Best Bollywood Directors Who Presented Brilliant Stories in 2018

The hitmakers Rajkumar Hirani and Sanjay Dutt did it again! But this time Sanjay was not Hirani’s hero for inspiration for his film. Rajkumar Hirani made a biopic on Sanjay Dutt titled as Sanju. The film showed the dark period of Sanjay Dutt’s life. Sanju went on to be listed as one of the highest openers of 2018. And well if we talk about casting, who can forget Ranbir Kapoor’s exact portrayal of Sanjay Dutt in the film.  

We can surely say that Andhadhun is how a thriller film should be! The movie has twists in every second and the credit goes to Sriram Raghavan’s direction and lead cast’s acting. Andhadhun will continue to be celebrated, as it is one of the best Bollywood thriller movies. A huge appreciation for Sriram Raghavan for bringing us such entreating and intriguing film.

There is something brilliant about Sanjay Leela Bhansali and his passion for making period drama films. Sanjay’s 2018 film Padmaavat was a blockbuster hit amidst the huge controversies trying to tear it apart. Sanjay’s vision to create something marvellous on screen has always proved to be a treat for moviegoers. With visuals, colours, extremely beautiful outfits, Sanjay’s movies do wonders onscreen and Padmaavat is evident of that.

One of the biggest successful movies of 2018 was Badhaai Ho. This moderately small budget film emerged huge success and left even the big-budgeted and star-studded films behind in the race. Amit Ravindernath Sharma surely did wonders with his direction. The film was backed up with even wonderful acting by all the characters in the film.

Meghna Gulzar is one of the few female filmmakers who is giving a tough competition to the majority of male filmmakers. Meghna’s film Raazi is a biopic on Indian RAW agent Sehmat Khan. Meghna brought the best of Alia Bhatt in the film. And Meghna's direction had us all gripped to the screens.

Director Amar Kaushik’s Stree should be listed in one of the best movies that Bollywood ever produced. The horror-comedy film leaves an important message for everyone. The way movie starts out funny and soon becomes so intriguing is just an amazing cinematic experience. And we can only appreciate Amar Kaushik for his brilliant direction. Stree stars Shraddha Kapoor and Rajkummar Rao in the lead roles.

Rohit Shetty’s another cop drama came smashing in and kept on smashing at the ticket window. Starring Ranveer Singh, Sara Ali Khan and Sonu Sood in lead roles, Simmba emerged as a ‘paisa-vasool’ movie. With Simmba, Rohit Shetty becomes Bollywood’s first director to have 8 movies in the 100-crore club! That is some serious business which Rohit’s vision of entertaining viewers does.

R. Balki is known for bringing up some unusual stories on screen. Balki’s last film Pad Man was based on the life of Arunachalam Muruganantham, an Indian social entrepreneur who introduced low-price sanitary pads. The film opened up about the awareness on menstrual hygiene which is still a taboo in India. Undoubtedly, it is one of the best films of all times and kudos to R. Balki for making a film on such social issue. The film had Akshay Kumar, Radhika Apte, and Sonam Kapoor in main roles. 

Shoojit Sircar’s Slice-of-life romantic film October is one of those movies which will leave you with unusual emotion, an incomplete one. Shoojit showed his direction prowess yet again. The movie gets connected to the heart instantly and Varun Dhawan and debutante Banita Sandhu did justice to their respective roles. A part of the audience didn’t like the movie, but the film was highly appreciated by the critics.

Siddharth P Malhotra directional Hichki tells the story of a teacher suffering from Tourette syndrome, a type of speech disorder. The film was based on Brad Cohen's autobiography. The movie can make the audience high with emotion and inspiration. Siddharth under his directional hat left no stones unturned that Hichki emerged as one of the best films of 2018. And also, Rani Mukerji upped her acting prowess with the film.

Rahi Anil Barve co-directed the film Tumbbad along with Anand Gandhi and Adesh Prasad. The film has a gripping story with thrilling elements embedded in every scene. Starring National Film Award winner Sohum Shah, the film was made in the course of 6 years and the directors and other cast and crew’s dedication is commendable. Tumbbad is one of the most appreciated films of 2018, and we credit Rahi Anil Barve for it.

Notable female actor turned director Nandita Das, took a big step in choosing the story of controversial writer and author Saadat Hasan Manto in her film Manto. But her hard works showed results and Manto was not only appreciated in India but it gained huge recognition in the foreign market too. Acclaimed Bollywood actor Nawazuddin Siddiqui portrayed the role of Saadat Hasan Manto.

National Film Award winner Vishal Bhardwaj is one of the multi-talented directors of Bollywood. He has also amazed us with his music, writing and direction. Vishal who has acclaimed films like Kaminey and Haider in his name bought us the story of two warring sisters onscreen with the film Pataakha. The film shot in the rural parts of India is so realistic with engaging scenes that it gets listed in the best Bollywood movies of 2018. Pataakha stars Sanya Malhotra and debutante Radhika Madan in lead roles.

Mostly known for making films on violence, Anurag Kashyap’s honest attempt at a romantic film Manmarziyaan should lone be appreciated. Anurag who traces powerful roles to male characters in his film gave a bold and contemporary touch to the heroine of his film Taapsee Pannu. This love triangle film may sound like any other love triangular films Bollywood made in past, but the film has a different modern touch to it. And like always, Anurag Kashyap’s movie stands apart!

Dipesh Jain’s psychological film Gali Guleiyan is not a film for every audience. To the depth that the film talks about psychological isolation is just remarkable. Dipesh Jain showed his commendable directional skills. Gali Guleiyan is a mysterious story of a man who is a trapped in the time warps. Lead actor, Manoj Bajpayee shined bright again with his unmatchable acting skills.

With Mulk, Anubhav Sinha gave the audience one of the best stories of all time! Mulk is a story of a family whose patriotism for India is questioned when one of their family members joins a terrorist organization. The movie is a perfect and powerful depiction of what happens when a family loses its honour and how they reclaim it. Anubhav Sinha gained a huge appreciation for his choice of such powerful content.