested film-making.
As Gulzar, who has mentored both father and son would say, ‘Tum aa gaye ho noire aa gaya hai.’
IMAGE: Cameraman Brijesh, Action Director Ravi Varma and Director Shantanu Bagchi on the sets of Mission Majnu. Photograph: Kind courtesy Ravi Varma/Facebook
Adman Shantanu Bagchi makes his directorial debut with Mission Majnu, a taut espionage tale, which makes its debut on Netflix this month.
Starring Sidharth Malhotra and Rashmika Mandanna, the story revolves around an undercover spy on a deadly mission.
Photograph: Kind courtesy Randeep Hooda/Instagram
Randeep Hooda turns director with Swatantra Veera Savarkar, the historical bio-pic which stars him in the lead role as well.
The actor reportedly lost 18 kilos to play the freedom fighter on screen.
IMAGE: Atlee with Vijay and Shah Rukh Khan. Photograph: Kind courtesy Atlee/Instagram
Shah Rukh Khan and Kartik Aaryan are cast in the debuts of directors, who have already made a name in other language films: Atlee in Jawan and Sameer Vidwans in Satyaprem Ki Katha.
Tamil Director Atlee has mostly worked with superstar Vijay in films like Theri, Mersal and Bigil, and is now exploring Hindi cinema.
IMAGE: Sameer Vidwans with Kartik Aaryan.Photograph: Kind courtesy Sameer Vidwans/Instagram
National Award-winning Director Sameer Vidwans (for his Marathi film Anandi Gopal) also steps into Bollywood to direct the romantic drama Satyaprem Ki Katha, and show Kartik in a never-seen-before avatar.
IMAGE: Sagar Ambre and Pushkar Ojha with Sidharth Malhotra and Disha Patani. Photograph: Kind courtesy Disha Patani/Instagram
Karan Johar takes Sidharth Malhotra in action mode in Yodha, directed by debutante duo Sagar Ambre and Pushkar Ojha.
While Sagar is credited for working in films like Uri: The Surgical Strike and Pathaan, Pushkar is credited for assisting pn films like Pathaan and Kick.
