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Year ender 2025: Aryan Khan, Sonu Sood to Tisca Chopra and Boman Irani, Debut directors from this year
From seasoned actors like Boman Irani, Sonu Sood to a star kid like Aryan Khan, here are the new visionaries, who debuted as a director in 2025
2025 saw a wave of fresh voices and visions on the screen. Some came from new people from outside the industry, while many came from the ones who were already a part of this world. Here's a dekko of all the debut directors of 2025.
Sonu Sood- Fateh
Sonu Sood took the leap into direction at the start of the year with Fateh, showing the story of an ex-agent who comes out of his tranquil life in order to bring down the entire cyber mafia syndicate. Starring himself in the lead alongside Jacqueline Fernandez, the film received mixed reviews and also underperformed at the box office.
Boman Irani- The Mehta Boys
Boman Irani’s debut directorial The Mehta Boys showed the often unexplored dynamics of a father-son relationship. Starring him and Avinash Tiwary, the film did rounds at a few international film festivals, including International Film Festival of India, Chicago South Asian Film Festival and the Indian Film Festival Berlin, before making its way to OTT for a worldwide release and opened to positive reviews.
Karan Singh Tyagi- Kesari Chapter 2
An ex-lawyer by profession, Karan Singh Tyagi made a switch to films as a writer and made his first directorial, Kesari Chapter 2 with actors Akshay Kumar and Ananya Panday. The film told the story of the Jallianwala Bagh Massacre through the lens of advocate Sir C Sankaran Nair. The film performed moderately well at the box office and received positive reviews.
Kussh S Sinha- Nikita Roy
Son of actor-MP Shatrughan Sinha, Kussh S Sinha chose direction over acting and made his debut behind the lens this year with the thriller Nikita Roy. The film starred his sister Sonakshi Sinha, and even with her name attached to it, the film went under the radar due to the Saiyaara wave and failed to grab the attention of the audience.
Ashwin Kumar- Mahavatar Narsimha
Without any big cast, big budget and a genre that Indian audience doesn’t come in much for, Ashwin Kumar took the industry by storm with his debut directorial Mahavatar Narsimha, giving a new direction to Indian animation. The film was widely lauded for its technical prowess and emerged as one of the biggest hits of the year. Ashwin has already announced a franchise of films on the avatars of God Vishnu, with the next film being Mahavatar Parshuram in the pipeline.
Aryan Khan- The Ba***ds of Bollywood
The most awaited debut of the year in Bollywood didn’t happen in front of the camera but behind it as actor Shah Rukh Khan’s son Aryan Khan made his way into films with a satire on the functioning of the Hindi film industry, through his series The Ba***ds of Bollywood. Be it for its humour, viral moments or controversies, Aryan’s debut remained in the headlines for a long time, becoming one of the most talked about directorial debuts of all time.
Kayoze Irani- Sarzameen
The same year as his father Boman Irani made his directorial debut, Kayoze Irani also directed his first feature film, Sarzameen. Starring Ibrahim Ali Khan, Kajol and Prithviraj Sukumaran, the story of an Indian child turned militant released directly on OTT to an underwhelming response. But Kayoze also got the opportunity to direct his father in the film, even if for a cameo.
Chinmay Mandlekar- Inspector Zende
A known actor from the Marathi industry, Chinmay Mandlekar made a transition behind the screen with the Manoj Bajpayee and Jim Sarbh-starrer Inspector Zende. The film, based on the true story of the eponymous cop who caught the notorious French serial killer Charles Sobhraj twice, was made with a comedy touch. It released directly on OTT and received good reviews, especially for the light-hearted touch and the performances.
Anshuman Jha- Lord Curzon Ki Haveli
After a long wait, ator-turned-director Anshuman Jha’s debut outing from behind the lens, Lord Curzon Ki Haveli, finally released this year. The film showed the story of four people who find themselves sharing an unexpected dinner, as things take a dark turn as the night progresses. With Arjun Mathur, Rasika Dugal, Paresh Pahuja and Zoha Rahman in the cast, the dark comedy opened to an underwhelming response both critically and commercially.
Tisca Chopra- Saali Mohabbat
Actor Tisca Chopra ventured into direction this year with the Radhika Apte-starrer Saali Mohabbat, which tells the story of a quiet small town housewife, who finds her routine life shaken after two unsettling deaths disrupt her life’s balance. Produced by Manish Malhotra, and also starring Divyenndu, Saali Mohabbat came directly on OTT and received mixed to positive reviews.
