Film critics and journalists who turned filmmakers

When Francois Truffant a renowed French filmcritic switched to filmmaking he said that his background had helped him understand filmmaking as an art wellA still from Bangistan and Karan AnshumaninsetHe remarked To be a film critic helped me a lot because its not enough to be a cinephile and to watch a lot of movies The necessity to write about films pushes you to get better and forces you to make a mental gymnastic Its when you have to sum up a screenplay in ten sentences that you realise its weaknesses or its strength True or not several crtics have dabbled in filmmaking over the yearsFor instance Bangistan which is up for release next week marks the debut of film critic Karan Anshuman Said to be a satire the film is about two aspiring terrorists who are brainwashed into becoming human bombs and blowing themselves up at a world peace conference in PolandAfter spending years as film critics many have explored the other side of cinema hitlist gives you a lowdown on such film critics who went on to become filmmakersKhalid MohamedA longtime journalist and a film critic Khalid began his film career by writing a script for Shyam Benegals Nammo in 1995 He followed this up by writing screenplays for Benegals Sardari Begum 1996 and Zubeida 2001A still from Fiza Khalid MohamedinsetHis first directorial venture Fiza hit theatres in 2000 The film was based on Bombay riots of 1992ndash93 that sparked off in the wake of the destruction of the Babri Masjid in Ayodhya and had Hrithik Roshan Karisma Kapoor and Neha in lead rolesAlthough the film did average business at the boxoffice it was well received by critics He then went on to direct films such as Tehzeeb 2003 Tareekh 2003 Silsiilay 2005 and a documentary titled Last Irani Chai 2011Minty TejpalHaving worked in television journalism and advertising as well as a film critic Minty Tejpal explored filmmaking with a TV movie Kaam Ka Plot 2011 which starred Ranvir Shorey Sandhya Mridul and Vinay Pathak in key rolesA still from Kaam Ka Plot Minty TejpalinsetSet in the backdrop of the recession which hit India this 90minute film tells the tale of a 36yearold marketing graduate Dashrath Srivastava Ranvir who lies to his wife about being employed In a twist of fate he meets a photographer Sandhya and what starts off as a budding romance turns into an ugly mess which Dashrath cant escape easilyRaja SenFilmcritic Raja Sens movie XThe Film will reportedly make its way into theatres later this year Termed as an experimental Indian film the project is directed by a team of 11 filmmakers including Abhinav Shiv Tiwari Anu Menon Nalan Kumarasamy Hemant Gaba Pratim D Gupta Q Raja Sen Rajshree Ojha Sandeep Mohan Sudhish Kamath and Suparn VermaHuma Qureshi in XThe Film Raja SeninsetIn 2013 the directors clarified that the film is not an anthology but a whole story with the eleven directors making sections of itSudhish KamathWith an experience of writing on filmsand entertainment for over 17 years Kamath dabbled in filmmaking when he produced directed and wrote a featurelength English film called That Four Letter Word 2006 which revolved around a group of friends at the crossroads of lifeA still from The Four Letter Word Sudhish KamathinsetThe film was one of the first films to be released in the digital format in India and among the first films in the world to be released online free His second film Good Night Good Morning starring Manu Narayan and Seema Rahmani was screened at various international film festivals and got a theatrical release in India in 2012 Most recently Kamath is part of the 11member directorial team of the yettobereleased film titled XThe FilmPratim D GuptaJournalist filmcritic and screenwriter Pratim D Gupta got his first break with a Bengali romantic drama Paanch Adhyay 2012A still from Paanch Adhyay Pratim D GuptainsetThe film featured Dia Mirza and Priyanshu Chatterjee in lead roles and revolved around a contemporary Indian couple that finds and loses love over a period of time The film shifts between the past and the present Paanch Adhyay was selected as the Centerpiece Premiere at the South Asian International Film Festival in New York and in the New Voice in Indian Cinema section at the Mumbai Film Festival It also won the Best Film Award at the Kalakar Awards