Woman directors. Review on Five Best Woman Directors of Indian Cinema

I have already written review on this under the topic ten bets directors of hindi cinema.Now MS has added this topic to the database.

I always worry that women hesitate to come to cinema industry as technicians behind the screen. Though in India woman directors are small in number they have proved a lot than the male directors in international level. They are the directors who have taken Indian cinema out of India. After reading this review you will surely accept with my statement.

1) MIRA NAIR

She started her career with documentary films. Then she switched to feature films and in her debut venture in 1988 ’’Salaam Bombay’’ she got great recognition in the international level. She was awarded the best new director as Cannes Film Festival and the film was also nominated in best foreign film category in Academy Awards. The film deserves all these accolades because of the extraordinary realism in the movie. Then she came out with her next controversial film ’’Kamasutra: A tale of Love story”, the film about the love story in 15 century set in India. Then after that she did ’’Monsoon Wedding’’ which shows different aspects of love in a traditional Punjabi wedding background. All her movies are different and cross over movies. She has contributed a lot for the recognition of Indian cinema in the west.

2) DEEPA METHA

She is a very well known for her controversial subjects in India and also in overseas. She started her career with the movie ’’Sam and Me”. Then in 1996 she came out with ’’FIRE’’ a film about Lesbianism that shook the cultural values of Indians and created lot of controversies inside India. The film had ShabanaAzmi and Nandita das in lead roles. “Fire’’ won the Federal Express Award for Best Canadian Film as chosen by the audience. At the Chicago International Film Festival, it won two Silver Hugo Awards for Best Direction and Best Actress. In Mannheim, ’’Fire’’ won the Jury Award and in Paris, it was voted Favorite Foreign Film. It won the International Jury Prize for Best Film at the Verona International Film Festival in Italy, October 1997. It was one of twenty-nine films selected from over 1400 entries, world-wide, for the prestigious New York Film Festival. Then see directed a movie on the second element ’’1947:Earth’’ in 1999 starring Nandita Das and Amir Khan in lead roles and the movie is based on the dispute between Hindus and Muslims before independence of India. And then she started with her third element ’’Water’’ but due to lot of political blackmails and threat she dropped the movie which would have been a much controversial movie to follow the list. Then follows ’’Bollywood Hollywood’’ last year.

3) APARNA SEN

She is a Bengali director whose first venture was’’ 36 Chowringhee Lane’’ and recently she came with ’’Mr and Mrs. Iyer’’.A love story between a Bengali wildlife photographer and a married Tamilian Brahmin woman, set in the backdrop of fundamentalism and violence, the film stars Rahul Bose and Konkona (Sen’s daughter). The film has been chosen as the official selection at the Locarno film festival this year, of which actor Aamir Khan is a jury member.Sen bagged the Junior Jury second prize for the best director and the Net Pac Jury prize for her ‘‘courage in raising an issue of relevance in a work of cinematic density’’. Konkana sen got National award in India as Best Actress.

4) REVATHI

She is introduced in Tamil cinema industry as an actress. One cannot forget her performance in’’Mouna Raagam’’ a Tamil directed by Maniratnam.She has been a successful actress for more than fifteen years in Tamil cinema and she has got a national award and five film fare awards for Best Actress. This actress turned a director by the movie ’’Mitr-My friend’’ which is about clash between two cultures (Indian and western)dealt in a different way in this movie.Shobana another leading actress in south india bagged National award for her performance in this movie. All the technicians behind the screen of this movie are female which is very rare or very new to international cinema. Dialogues by Sudha Kongara is OK. Bhavatharini scores the music and the lyrics are by Thamarai. Beena is the editor and Vasundhara Das has sung the songs. Camera is by Fouzia Fathima, who was the assistant of P.C.Sriram.A very good and a descent movie from Revathi and she is now directing a Hindi movie starring Abishek Bachan and Kareena kapoor.

5) SUHASINI MANIRATNAM

Another well known actress of south Indian cinema. She has two national awards for her performance. She is also the wife of greatest director of Indian cinema Maniratnam.Her first and only movie as director is ’’Indra’’ .This is a pakka Tamil movie made on the upper and lower caste problem in villages of south India. Again it is a subject that portrays the values of humanity. It is also’’Indra’’ a village girl who turns to a responsible leader of her village who struggle for her people’s rights. The story is convincingly told with all commercial elements in it. It is one of the best Tamil movies I have seen. It has been screened in International Film Festival in Minsk and Suhasini was awarded in the festival.

The most common feature that I see in all woman directors is their interest in bringing out social issues in their films and they never compromised to make their movie a commercial one. Every thing is fine, but think of, nobody is in mainstream cinema .Why they aren’t doing any main stream films which can blend both art and commercialism so that ordinary people will also come to know about these talents. The attitude of the people has changed. They are now ready to accept this off stream movies also but it has to improve a lot so that in addition to lot of awards and accolades the movie also does a good business too in India.

HATS OFF TO ALL THE WOMAN DIRECTORS OF INDIAN CINEMA.