Releasing a movie is like giving birth to a baby; the process involved is strenuous, it involves a lot of patience and effort, and finally, the end result is always a masterpiece. Despite whether the audience accepts a movie or not, or if it lacks certain elements or is a blockbuster hit, a movie is an art. An art does not have to be pretty and not all can understand it, but its presence is always appreciated. Very similar to an art, a movie too is appreciated in its own way.
Directing a movie is not a simple job. It involves a great deal of money, time, skill and patience. That is why not all succeed in presenting a flawless movie. Even for the well-accomplished directors, it is very difficult to connect with the audience. It is more pressurizing for directors who are just starting and have to bring out their very first film. Debut directors have a lot of expectations to match in order to find a place for themselves. Not all make it big at their very first attempt. While a very few hit the gold at their first try, most of them have to learn the making of movies with practice.
Despite all the hurdles involved, there were some debut directors who made a splendid job in making their very first movie. Here is a list of 5 successful directors and their debut movies:
Gauri Shinde
Gauri Shinde made her debut with the immensely praised English-Vinglish. The story is about a middle-aged mother who learns to speak English so as to impress her family. Her second movie, Dear Zindagi too was a big hit. Shinde featured in the Financial Times 2012 list of “25 Indians to watch” and in the Rediff’s list of “Bollywood’s 5 best directors of 2012.”
Karthik Subbaraj
Karthik Subbaraj made his debut with the horror film Pizza, starring Vijay Sethupathi in the lead. Even though it was a low-budget movie, it gained huge commercial success. Karthik followed Pizza with Jigarthanda and then Iraivi, which were both big hits.
Sudha Kongara
Sudha Kongara debuted as a screenwriter for the Indian-English film Mitr, My Friend, which won the Best English Film of the Year award at the 49th National Film Awards. She made her Tamil directorial debut with Drohi, starring Srikanth and Vishnu. Her Hindi debut, Saala Khadoos (Irudhi Suttru in Tamil) was a huge hit and received critical acclaim.
Ayan Mukerji
Ayan Mukerji made his debut at the age of 26, with the coming of age drama film, Wake Up Sid. His next film, Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani too was a huge hit. Both the movies were Ranbir Kapoor starrers and both became extremely popular. His next upcoming movie, Dragon is a superhero flick starring Ranbir Kapoor and Alia Bhatt.
Atlee
Arun Kumar, or commonly known as Atlee made his debut with the rom-com Raja Rani. Atlee used to work under S. Shankar as the assistant director for Endhiran and Nanban. Raja Rani became highly successful, gaining positive reviews from everyone. His second film Theri, starring Vijay was also a blockbuster hit.