We decided to profile the cutting-edge first-time directors, people we think have a lot to offer. Read on:

The movie: Khosla Ka Ghosla

The director: Dibakar Bannerjee, 36

I am a Bong (Bengali) from Delhi. I am actually 12th pass, because I was chucked out of NIIT as I would spend most of my time at a film club. In 7 months time, I joined an ad agency and worked there as a copywriter. People really liked me, because I would do extra work for free. I worked from 1991-97, and then started my own ad agency along with my friends. We made promos for television channels.

The struggling years: I actually did not have to struggle as my friend Jaideep Sahni (who wrote Company and Jungle before Khosla) introduced me to a producer, who was interested in making a film out of Delhi. So you could say this project fell into my lap.

Why Khosla Ka Ghosla worked? Khosla Ghosla was a film school for me. I learnt so much from the film. Everyday was a revelation -- discussing the story, scripting, characters and interaction with the actors was a fantastic process. The movie was made in less than Rs 3 crores. It worked because it was a sincere portrayal of life from the point of view of a middle class person in Delhi.

If he could change something... There were lots of mistakes and I learned from them. So, nothing really.

Was success expected? I knew that people would like it because during the trial show itself people were exclaiming about its newness. Plus, UTV marketed it very well.

What next? My next project is unique -- its about the life and times of a petty thief from Delhi and life from his point of view.

Interviews: Patcy N | Design: Uday Kuckian

Also Read:Khosla Ka Ghosla: Charming

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