Famous Indian-origin directors who have directed Hollywood movies
Indian Cinema has completed over 100 glorious years – a century of iconic, path-breaking and myth-shattering and stunning movies.
Over the years, thanks to many actors like Amitabh Bacchan, Irrfan, Aishwarya Rai Bacchan, Gulshan Grover, Naseeruddin Shah, Anil Kapoor, Anupam Kher, Priyanka Chopra, Mallika Sherawat, Deepika Padukone, and the likes, Bollywood has now a reckoning in Hollywood as well!
However, did you know that we have never been alien to Hollywood? In fact, foreign language films came to us before our actors started acting in them! Wondering how?
Here’s presenting a list of some iconic directors of Indian origin who have made some popular movies in Hollywood cinema:
Mira Nair
Director of Kama Sutra, Salaam Bombay, Jama Masjid Street Journal, Monsoon Wedding, Amelia, Vanity Fair, The Namesake, and the most recent blockbuster The Queen of Katwe, Mira is one of the few directors who captured the ‘Indian’ attention of Hollywood way back in the 90s!
An alumnus of Harvard Uni., she is probably the most recognizable Indian director working in Hollywood and plus, she has been nominated for multiple Academy Awards, Golden Globes, and BAFTAs as well!
Shekhar Kapur
After the success of Masoom, Mr. India and Bandit Queen, Kapur emigrated westward to direct three magnanimous blockbusters namely, Elizabeth and Elizabeth: The Golden Age and Passage in Hollywood.
He won a BAFTA for Elizabeth and was also the winner of the National Board of Review of Motion Pictures Awards for the same movie.
Vidhu Vinod Chopra
The master craftsman of Parinda, Munnabhai series, 3 Idiots, Sanju, etc. also won immense critical acclaim for his Hollywood directorial Broke Horses.
Even before that, he made two iconic short documentaries way back in the 70s namely, An Encounter with Faces (nominated for an Academy Award and winner at the Tampere International Short Film Festival) and Murder at Monkey Hill (special mention at the Montreal and Leipzig film festivals).
Ritesh Batra
His iconic Hindi movie, The Lunchbox won numerous awards like Rail d’Or (Grand Golden Rail) at Cannes and Best Film at Toronto Film Festival. However, even before all this success, Ritesh had delved into foreign cinema with the likes of The Morning Ritual, Gareeb Nawaz's Taxi and Café Regular Cairo some really good shorts you should definitely watch!
He also directed two full-length English features called Our Souls At Night and The Sense of an Ending. For his list of accolades, visit his Wiki because the list is too big to include here. LOL!
Deepa Mehta
Most famous for her ‘Earth-Water-Fire’ trilogy, she was nominated for a Best Foreign Language Film Academy Award for Water from Canada.
She also directed Preity Zinta in Heaven on Earth in which Preity won the Best Actress award at the Chicago Film Festival.
M. Night Shyamalan
Though he is an American, he has Indian roots since he was born in Puducherry. He has directed the iconic horror movies like The Sixth Sense, Signs and Lady in The Water and also worked in various other movies in the capacities of writer, producer, and actor.
He has over 30 nominations in the Academy Awards, BAFTAs and Golden Globes!
Bornila Chatterjee
Her debut feature called Let’s Be Out, The Sun Is Shining was the winner of the Audience Award at the 2012 New York Indian Film Festival. After this, she has collaborated Naseeruddin Shah in The Hungry which was also a major hit.
She recently wrote the TV series Bombay Begums in Hindi.
Piyush Dinker Pandya
American Desi, of the most famous and original desi crossovers from India, was directed by Piyush.
Gurinder Chadha
She received rave reviews for her hilarious yet deep Indian crossovers like Bend It Like Beckham (nominated for a Golden Globe), Bride & Prejudice, Viceroy’s House and Bhaji on the Beach.
She is the most recognizable woman director of Indian-origin in foreign language films after Mira Nair and Deepa Mehta.
Jahnu Barua
Director of Maine Gandhi Ko Nahi Mara in Bollywood directed Homing Pigeons in Hollywood as well.
Dylan Mohan Gray
Directed the famous documentary Fire In The Blood which received critical acclaim at the Sundance Film Festival for its coverage on HIV/AIDS treatment in India. It is also the longest-running documentary in India.
Asif Kapadia
Director of Amy, a documentary on the life and times of Amy Winehouse, Asif, originally a Britisher is an Academy and four-time BAFTA winner.
T.R.Babu Subramaniam
Most famous for directing episodes of One Tree Hill and ER, Subramaniam also worked as an Assistant Director in Star Trek: The Next Generation and Untamed Heart.
Hope you liked this post! If you know of any mainstream of indie movie directors of Indian origin who have directed movies in Hollywood, please mention them below!
