Top 15 Film Directors I Love to Watch

Being a self-proclaimed movie-buff, I took a long time to write a movie based post. Here is the one where I tried to list down my top 15 film directors who (almost) consistently impressed me with their craft and captivated my senses through tightly scripted, content oriented movies.

While I loved some masterpieces by directors like Guru Dutt, Satyajit Ray, Akira Kurosawa, Al Hitchcock, Roman Polaski, Adoor Gopalakrishnan, Stanley Kubrick, Client Eastwood, Ang Lee, Ridley Scott, Steven Spielberg, Ben Affleck, Vishal Bhardwaj, I don't see their work as consistently engaging.

Though I'm a fan of international cinema, especially European, Iranian, Brazilian, Korean stuff and immensely admired single pieces of work of Majid Majidi, Alejandro Inarritu, Fernando Meirelles, I haven't seen their whole body of work to list them under my favorites either.

I couldn't care less about hero-elevation and mass elements which I never identified myself with and so the list is irrespective of their box office exploits or fan-base and hence could look skewed and stupid to few. Take it in your stride, guys :)

COUNTDOWN

(15) SS.Rajamouli: I hated all his movies from Student No 1 to Maryada Ramanna and yet he is in the list because of his ability and sheer brilliance in translating a script into visual drama on screen. He could dramatize even a gait or stare with aplomb, which sometimes goes overboard though. While many sequences in Bahubali were copied (err...adapted) from Ten Commandments, Ben-Hur and GOT, he is an undisputed craftsman who delivers visual opulence in constrained budget vis-a-vis his hollywood counterparts. You may as well peek into my earlier post about him at A Brand called Rajamouli

(14) AR Muragadoss: Yes, 'SYPder' was a dud and so was 'Stalin'. But a man who could captivate audiences through edge-of-the-seat screenplay and provide vicarious pleasure to star-fans through 'Thupakki', 'Kaththi', '7am arivu', 'Ghajini', 'Ramana' deserves a mention here.

(13) Imtiaz Ali: While his last couple of films were tedious to watch, he introduced a style of film-making which showed love-stories in a different light. Raw, intense and authentic. His debut 'Socha Na Tha' was a surprise for me but 'Jab We Met', 'Love Aajkal' and 'Rockstar' cemented my loyalty in his brand of film-making. 

(12) S. Shankar: When his films were dubbed into Telugu as 'Gentleman', 'Premikudu', 'Bharateeyudu',  'Oke Okkadu', many believed he could do no wrong and would be an unprecendented hit-machine. He showed what grandeur was much before Rajamouli did and could be deservedly called 'James Cemeron' of India. But later movies were huge let-down. Hoping to see the vintage Shankar with that vintage Rahman musicals soon.

(11) Woody Allen: The master of romantic comedies and God of conversation based movies (which I crave). 'Annie Hall' and 'Manhattan' stand tall as his outstanding artistry and inspiration for scores of film-makers since then. Most of the new-age directors copy (intentionally or unintentionally) or follow Woody Allen who could be credited for inventing a new genre of movies.

(10) Trivikram-Vijaya Bhaskar: A legendary dialogue-writer whose movies run in my car's rear entertainment system all through the year. His movies have repeat value and though he worked with star heroes, he successfully steered across insipid scenes and predictable conversations unlike his other more successful contemporaries. But must also say that movies he ghost-directed with Vijayabhasker at helm ('Nuvvu Naaku Nachav', 'Manmadhudu', 'Swayamvaram') were much more entertaining than the ones he directed to credit himself. 

(9) Farhan Akhtar: If Hindi movie history can be classified into two eras, it should be definitely before and after 'Dil Chahta Hai'. DCH released in 2001 along with more successful 'Lagaan' and 'Gadar' but the impact it made changed the dynamics and ecosystem of Bollywood. 'Zindagi Milegi Na Dobara' which he wrote and allegedly directed for his sister should be made a case-study not only in film institutes but in every personality development institute.

(8) James Cameron: The magician himself for whom sky is the limit. When top 2 biggest worldwide grocers of all time happen to be his movies, he doesn't need any further paeans or tributes. Another thing which puts him head and shoulders above other greats is his unique ability to balance visual grandeur and emotional connect which would make spectators oblivious of the fact they were watching a piece of fiction on screen.

