A Tale Of Two Directors- Abhishek Chaubey And Anu Menon

Udta Punjab and Waiting are clearly major stylistic departures from their earlier films, for two of the most talented directors working in Bollywood today. 

- Maithili Rao

Two directors, and two new films, totally different, not only from each other but also their earlier work. Of the two, Abhishek Chaubey is a known name, prior to Udta Punjab. He comes with impressive credentials – Ishqiya followed by the intriguingly titled semi-sequel, Dedh Ishqiya. Anu Menon’s perfect little gem Waiting was such a stunner that it made me go searching for her antecedents. Her previous film, London Paris New York that I had missed earlier proved fairly delightful viewing after I saw it recently. The two unrelated films provide a gourmet meal to be savoured, chewed, ingested and speculated upon. She is a director to watch out for.

It is fascinating to follow the path a director takes from the safe to the perilously adventurous – in theme, location and style. With all the free publicity courtesy the dangerously self-righteous stupidity of our Sanskari censor chief, Udta Punjab raised expectations that were bound to be sky high.