I have seen many many movies during my growing years and some movies , I have repeated about 50-60 times. Sometimes it was due to the film itself, or at times for the music or the stars.
As I grew up I have realized that the directors who made those movies contributed maximum for its popularity.
My Favorite Film directors are :
1.Guru Dutt
Drop dead good looking, pensive yet with a good sense of humour, some of this director’s films fall in my top 5.
I can watch Mr and Mrs 55, and Aar paar, again and again, his favorite comedians Tun-Tun and Johny walker are my favorites too, Recently I saw Pyaasa in Turner classic movies channels and I thought it was very well made.
2.Vijay Anand
He is one of the most versatile, all round directors who has given some of hindi cinema’s unforgettable hits like
Teesri Manzil, Jewel thief, Johnny Mera Naam, Guide etc.
He has the god gifted combination of putting the right concoction of story, action, suspense, good songs, entertaining item numbers and the right stars.
Very ahead of his times, he introduced the sizzling numbers Raat akeli hai (Jewel thief) and Husne ke laakhon rang (Johnny mera naam ). Most of his movies had a very strong original story line and my favourite yesteryear star Dev Anand .
3.B.R Chopra
He was the director who made very strong and message oriented movies. His movies were usually serious and had a strong punch in them. He was the first to introduce the famous lost and found theory, among brothers with Waqt. His other movie Insaaf ka taraazu was a social drama against rape. Very well directed and unbearably realistic. Trishul was a yet another powerful film with Sanjeev and Amitabh’s finest performances.
4.Yash Chopra
Being a diehard romantic and emotional at heart, I have always enjoyed Yash Chopra’s mushy films be it Kabhi Kabhi or Silsila or Lamhe. He had a inimitable knack of potraying the lead heroine, stunningly beautiful as never before. Songs and romance are a big plus in his movies and his films are meant to be watched with families.
5.Subhash Ghai
called the showman of hindi movies has always given wholesome movies.
Hero, Karma, Khalnaayak, Pardes have been some of my favorite movies.
6.Ramesh Sippy
Who can forget Sholay , the movie that broke all records and made people watch it again and again for its story, dialogues and characters. Other notable movies under his belt are Andaaz, Seeta aur Geeta, Saagar, Shakti etc.
7.Raj Kapoor
I never liked him as an Actor, nor did I approve of his showing the heroines in a bad light at times. But I thought he was a good director in terms of packaging and stories. I particularly liked Sangam and Prem rog in his list.
8.Raj Khosla
As a big Dev Anand fan, I have had the good fortune of seeing his films like C.I.D, Solva saal, Kaala pani etc not knowing that the same director made all these thrillers. He also specialized in suspense movies like Woh kaun thi, Mera Saaya etc.
Yet another director very ahead of his times who knew to weave the perfect story and bring it to a nail biting finish.
9.Ashutosh Gowariker
I have been following him since his circus days (not physically ;)). I always liked him as an actor. I also saw his Baazi and felt it was a nice movie, had no clue why it flopped. From a small screen actor to the Oscars, Ashutosh has carved a niche for himself with Lagaan .
10 Sooraj Barjatya
But this man wont last in my list, if he churns out another MPKDH. I cant write him off just because of one movie. I really liked his other three films.
I wont say they were very realistic, but he introduced the concept of showing joint families in a positive light and showing Indian traditional weddings, engagements and making it an exclusive part of movies.
I like to watch happy people, utopian setups and childish romance however unbelievable it may be. After all movies are for taking us away from the mundane , pragmatic world to the land of Dreams. Isnt it ???
Comments , corrections and suggestions welcome :)