Farhan Akhtar to Rishab Shetty, a look at actors who turned directors
Farhan Akhtar to Rishab Shetty, a look at actors who turned directors
Here's a look at the well-known actors from the Indian entertainment industry who are not only known for their iconic performances in the film, but they have also sat in the director's chair for their directorial debut.
Several actors in the film industry have not only made their name in the industry through their versatile acting and memorable performances, but also tried their luck behind the camera, i.e, by directing movies. Let's take a look at the actors from the Bollywood and South Indian film industry who turned directors.
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Farhan Akhtar: Bollywood actor Farhan Akhtar, who is best known for his work in Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara, made his directorial debut with the 2001 film 'Dil Chahta Hai'. The coming-of-age romantic drama film featured Aamir Khan, Saif Ali Khan and Akshaye Khanna in the lead roles. With an IMDb rating of 8, the film is available to stream on Prime Video. Not only this, he also directed several films like 'Don', 'Positive', 'Don 2', and 'Lakshya' in his career so far.
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Rajat Kapoor: Well-known actor Rajat Kapoor directed the comedy drama film 'Ankhon Dekhi' in 2013. He also acted in this film and played the role of 'Chacha'. The film features Sanjay Mishra, Seema Pahwa, Taranjit Kaur, Maya Sarao, Namit Das, Brijendra Kala and others in the lead roles. Written by Rajat Kapoor, this film was not a box office hit according to box office numbers, but it was praised by the critics. It has an IMDb rating of 7.9 and is available to stream on Prime Video and JioHotstar.
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Boman Irani: Veteran actor Boman Irani made his directorial debut with the film 'The Mehta Boys' in 2025, which was released on Amazon Prime Video. He also co-wrote the film with Alexander Dinelaris. The star cast of the film includes Boman Irani, Avinash Tiwary, Shreya Chaudhry, Harssh Singh, Flora Jacob, Puja Sarup and others in the lead roles.
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Konkana Sen Sharma: Bollywood actress Konkana Sen Sharma sat in the director's chair for the 2016 film 'A Death in the Gunj'. The film stars Kalki Koechlin, Vikrant Massey. Gulshan Devaiah, Panchayat's famous character Binod aka Ashok Pathak and others in the lead roles. The film was praised by the critics as it has an IMDb rating of 7.4.
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Rishab Shetty: Kannada actor Rishab Shetty made his directorial debut with the 2016 film 'Ricky'. He also directed films like 'Kirik Party', 'Sarkari. Hi. Pra. Shale Kasaragodu, Koduge: Ramanna Rai and 'Kantara'. But he gained widespread critical acclaim for his action thriller film 'Kantara', which was released in 2022.
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7/7Image Source : TMDB
Seema Pahwa: Veteran Bollywood actress Seema Pahwa made her directorial debut with the film 'Ramprasab Ki Tehrvi'. The movie features Naseeruddin Shah, Supriya Pathak, Konkona Sen Sharma, Manoj Pahwa, Brijendra Kala, Sarika Singh and others. The comedy drama film premiered at the Jio MAMI 21st Mumbai Film Festival in 2019 and was released in theatres in 2021.
