Meet five directors who are tweaking conventional story-telling for good

With the emergence of OTT platforms, Indian audiences have been relishing borderless entertainment that explores lesser-explored genres in regional and foreign languages. And now a new generation of directors promises to stretch cinematic storytelling in brave new directions in the near future.

We pick some of our favourites:

Aakash Bhatia – Watch out for this maverick ad filmmaker turned director whose debut film ‘Looop Lapeta’ reimagines the German cult hit ‘Run Lola Run’ in the Indian context. Starring Taapsee Pannu and Tahir Raj Bhasin, this official adaptation will hopefully pack in all the energy and verve that Bhatia is known for. He has directed award-winning spots for brands ranging from Puma, Budweiser, Uber, Amazon, Becks Ice, KFC, Bookmyshow to name a few. He also directed the second season of the Emmy nominated web series ‘Inside Edge’. ‘Loop Lapeta’ is being produced by Ellipses Entertainment and Sony Pictures.

Siddharth and Garima – Siddharth-Garima or Siddharth Singh and Garima Wahal have already created powerful ripples with their edgy screenwriting, dialogues, and lyrics in hits like ‘Goliyon Ki Raasleela Ram-Leela’, ‘Toilet: Ek Prem Katha’, ‘Raabta’, and ‘Kabir Singh’. We are now waiting with baited breath for their debut directorial, ‘Saale Aashiq’ which is an unflinching take on honor killings and is a romance drama that is young, raw, and thrilling.

Balwinder Singh Janjua – Balwinder Singh Janjua has already carved a special niche as the screenplay writer of films like ‘Saand Ki Aankh’ and ‘Mubarakan’ and now we are eagerly awaiting his directorial debut, ‘Tera Kya Hoga Lovely’, starring Ileana D’Cruz and Randeep Hooda. This is supposedly a rib-tickling comedy grappling with India’s unrelenting obsession with fair skin. Against the backdrop of Haryana, the film chronicles the story of a dusky girl tamed by the prejudices and biases that the Indian society has against dark skin. Janjua has also written the film along with Rupinder Chahal and Anil Rodhan.

Jasmeet K Reen – Screenwriter Jasmeet K Reen known for ‘Pati Patni Aur Woh’ and ‘Force 2’, makes her directorial debut with ‘Darlings,’ a dark comedy starring Alia Bhatt, Shefali Shah, and Vijay Varma. This will be Alia’s maiden production in association with Red Chillies Entertainment and revolves around a mother-daughter duo in a conservative lower-middle-class neighbourhood in Mumbai. How the two find hope and joy against all odds is the central theme and we can’t wait to watch the magic of an untold story unfold. 

Anubhuti Kashyap – Anubhuti, the assistant director known for ‘Gangs of Wasseypur’ is currently filming ‘Doctor G’, which stars Ayushmann Khurrana, Shefali Shah, and Rakul Preet Singh. This is a campus comedy-drama where Shefali, Ayushmann, and Rakul will play doctors. Anubhuti has also co-written the script along with Sumit Saxena, Vishal Wagh, and Saurabh Bharat and the film promises to have the grit and the humor that Anubhuti is now known for.