My Piece of Cake. Review on Ten Best Bollywood Directors

Alfred Hitchcock once said, ''Cinema is not a slice of life, it's a piece of cake.'' There could be a thousand interpretations to this one statement and each one of us is free to construe it the way we want to. After all, cinema is a subjective portrayal of life by one person meant to be subjectively viewed by millions.

I think that by cinema Hitchcock implied good cinema that transcends the mere (faithful) interpretation of life. In Bollywood, there are quite a few directors who create cinema that transcends the real, surreal, and all other genres/categories. These directors are the ones who give us our piece of cake and thereby classify themselves as great. Their cinema is not meant for mere social change, or is not just a potent medium of entertainment; it offers our soul food for thought. They could be comedy kings, harbingers of social change, masters of the thriller format, emperors of romance … anything. They could be abiding to a particular genre but the end result is the vision of a genius.

Raj Kapoor – Ah! Our desi Charlie Chaplin created memorable films about the common man. His earlier films rooted for Nehru’s socialism. Shri 420, and Awara (besides Jaagte Raho and Boot Polish which he did not direct), belonged to this category. However, apart from the social and political overtones in both these movies, what made them memorable was the sheer sensuality of their relationships. In fact, it was the blend of the sensuous with contemporary/social that made Raj Kapoor what he is today. However, with Sangam, came a turning point in his motif as a filmmaker. The sensual took charge. Social commitment, though still very much alive and kicking (Satyam Shivam Sundaram, Prem Rog, Ram Teri Ganga Maili), became secondary. Despite this, Raj Kapoor scored.

Bimal Roy – He got us familiar with the Bengali soil in films like Do Bigha Zameen, Devdas, Sujata and many more. Socially committed, haunting, poignant, Bimal Roy’s films will always stand the test of time.

Guru Dutt – His Kagaz Ke Phool may have flopped badly, but with it, along with Pyasaa and Saheb Bibi Aur Ghulam (which was credited to Abrar Alvi), stands the monument of Guru Dutt’s fame. I consider Guru Dutt akin to Coleridge, the English Romantic poet, who despite composing over 600 poems became immortal because of only two – Kubla Khan and Rime of the Ancient Mariner.

K. Asif – Asif created Mughal-e-Azam. Need one say anything else?

Hrishikesh Mukherjee – The creator of Anand, Chupke Chupke, Mili, Abhimaan, Golmal, Satyakam, Anari, Namak Haram, Naram Garam, to name just a few, stands out for his sheer simplicity. He is to Hindi cinema what R K Narayan is to Indo-Anglican literature. They both share a common vision – the essential goodness of mankind. Both Narayan and Mukherjee portray good human beings in various situations and how they deal with them.

Gulzar – Bimal Roy’s protégé, Gulzar besides being a great lyricist and scriptwriter, is one director who has explored the various complexities of human relationships. See Mausam, Aandhi, Ijazat, Khushboo, Kitab, Parichay, Machis Hu Tu Tu, to understand what I mean.

Raj Kumar Santoshi – Many would say that he’s an unusual entrant in this list. But the canvas of his films (Ghayal, Damini, China Gate, The Legend of Bhagat Singh, etc) along with his powerful narrative brilliance makes him one of my favorite directors.

Sanjay Leela Bhansali – I had heard somewhere, that after watching Devdas, Randhir Kapoor had told Bhansali that ‘You are the Raj Kapoor of this generation.’ Raj Kapoor or no Raj Kapoor, Bhansali’s vision is multi-colored and his narration so very operatic (Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam, and Devdas). He is a true genius.

Govind Nihalini – Govind Nihalini makes this list ahead of Shyam Benegal because of the dramatic punch of his narrative.

David Dhawan – Again a case of the protégé forging ahead of the guru. David Dhawan may scream from the roof-tops about being a big fan of Manmohan Desai, but he makes my list ahead of the latter because I find his gags to be more contemporary than Desai’s. Maybe, another list by me 20 years down the line may not include Dhawan. And that’s because comedy is always rooted in its era and gets dated with the passage of time.

Other directors whom I wanted to include were Mehboob Khan (for his startling Mother India and the dramaticaaly poignant Andaaz), Nitin Bose (for Ganga Jamuna), Manmohan Desai, Prakash Mehra, Subhash Ghai, Shyam Benegal, Kundan Shah (for Jaane Bhi Do Yaaron) and many more like Ram Gopal Verma, Mansoor Khan, Yash Chopra, V Shantaram, etc. Unfortunately, this was a ‘Top 10 list’ and could not accommodate everyone. Yet, there is no denying the greatness of all those who didn’t make it. After all, who can deny their contribution to Hindi cinema?