#BingeRewind: Directors whose vision we needed to see in 2025!

19 Dec 2025 10:00 IST

New Update

What changed our way of looking was not just the films, but the vision these directors embedded in them as these stories felt necessary, relatable, and long overdue!

It might take a village to make a film, but that village only works when it’s guided by a clear sense of direction, a vision that a director brings to the table, aligning the entire cast and crew toward one shared goal: bringing the film alive. And while there were many directors whose craft we appreciated this year from Anurag Basu, R.S. Prasanna, Vivek Soni, Anurag Kashyap, Subhash Kapoor to Aditya Dhar, and more yet these are the ones whose vision truly stood out for us. They brought something distinct, backed by conviction yet layered with nuance. They experimented boldly, but also gave us something familiar enough to connect with deeply, hence they were our favorites.

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Suparn S Varma- Haq

Suparn S Varma’s Haq wasn’t a quintessential preachy, melodramatic courtroom drama that we’re used to seeing. Rather, it’s subtle, authentic and yet shakes you up in ways you didn’t expect it to. He builds the story of an ordinary woman who goes through extraordinary lengths to demand justice for herself. Without making a religion or a section of people look bad, Suparn S Varma only and only focuses on Shazia Bano’s journey and that’s the biggest strength of his film.

Shazia Iqbal- Dhadak 2

'When injustice becomes law, resistance becomes duty’- this is the line Shazia Iqbal’s Dhadak 2 is based on and she stays true to that throughout the film. She weaves a poignant tale about the suppression and the brutal bullying the Dalit community goes through even in today’s time and her story is not for the faint hearted!

Madhumita Sundararaman- Kaalidhar Laapata

In Kaalidhar Laapata, Madhumita Sundararaman brings together a wholesome story about how sometimes getting lost can feel like home. She makes the film feel like a warm hug for anyone who is trying to find meaning in life.

Neeraj Ghaywan - Homebound

Neeraj Ghaywan recently told Martin Scorsese that if Shakespeare had ever come to India, he would’ve truly understood what’s in a name. It’s an idea he explores hauntingly in this film, where the name itself becomes the cover of a book called identity of oneself, that no matter what changes, continues to be judged, stereotyped, and punished.

Mohit Suri - Saiyaara

It’s one thing for a filmmaker to be associated with a signature style, but it’s another to keep elevating that very signature with each film. Even though this film follows the emotional blueprint of Aashiqui 2, from the story beats to the musical soul, yet Mohit Suri makes sure to make it something far more evolved and original, almost as if Aashiqui 2 walked so Saiyaara could run.

Boman Irani - The Mehta Boys

A father–son dynamic is already complex terrain to explore, let alone within a film where silence and small gestures speak louder than dialogues. Boman Irani captures this layered, delicate relationship with such precision that the story of a father and son also becomes a story about an aging parent and a child coming to terms with pains of adulting which is to take care of that aging parent.

Arati Kadav - Mrs

Making an adaptation is always a daunting task, especially when it's a film as powerful as The Great Indian Kitchen. Yet Aarti Kadav stands tall, paying homage to everything the Malayalam original achieved while placing it within a North Indian cultural lens. She manages to make even the silence of the original accessible, resonant, and deeply felt for new audiences.

Reema Kagti - Superboys of Malegaon

Friendship, filmmaking, and determination were the three pillars of Superboys of Malegoan and Reema Kagti did a remarkable job mounting this film with her knack for amalgamating realism with deeply emotional storytelling. Based on Nasir Shaikh's true story, Kagti blended some earthy charm with infectious humor to highlight the story of ordinary dreamers in a beautiful ode to the magic of cinema!

Raam Reddy- Jugnuma

Raam Reddy crafted the most visually stunning tale of magical realism in Jugnuma. Set in the 1980s Himalayas and shot on 35mm film, the movie unfolded slowly, weaving drama with subtle fantasy and socially relevant themes. Reddy made use of symbolic imagery like fireflies, the mesmerising Himachal and wildfires to highlight the ideas of pride and nature's revenge to offer one of the most poetic watches of the year!

Karan Tejpal and Aranya Sahay - Stolen and Humans in the Loop
Given the current socio-political climate we are living in, the films of these two directors lay out the landscape with striking accuracy. Whether it is Karan Tejpal’s Stolen, which explores mob mentality and the two Indias we inhabit, or Aranya Sahay’s Humans in the Loop, which brings the invisibility of tribal women into sharp focus through the story of an AI that is looked at as a child still in its learning stage.

Are there are any other directors of 2025 that you think should have made the list? Let us know in the comments below!

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boman irani Neeraj Ghaywan Mohit Suri Reema Kagti Arati Kadav suparn s varma Karan Tejpal Madhumati Vijay Raam Reddy Aranya Sahay