Being an actress and being a director are totally different cups of tea, but these actresses have proved that they can don both hats with panache. More power to them! 

Nandita Das

The Fire actress definitely gave Literature students (and readers, in general) a moment to rejoice when she announced her big project on Saadat Hasan Manto, who is one of the greatest short story writers ever. Titled Manto, the trailer of the film starring Nawazuddin Siddhiqui (as Manto) was also revealed at Cannes this year. And we’re definitely waiting with bated breath for this one.

 Pooja Bhatt

Her acting career spanned at least a decade after which Pooja Bhatt followed her father Mahesh Bhatt’s footsteps and turned into a filmmaker.  Her notable directorial releases include Paap, Jism 2, among others while she has also been a producer for films such as Dushman, Sur and Jism.

Aparna Sen

Before Konkona Sensharma took over our hearts and minds with her memorable performances (and now with her directorial debut), we were (and still are) enamoured by her mother Aparna Sen, whose remarkable films made a significant contribution to Indian art house cinema. With some fantastic films such as Mr, and Mrs, Iyer, The Japanese Wife among other gems, we think she’s the greatest ever.

Revathy

Revathy is a well-known face in the Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, Kannada and Hindi film industry who has also proved her extraordinary talent with her directorial ventures such as Mitr, My Friend (which won a National film Award for Best Feature Film in English), Phir Milenge, Kerala Café, Mumbai Cutting and a short film called Red Building Where The Sun Sets (winner of the National Film Award for Best Non-Feature Film on Family Welfare).  

Hema Malini

The acclaimed actress and trained Bharatnatyam dancer also dabbled into filmmaking with her debut film Dil Aashna Hai starring late actress Divya Bharti and Shah Rukh Khan. Sadly, it didn’t do well at the box-office. Later, she also directed the TV series Noopur, which was a story about a Bharatnatyam dancer (she also starred in the series).