Coming out of the state of mediocrity, 2023 has been a great year for Hindi Film Industry. Here are 10 emerging directors who have impacted Hindi Cinema profoundly.
In 2023, there was a wave of extremely talented directors taking over the big screen alongside the OTT platforms. This surge of impressively compelling movies has gained them not just great success but also left Hindi movie viewers wanting more from them. While due to the pandemic, most of the compelling content was shifted to the OTT platforms but 2023, was an immensely successful year for not just Bollywood but the emerging directors with undeniable potential and artistry. Here’s the list of 10 directors who have mesmerized the audience with impressively investing and powerful movies in 2023.
- Abhishek Sinha – Tumse Na Ho Payega
We are starting the list with Abhishek Sinha and the impactful film ‘Tumse Na Ho Payega’. The movie was released on OTT where we could see his visionary approach breathed life into the narrative of the movie. The story was universally engaging portraying a tale of 28-year-old Gaurav trapped between a monotonous job and societal expectations. The topsy-turvy journey of this character who goes through losing their job along with continuously changing family dynamics made this film a must-watch for all movie lovers. Sinha with his experience of 18 years in the marketing field, has done a commendable job for this movie, and hopefully, more surprises will come along.
- Aasmaan Bhardwaj – Kuttey
We all have admired and enjoyed the visual treat offered by legendary Indian movie director, Vishal Bhardwaj, Aasmaan Bhardwaj is his talented son who has done a marvelous job in his debut film, Kuttey. The ensemble cast of the movie includes impressive and able actors like Tabu, Arjun Kapoor, Radhika Madan, Konkona Sen Sharma, Kumud Mishra, and Shardul Bhardwaj. The plot of the film is set on a rainy night in the outskirts of Mumbai. The storyline of the movie intertwines three stray gangs, unaware of each other, and a van loaded with millions in cash. The story reveals a powerful anecdote of people driven by greed which follows a comical chain of events.
- Victor Mukherjee – Lakadbaggha
This is the first time Victor Mukherjee has stepped up to direct a movie. Lakadbaggha is an impressive rendition of a vigilante movie, the story of Arjun Bakshi, an empathizer of animals. The cast of the movie includes actors like Anshuman Jha and Riddhi Dogra. Arjun Bakshi embarks upon an investigation where he uncovers an illicit animal trade network operating from the Kolkata port.
- Karan Boolani: Thank You For Coming
Where this film has ignited a polarizing reaction amongst its audience, but no one can deny the success of Karan Boolani as a director. The movie delves into the topic of women’s sexuality which is lesser explored in the Indian movie landscapes. The star-studded movie cast includes actors like Bhumi Pednekar, Shehnaaz Gill, Kusha Kapila, Natasha Rastogi, Dolly Ahluwalia, Pradhuman Singh, Karan Kundrra, and Anil Kapoor in a special appearance.
- Akshat Ajay Sharma – Haddi
This has been a pathbreaking movie in various aspects, where Akshat Ajay Sharma has cast Nawazuddin Siddiqui for the role of a eunuch. Sharma himself has a very interesting journey in the movie industry and with this film, he has started his career in filmmaking as well. The backdrop of the movie is based on modern ruins in NCR’s Gurgaon and Noida. The story unravels the story of Harika portrayed by Nawazuddin. She is a Transgender woman speaking to an elderly man about the potency of blessings from her community. The enthralling writing followed by the exceptional acting skills has made this movie a great success.
- Shantanu Bagchi – Mission Majnu
Shantanu Bagchi started his career in film making the highly invigorating movie ‘Mission Majnu’. A love story of a RAW agent placed in Pakistan. The film is set against the backdrop of the 1971 Indo-Pakistan War, where Amandeep “Aman” Singh portrayed by Sidharth Malhotra, a RAW field agent builds a love connection with Nasreen Hussain, portrayed by Rashmika Mandanna, a blind woman, leading to their marriage. The compelling storyline showcases how he successfully shares the confidential Pakistani inlet on how they are going to attack India with the Indian Embassy and also manages to save his wife.
- Yashovardhan – Kathal
Another impressively engaging OTT release has seen Yashovardhan in the director’s chair for the first time. This movie is set in the backdrop of central India’s socio-cultural intricacies, and how the disappearances of two “Kathal” (Jackfruit) are more important than the disappearances of several teenage girls. Sanya Malhotra has done a commendable job being the headline of the movie, but she was widely boosted by an extremely talented supporting cast, Anant V Joshi, Vijay Raaz, Rajpal Yadav, Brijendra Kala, and Raghubir Yadav.
- Sameer Vidwans – Satya Prem Ki Katha
Sameer Vidwans in his debut movie has talked about a very sensitive topic through some humor and some righteous monologues. The movie has an extremely star-lead cast like Kartik Aaryan and Kiara Advani, alongside actors like Gajraj Rao, Supriya Pathak, Shikha Talsania, and many others. Despite the uncomfortable topics like in-relationship sexual abuse, this movie was a great success at the box office, which smoothly denotes that Indian audiences accept these topics if they are presented in the most traditionally authentic way.
- Arjun Varain Singh – Kho Gaye Hum Kahan
Arjun Varain Singh debuts as an impressive movie director with his heartfelt movie ‘Kho Gaye Hum Kahan’ released on the OTT platform. This movie very sensitively unveils the stories of the three characters in their mid-twenties from Mumbai. The lead cast of the movie has Ananya Panday, Siddhant Chaturvedi, and Adarsh Gourav, trapped in between childhood trauma, societal dichotomy, and the engulfing part that social media plays in the lives of these people. The heartfelt narratives of these three friends will not just be the warmth of having friends around to have your back along with the uncomfortable truths of this generation.
- Atlee – Jawan
This movie was one of the massive successes of 2023 with Shahrukh Khan in the lead, Atlee, made his debut in the Bollywood film industry after winning billions of hearts with his mass successful Tamil movies. The movie is a collage of various anecdotes of each individual who aspires to be the modern-day Robin Hood. Apart from its huge box office success, this movie has a great way of showing the truth through the glasses of cinema. Atlee made the most successful debut of Bollyhood in 2023.
All-in-all this has been a great year for movie-wise, while the world was completely overwhelmed by the successful movies, non-Hindi dealing with sensitive topics made this year a huge success. And now as the year is coming to an end, this year was a great success and every movie lover is eagerly waiting for what the big screens have cooked up for them in 2024.
