Our movie industry is no longer the domain of men. South India’s most-talked-about flick in 2014 was directed by a woman – Anjali Menon – who helmed Bangalore Days. It was again a woman who directed India’s Oscar entry in 2014 – Geetu Mohandas’s Liars’ Dice.
A look at films by women directors that are set to release this year:
Zoya Akhtar – Dil Dhadkne Do
After her highly successful multi-starrer Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara, Zoya Akhtar is back with yet another film with a stellar cast – Dil Dhadkne Do. The film is about an affluent, yet dysfunctional Punjabi family – The Mehras. The parents – Anil Kapoor and Shefali Shah – take a cruise trip through the Mediterranean sea on the eve of their wedding anniversary, along with their children – Ranveer Singh and Priyanka Chopra, and Ranveer’s girlfriend (Anushka Sharma) and Priyanka’s best friend (Farhan Akhtar). Like Zoya’s previous film, this is also rumoured to be about relationship crisis and soul searching.
Sreebala K Menon – Love 24 X7
This Malayali woman has worked as an assistant to ace director Sathyan Anthikkad for a long time. She’s directed a documentary film on Accamma Cherian and a short film, Panthibhojanam, which took on the caste system in Kerala. Sreebala is an acclaimed writer too – her book 19, Canal Road won Kerala Sahitya Academy Award in 2005. Menon’s upcoming film Love 24X7 has Dileep in the lead role. A romantic comedy, this film will have music by Bijibal. Veteran actors Suhasini Mani Ratnam, journalist-actor Shashi Kumar, actor-writer Shankar Ramakrishnan and Lena are part of the supporting cast.
Aishwarya dhanush – Vai Raja Vai
Aishwarya needs no introduction. Her first film Three, starring her husband Dhanush and Shruti Haasan, was a psycho-drama – the favourite genre of her mentor Selvaraghavan, whom she assisted in Aayirathil Oruvan and Mayakkam Enna. Recently, she announced her third directorial venture – Vai Raja Vai, starring Priya Anand and Gautam Karthik. Unlike 3, this film is said to be a commercial romantic-entertainer.
Madhumita – Moodu Mukkallo Cheppalante
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Born in Chennai and brought up in Indonesia, Madhumita did her graduation in Singapore and Masters in Los Angeles. In the past, one of her short films won the best of the world category in BBC and she even worked with the Pirates Of The Caribbean team for some time. Her debut film in Tamil was Vallamai Tharayo, which won the Tamil Nadu state award for Best Family film. Her third directorial venture – Moone Moonu Varthai – is soon to be released. It is a bilingual which will be released in Telugu with the title – Moodu Mukkallo Cheppalante. In an interview with The Hindu, she was quoted as saying, “I also made a conscious effort to be in the commercial category as people tend to think that women make only art films”.
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