(7) Hrishikesh Mukherjee / Jandhyala Subramanya Sastry: Legends who created a whole middle path between brainless, slapstick commercials on one side and lackluster, painfully tedious art cinema on the other during 70's-90's. Their boy and girl next door plots revolving around middle class families and day to day issues were refreshingly identifiable and heart warming. Jandhyala of Telugu film industry adapted Hrishida' style and revolutionized Telugu movies and carved a whole sub-industry in the otherwise loud era marked by mediocrity of Dasari Narayana Rao, Kodandarami Reddy, Raghavendra Rao.  

(6) Quentin Tarantino: Who else could glorify violence and bloodshed like THE Tarantino. I once randomly ran into 'Pulp Fiction' and was so stupefied by his style of creativity that I spent the next week watching all his remaining filmography. While 'Kill Bill' is the most loved among his works, 'Inglorious Basterds' was not too far behind. Tarantino revolutionized and redefined the words style, violence, gangsters, guns and background music. A certain 'Ram Gopal Varma' can copy and aspire to be Tarantino all he wants, but he must realize there's only one original.

(5) Rajkumar Hirani: I can't think of any other film director who can have such profound impact on the masses' behavior as Raju Hirani. And he nails it without getting into preaching mode. Be it education system in '3 Idiots', hospital ecosystem in 'Munnabhai MBBS', superstitions and Gandhian values in 'Lage Raho Munnabhai' or religious stupidity in 'PK' - Hirani drives his points with crisp conversations, captivating sequences and razor sharp screenplay. Aspiring film makers can study his style of film making to learn how to write, shoot, edit sequences which enthrall audiences throughout the film watching experience. The best contemporary film maker in India, period

(4) Martin Scorsese: Any legendary film director would be usually known by his one best movie which defines him/her. But Martin Scorsese churned out such landmark movies which each could easily be the best movie of the respective decade. Isn't Goodfellas the best gangster movie ever made ? Taxi Driver, Shutter Island, The Departed, The Gangs of New York, Raging Bull are such unforgettable classics that Hollywood should be renamed as "Scorsese Film Industry". 

(3) K. Viswanath: If there's anybody who's all time best film director India has ever produced, that would be none other than Viswanath. Especially his movies of early 80's like sagara sangamam, swathi mutyam, sitara, sirivennela, shrutilayalu, swayam krushi, swarna kamalam show how one visionary rose amidst a plethora of substandard film makers to confer certain respect to vernacular music, performing arts, linguistic aesthetics while addressing social evils when he could have easily chosen the regular run-of-the-mill formulae of the industry. And masses who were accused to be enjoying mediocrity rose along and gave their stamp of approval.

(2) Christopher Nolan: When I first watched 'Memento' (way before Ghajini), I was so lost and confused with two interspersing stories which was too taxing on my mind. When I watched it for the second time, it looked like a whole new movie altogether. Making a film like a puzzle and giving audiences some clues to figure out the plot was sheer brilliance of a certain Chris Nolan. Nolan is not just a film maker but a bonafide genius, a savant per se. His Batman series was a bit let-down but The Prestige, Inception and Interstellar too test audiences' mind more than visual senses. He is one of a kind.

(1) David Fincher: All the above mentioned film makers were genii in their own right but if there is one creative genius who made me sit on the edge of the seat without blinking in almost 10 movies, that's David Fincher. Each one of his movies got me intensely intrigued, gave me adrenaline rush and palpable heart beat. Being a massive fan of all kinds of thrillers (psychological, crime, plain old), I don't think there's any number 2 in the genre miles behind David Fincher. If you haven't watched his work, its time you get your ass down to watch 'panic room', 'zodiac', 'gone girl', 'the girl with the dragon tattoo', 'se7en' etc

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Special Mention:

Ram Gopal Varma: How I was an avid fan of RGV once and how I gradually got disillusioned by him at The Curious Case of Ram Gopal Varma

The so called acclaimed film directors I love to hate - Mani Ratnam, Sanjay Leela Bhansali, Karan Johar, George Lucas, Peter Jackson,