Meet Bollywood’s Popular Brother – Sister Director Jodi’s
Posted On: 12 Dec 2022 | Last Updated : 13 Dec 2022 | Views : 1.1k
If you have connections in Bollywood then getting a break becomes easier but by no means it guarantees success. Getting a friend, acquaintance, or relative into the movies is a common practice that is most often termed as ‘Nepotism’ but as they say that it all boils down to success because nothing succeeds like success. We have heard of actors, actresses, director siblings, and also husband–wife director pairs in Bollywood but how many brother–sister directors do we know of who wielded the megaphone for different movies? Well, we tried to research and find out how many real brother–sister director jodi’s in Bollywood are there which many of us may know or not. Here we present to you some of Bollywood’s popular brother–sister directors duo's who had a release each in the recent past.
(Note: Do leave your comments below and let us know in case we have left out anyone.)
1. Vidhu Vinod Chopra - Shelly Chopra Dhar
Vidhu Vinod Chopra is already one of Bollywood’s top filmmakers who marked his directorial debut with Sazaye Maut in 1981 and went on to make noted films like Parinda (1989), 1942: A Love Story (1994), Kareeb (1998), Mission Kashmir (2000) and produce Munna Bhai M.B.B.S. (2003), Lage Raho Munna Bhai (2006), 3 Idiots (2009) and Sanju (2018). Vidhu Vinod Chopra’s sister Shelly Chopra Dhar who had assisted him in a few films turned director with Ek Ladki Ko Dekha Toh Aisa Laga in 2019 which she also wrote. The film starring big names like Anil Kapoor, Rajkummar Rao, Juhi Chawla, and Sonam Kapoor failed to connect with the audiences as it dealt with an LGBTQ theme.
2. Sanjay Leela Bhansali - Bela Sehgal
Bollywood’s top-notch director Sanjay Leela Bhansali needs no introduction to movie lovers. After assisting Vidhu Vinod Chopra, Sanjay Leela Bhansali made his directorial debut with Khamoshi: The Musical (1996) and went on to deliver blockbusters like Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam (1999), Devdas (2002), Black (2005), Ram Leela (2013), and Padmaavat (2018). Every SLB movie was edited by his sister Bela Sehgal who finally was given a break to wield the megaphone for the 2012 rom-com Shirin Farhad Ki Toh Nikal Padi that starred Boman Irani and Farah Khan as the main lead which did moderate business at the box office. Thus, making them one of the well-known brother-sister director duos of Bollywood.
3. Farhan Akhtar – Zoya Akhtar
Son and daughter of screenwriters Javed Akhtar and Honey Irani, Farhan Akhtar and Zoya Akhtar are one of Bollywood’s most multi-talented celebrities. As we all know Farhan Akhtar is an actor, writer, playback singer, producer, and director who debuted with Dil Chahta Hai in 2001 and thereafter proved his versatility in all departments of filmmaking. Farhan’s sister Zoya Akhtar who along with Reema Kagti has written most of his films was launched as a director with Luck By Chance in 2009 which met with moderate success. But it was Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara in 2011 that turned the tide in her favour as she went on to deliver Dil Dhadakne Do (2015) and Gully Boy (2019) making the ‘Farhan Akhtar – Zoya Akhtar’ combination one of the most popular brother-sister director jodi's of Bollywood.
4. Sajid Khan – Farah Khan
Another brother-sister director pair of Bollywood is that of Sajid Khan and Farah Khan who are children of Kamran Khan and Menka Irani. Menka Irani is the eldest sister of Daisy and Honey Irani while Kamran Khan was an actor, director, and producer who was known for his action-adventure genre flicks released in the 50s and 60s. Farah Khan started her career as a choreographer before making her directorial debut in 2004 with Main Hoon Na starring Shah Rukh Khan, Zayed Khan, Suniel Shetty, Sushmita Sen, and Amrita Rao which was a runaway hit. She later directed films like Om Shanti Om (2007), Tees Maar Khan (2010), and Happy New Year in 2014. Her younger brother Sajid Khan initially was a TV host who made his directorial debut in 2006 with Ram Gopal Varma’s Darna Zaroori Hai. Sajid Khan later directed Heyy Babyy (2007), Housefull 1 & 2 (2010, 2012), Himmatwala (2013), and Humshakals (2014).
5. Anurag Kashyap / Abhinav Kashyap - Anubhuti Kashyap
Anubhuti Kashyap who started off her Bollywood career by assisting elder brother and filmmaker Anurag Kashyap in Dev D (2009) and Gangs of Wasseypur (2012) went on to make her directorial debut in 2022 with the Ayushmann Khurrana and Rakul Preet Singh starrer Doctor G. As we know Anurag Kashyap and younger brother Abhinav Kashyap are well-known Bollywood directors. Some of Anurag Kashyap’s popular films have been Paanch, Black Friday, Dev D, Gangs of Wasseypur, Bombay Velvet, Manmarziyaan, and Dobaara released in 2022 whereas Abhinav Kashyap has directed the Salman Khan starrer Dabangg (2010) and the Ranbir Kapoor starrer Besharam (2013).
