Notable Names Across Indian Cinema

It is widely accepted that Bollywood is an integral part of Indian cinema, but the Indian filmmaking industry goes beyond that. It regales people across the country with films in many regional languages and they too have gained much admiration. However, a lot of thought, process and method go into making a movie, no matter which language it is made in. It is not only the actors who contribute towards the success of their films; it is the combined efforts of a team that makes it a blockbuster, a team that includes directors, music directors, choreographers, sound engineers, cinematographers, playback singers and so on.

We, at BollyCurry, bring you the names of such personalities who work behind-the-scenes and have gained fame in both Bollywood and Regional cinemas.

1. Music-Composer/Director

Allah-Rakha Rahman, or more popularly known as A. R. Rahman is called the Mozart of Madras for a reason. This is a man who has gained recognition worldwide, earned countless awards and made a place in the hearts of millions of people with his music. Roja (1992) both dubbed and original, was a critically and commercially successful film and composing music for this Mani Ratnam masterpiece is what gave him his big break. He has since then produced hits for countless films, including Dil Se (1998), Alaipayuthey (2000, Tamil), Rang De Basanti (2006), Slumdog Millionaire (2008), and Rockstar (2011).

Rahman has been described by Time as the "World's most prominent and prolific music composer." He is known for experimenting with fusions of traditional instruments and new sounds of technology. Recipient of  two Academy Awards, two Grammy Awards, a BAFTA, a Golden Globe, and four National Film Awards in addition to numerous other awards and nominations, Rahman still continues to challenge himself, already having composed music for the Iranian and Chinese film industries and is currently composing for Pel: Birth of a Legend, an American movie.

2. Directors

The man who tops the list is a man responsible for giving Bollywood its first 100 crore film - Ghajini (2008). A.R. Murugadoss is a Tamil/Telugu/Hindi director who ranked 39 in the 2014 Forbes India Celebrity 100, despite not making the cut the year before. He started his journey in the industry by being the assistant writer to P. Kalaimani, and progressed to being the assistant director of Ratchagan (1997, Tamil) for a part of the film. Murugadoss also directed Ajith Kumar's first movie, Dheena (2001, Tamil), which coincidentally was his debut too. Although it did not win him any accolades, the second film he directed, Ramana (2002, Tamil), won Tamil Nadu State Film Best Dialogue Writer, which then went on to be remade in Hindi as Gabbar Is Back (2015). His Telugu film Stalin (2006) was remade into the Salman Khan starrer Jai Ho (2014), and Thuppakki (2012), which was nominated for Filmfare Award (Best Director), was remade into Holiday: A Soldier Is Never Off Duty (2014), directed by Murugadoss himself. He has mastered the art of delivering a strong social message to his audience in a subtle manner. His 2014 Tamil movie Kathithi won him a Filmfare Award for Best Director. In fact, he is the only director in India to cross the 100 crore mark two times in the same year for two movies made in different languages - Holiday (Hindi, 2014) and Kathithi (Tamil, 2014). His upcoming projects include Akira (2016, Hindi) and an untitled project with Mahesh Babu in 2017.

3. Sound Designers/ Engineers 

One of the most underrated jobs in the film industry is probably that of sound engineers. Resul Pookutty is one such talent who shot to fame after his work in the critically acclaimed film Black (2005) and Slumdog Millionaire (2008), for which he received a BAFTA (Best Sound) and an Academy Award (Best Sound Mixing). He has designed sounds for English, Hindi, Tamil and Malayalam cinemas. Some of his earlier works are Saawariya (2007) and Gandhi My Father (2007). Pookutty has then gone on to work his charm on countless movies, including the Shah Rukh Khan starrer Ra.One (2011), the Oscar nominated Malayalam movie Adaminte Makkan Abu(2011), The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel (2012), the animated Tamil movie Kochadaiiyaan (2012) and Highway (2014). He also worked in Leslee Udwin's banned BBC documentary, India's Daughter, featuring the highly publicized Nirbhaya case, and even won a Golden Reel award for the same. 

4. Choreographers 

Indian cinema, especially Bollywood, is known worldwide for its long movies, vibrant colours and musicals. While these may be a misconception because not all Indian movies follow those set specifics, we can all agree on one thing - the film industry has churned out its fair share of dance numbers. After all, who can forget Aishwarya Rai Bachchan's mesmerizing performances in"'Dholi Taro" and "Dola Re Dola" or Hrithik Roshan's impossible dance moves in "Main Aisa Kyun Hun". Chinni Prakash is one such choreographer who is responsible for the introduction of classic dance moves in Indian cinema. The pelvic thrust brought him his big break in the industry in the form of "Jhumma Jhumma" from the movie Hum (1991), which awarded him a Filmfare (Best Choreography). Before Hum, he had worked in many big films such as Ram Aur Shyam (1967), Haathi Mere Saathi (1971), Sabse Bada Rupaiya (1976), Saajan (1991), and continued with Main Khiladi Tu Anari (1994) and Coolie No. 1 (1995). As they say, the rest is history and he was one of the most sought out choreographers of the time. Unfortunately, due to ever changing demands of Bollywood, his style of choreography was not in requirement. But that never deterred him and he went on to win a National Award for his choreography of the song "Azeem-o-Shaan-Shahenshah" from the historical drama film Jodhaa Akbar (2008). Post Jodhaa Akbar, he has choregraphed numerous hits including songs in the Dabangg series (2010, 2012), Besharam (2013), Humpty Sharma Ki Dulhania (2014) and has also done movies beyond Bollywood, like Kadhalil Sodhappuvadhu Yeppadi (2012,Tamil) and Thalaivaa (2013,Tamil).

While talking about great cinematographers in India, the name that tops the list is Santosh Sivan. A founding member of the Indian Society of Cinematographers, he is the recipient of a Padmashree, 11 National Film Awards, 21 international awards and is the first Indian to be the member of American Society of Cinematographers. He won these awards through numerous crowd-pleasing films like Thalapati (1991, Tamil), Roja (1992, Tamil), The Terrorist (1997, Tamil), Iruvar (1997, Tamil), Dil Se (1998, HIndi), Phir Bhi Dil Hai Hindustani (2000, Hindi), Asoka (2001, Hindi), Raavan (2010, Hindi), etc. Sivan likes to experiment with both movies with a huge budget, as well as independent films. He is currently on a break from cinematography, awaiting the release of his fifth Hollywood movie Lies We Tell which is due next year and is rumored to have an upcoming project with A.R.Murugadoss and Mahesh Babu.

 

Writer: Sanika S.

Editors: Lekha V. and Gunia K.

Graphics: Nadia N.