10 Famous Indian Filmmakers & Stills From Their First Films

So err...we know we took a little time with our promised 'retrospect' series but now we're back and we promise to make it (at least) a weekly affair. Our very own tribute to throwback Thursdays on just about any day of the week because, as you can tell, we're not very good with time management.

In the first ever retrospect series, we took you back to the '60s alongside The Combustibles. This week, Sakshi Issar decided to pay tribute to her love for Bollywood by delineating 10 of the greatest Indian filmmakers today along with stills (or poster images) from the very first film they ever directed. Scroll down for a little trivia and some vintage visual feasting.

I. Sanjay Leela Bhansali

First Film: Khamoshi: The musical, 1996

Sanjay Leela Bhansali was a close associate of Vidhu Vinod Chopra but they had a fall out when Bhansali refused to direct ‘Kareeb’. Bhansali went on to make his directorial debut with critically acclaimed but commercially unsuccessful Khamoshi: The Musical. The film is the rendition of a daughter’s struggle to communicate with her deaf mute parents.

II. Ramesh Sippy

First Film:

Andaz, 1971

Seeta Geeta

Sholay

Andaz

III. Rakesh Roshan

First Film: Khudgarz, 1987

Rakesh Roshan is already an extremely renowned actor, director and producer. He is especially known for his superstitious insistence of making films which begin with the letter ‘K’ and has gone on to make many well known films. His first film as a director/producer however, was Khudgarz. The film starred Shatrughan Sinha and received a relatively mild response.

IV. Mahesh Bhatt

First Film: Manzilein Aur Bhi Hain, 1974

Mahesh Bhatt is a director producer and screenwriter. His first film Manzilein Aur Bhi Hain wasn’t a huge success despite the fact that he he was known to make critically acclaimed films such as Arth and Saaransh in the earlier stages of his career. Recently however, he seems to be taking the road more travelled by making more Box Office friendly films such as Jism & Murder among others.

V. Priyadarshan

First Film: Poochakkoru Mookkuthi, 1984

Priyadarshan is known for his popular comedy films and right from his first film Poochakkoru Mookkuthi , he saw success at the Box Office. He has been working in the industry for more over 30 years now and is presently more active in Bollywood than the south film industry.

Priyadarshan was also one of the first directors in India to introduce rich color grading, clear sound and quality dubbing through his early Malayalam films besides introducing the trend of adapting stories from south Indian film industry.

VI. Satish Kaushik

First Film: Roop Ki Rani Choron Ka Raja, 1993

VII. Subhash Ghai

First Film: Kalicharan, 1976

VIII.  Vidhu Vinod Chopra

First Film: Sazaa-E-Maut (Death Penalty) 

His first feature film, shot in black- and-white, was Sazaa-E-Maut (Death Penalty) – a thriller made on a shoestring budget with then - unknown actor Naseeruddin Shah and editor Renu Saluja 1981

IX. Ashutosh Gowariker

First Film: Pehla Nasha ,1993

His first film Pehla Nasha received mixed response. However, Gowarikar has only grown over the years. He came to fame with his cricket based film Lagaan starring Aamir Khan. His films are generally longer than average Hindi films. His recent hit film was Jodhaa Akbar.

X. Mani Ratnam

First Film: Pallavi Anu Pallavi, 1983