Nandita Das, a known face of parallel cinema, is now exploring the option of direction

Of late a new bunch of film aficionados have cropped up, for who a film is not only about acting, direction or production. They want to dabble in all aspects of filmmaking, right from writing the script to penning the lyrics to acting in it. Take for instance the likes of Nandita Das, Abbas Tyrewala and Farhan Akhtar. These are some new age celebs who don’t mind getting involved in more than one aspect of filmmaking.

Nandita Das, a known face of parallel cinema, is now exploring the option of direction. Having worked in critically well-received films like Earth, Fire and Bawandar, the dusky beauty is ready with her first directorial venture titled, Firaq. For her it was a natural step after acting. “I have always done different things in life because that’s my passion. I am not trying to prove that I can do different things. Finally I think I want to be a communicator. I have a lot of things inside me; dilemma, frustration, confusion, etc. Direction is just a medium to communicate that. However, I do hope that I continue getting good scripts and continue acting.”

Similar is the case with director-turned-actor, Farhan Akhtar. After having directed youth inspiring films like Dil Chahta Hai and Lakshya, he has moved on to acting. Ready with his debut venture as an actor, Farhan is all geared up about the film, titled Rock On. He says, “It was a fun and different experience. It was also liberating for one as you get to do things you do not do in real life. You can just scream in the middle of the road and get away with it.”

Enjoying the success of his latest hit Jaane Tu… Ya Jaane Na is writer-director Abbas Tyrewala. This Multi talented youngster has tried his hand in nacting and even did a small role in Maqbool. Having written dialogues for films like Salam Namaste and Munnabhai MBBS, Abbas thought it was time for him to direct a film and that’s how Jaane Tu… happened. Talking about his stint with acting, he says, “Somewhere I wanted to act. I think it is necessary for a writer to be an actor. Speak to Javed Akhtar or Gulzar. They can command an audience just by the way they speak. Somewhere you need to understand acting if you are writing. At that time, Vishal Bharadwaj asked me to act and did. What’s the big deal?” Looks like, the thin line between acting, editing, writing and directing just got thinner, courtesy multi-talented, up and coming filmmakers. There is still hope for Akki and Chichi with their editing scissors though.