Successful women film directors in Tollywood

The Tollywood industry hasn’t cottoned much to female directors over the year. Yet, nothing could hold back this list of women directors and their stories in this male-dominated town. These brave women put up their best efforts to make meaningful films that also went on to enjoy success at the box office. Let’s take a look at successful women directors in the Telugu film industry.

Vijay Nirmala, the wife of Superstar Ghattamaneni Krishna, is a Telugu film director, producer and actress. She is one of the most talented and versatile women directors in the Telugu film industry, who has worked on films ranging from ‘Meena’ (1971) to ‘Moodu Puvvulu Aaru Kaayalu’ (1979), ‘Prajala Manishi’ (1990) to ‘Yes Nenante Nene’ (1994) and ‘Puttinti Gowravam’ (1996). Vijay Nirmala also holds a record in the Guinness Book of World Records for the number of films to her credit.

Bhanumathi is proof of the fact that a feminine point of view can change the way a story is told, for the better. A filmmaker, actress, music composer, singer and lyricist she has done almost everything. As an actress, she inspired Telugu cinema veteran actresses like Jamuna and Savitri at the time. As she could perform eight tasks simultaneously, she was fondly called as ‘Ashtavadani’ by the industry people. She made her directorial debut in the 1939 film ‘Vara Vikrayam’ but really broke through as a director in 1953’s ‘Chandirani’. She went on to become known as the first woman director in Indian cinema.

Like the few other female filmmakers in Tollywood, Nandini Reddy is undoubtedly one of the best. She got her start as an assistant director with the kiddie flick ‘Little Soldiers’ in 1996. She showed her prowess by penning and helming ‘Ala Modalaindi’ in 2011 which is her best work to date, along with hits like ‘Jabardasth’ and ‘Kalyana Vaibhogame’ which are charming and compelling. She’s known for her excellent screenplay and ‘Ala Modalaindi’ is an example of her vision as a filmmaker.

Suchitra Chandrabose is an incredible Indian choreographer, able to bring uncanny dance styles to the big screen. As a choreographer, she made waves with films like ‘Aakhari Poratam’, ‘Money’, ‘Gharana Bullodu’, ‘Annamayya’, ‘Jayam Manadera’, ‘Nuvvu Naaku Nachav’, ‘Manasantha Nuvve’ and others. She helmed a film ‘Pallakilo Pellkoothuru’, starring Gowtham and Rathi, which was a hit at the box office. Suchitra is a true director, building her characters and breathing life into them in a natural manner.

It was a pleasant surprise that one of the best movies of 2014 was directed by a woman. Venkatesh’s ‘Drushyam’ proved that Sripriya not only had the guts but also the initiative to make a content-driven suspense thriller that went on to excel at the box office. She is no stranger to the film world, having good roles in films like ‘Anthuleni Katha’, ‘Chilakamma Cheppindi’, ‘Vayasu Pilichindi’, ‘Bezawada Bebbuli’ and ‘Kongu Chatu Krishnudu’.

In an impartial world, B Jaya’s directorial debut ‘Chantigadu’ would be the top-rated romantic entertainer of the year that would boost her career. Unfortunately, the film was labelled as a super hit and Jaya has since made other hit films like ‘Premikulu’, ‘Gundamma Gari Manavadu’, ‘Lovely’ and ‘Vaishakam’. Her films have a range of emotions. They are funny and sad, insightful and light, idealistic and commercial, and hence she’s right up there with the very best female filmmakers.