These female filmmakers have added new dimensions to Indian independent cinema

Aparna Sen

Sen was a leading actress in the late 60's, 70's and 80's; and a privileged one to have worked with the legendary Satyajit Ray. Her contribution to Indian parallel cinema is indeed significant. Sen's films are extremely thought provoking and at the same time, claims relevance with the contemporary life. Her Bollywood venture 'Mr & Mrs Iyer' starring Rahul Bose & Konkona Sen Sharma earned bags full of critical appreciation. The film dealt with a couple's uncertain bus journey on the backdrop of communal violence.

Deepa Mehta

This Indo-Canadian filmmaker is famous for her 'Elements Trilogy'. 'Earth', 'Fire' and 'Water' as she named the three parts of the trilogy, they dealt with issues pertaining to social reforms in India; such as homosexuality and religious conflicts. 'Water' which portrays the unkind treatment from the society's end to widows, starred John Abraham and gained wide appreciation for the cinematic execution of dark reality.

Kalpana Lajmi

The 1993 Hindi film 'Rudaali' directed by Kalpana Lajmi yet remains one of its kind. Referring to a custom in Rajasthan where women belonging to lower caste are hired for mourning when men belonging to upper caste die. Kalpana Lajmi, in her approach, is not only a feminist filmmaker but also points at various social customs which directly or indirectly influence gender bias.

Mira Nair

Mira Nair owns her production house 'Mira Bai films' and is involved in making films on the Indian society that would cater to the global audience. Her 1988 film 'Salaam Bombay' starred Nana Patekar & Irrfan Khan among other eminent actors. The film which is a story of a boy who accidentally reaches Bombay aiming to earn money and bumps into the red light area, had won two National Awards, two awards at the Cannes Film Festival and was nominated for Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film.

Nandita Das

Nandita Das is an actor, director and also an activist who fights an uphill battle against the society's unfair obsession towards fairness in women. Her directorial debut 'Firaaq' has travelled to more than 50 film festivals across the globe and has won over 20 awards. 'Firaaq' is an extremely socially relevant creation on the backdrop of a riot affected Gujarat and shows how the 2002 violence changed lives of ordinary people. The film starred Deepti Naval, Nawazuddin Siddiqui & Paresh Rawal among others.