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Meet Bollywood's Mrs Directors

Last updated on: April 13, 2010 14:47 IST
Kiran Rao

Indian cinema doesn't have many successful female directors -- Farah Khan is the one notable exception -- but things might be set to change with some ladies clearly deciding that their husbands shouldn't have all the fun.

Here's a look at directors' wives jumping behind the camera and wielding the megaphone themselves:

Kiran Rao

Aamir Khan's wife met him on the sets of Ashutosh Gowariker's Lagaan, where she was assistant director. She also assisted Mira Nair on Monsoon Wedding, Shaad Ali on Saathiya and Ashu again on Swades.

Rao married Aamir in 2005. Now Rao makes her directorial debut with Dhobi Ghaat, featuring Prateik Babbar and husband Aamir. The film should be out this year, and thanks mostly to Khan's presence, is a highly awaited release.

Deepa Sahi

Last updated on: April 13, 2010 14:47 IST
Deepa Sahi

An actress known for taking on strong female characters with questionable morality, Sahi's been married to filmmaker Ketan Mehta for over 25 years now.

She's been working actively as a producer for Mehta's films for quite some time, and even wrote the script for Mehta's Oh Darling Yeh Hai India.

She hasn't appeared in a film since 1998's Aar Ya Paar, and now, after a string of productions, comes the news that she's going to direct a film starring Hema Malini and Nana Patekar.

Gauri Shinde

Last updated on: April 13, 2010 14:47 IST
Gauri Shinde

Sharing a hardcore advertising background with husband R Balki, Gauri's been interested in direction for quite some time. She did a course on filmmaking from New York, and has since made a short film which took her to the Berlin Film Festival.

After much work in commercials now she's working on her first feature film, Oh Man! The film, with mostly unfamiliar faces in the cast, is a comedy looking at how man is immoral by nature.

Barnali Shukla

Last updated on: April 13, 2010 14:47 IST
Rahul Bose and Shefali Shah

Actor, writer and director Sourabh Shukla is one of the most prolific people in the industry, and his wife Barnali makes her debut with a film called Kuch Love Jaisa, featuring Rahul Bose and Shefali Shah.

Bose and Shah previously played husband and wife in Aparna Sen's 15 Park Avenue, and Kuch Love Jaisa has been produced by Shefali's husband Vipul Shah.

Deepa Bhatia

Last updated on: April 13, 2010 14:47 IST
Deepa Bhatia

Kaminey star Amole Gupte almost made his directorial debut with Taare Zameen Par before Aamir Khan took over, so his wife Deepa actually might pip him to the directorial post as she announces work on her film.

Bhatia's a longtime editor, having worked on films like Hazaar Chaurasi Ki Maa, Thakshak, Dev, Maine Gandhi Ko Nahin Maara, Rock On, and, of course, Taare Zameen Par.