Are Nandita Das and Konkona Sensharma Bollywood's Deepa Mehta and Mira Nair?

Nandita Das and Konkona Sensharma are two of Indian cinema's finest actresses who have carved a niche for themselves in the world of showbiz with their eclectic choice of films.

Their repertoire is replete with mainstream Bollywood films as well as what is often referred to in common parlance as "meaningful cinema".

While Das has been a jury member at the prestigious Cannes Film Festival twice, Konkona is a celebrated National Award-winning actress.

And both these two artists - Das, a sultry Odiya sensation, and Sensharma, a doe-eyed Bengali beauty - who have many memorable performances to their credit have also opted to hone their craft behind the camera.

Nandita Das, who has featured in a plethora of films - including Fire, 1947 Earth, Aks, Kannathil Muthamittal and Shubho Mahurat - made her directorial debut with the critically acclaimed Firaaq in 2009.

Set in post-riot affected Gujarat, the fictional story centred on the lives of people who are forced to pick up the pieces after the carnage and go on with their lives, struck a chord with many and also won acclaim in the technical categories at the National Awards.

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Firaaq also managed to woo the international audience with its stark portrayal of reality in all its harshness.

Now, the critically acclaimed actor and director is gearing up to transcreate the life of celebrated author Saadat Hasan Manto on the silver screen.

While Naseeruddin Shah and Deepti Naval were the leading stars of her ensemble cast in Firaaq, it's Nawazuddin Siddiqui who will be donning the proverbial poet's hat in Manto.

After Firaaq, a film which did not mince words while depicting the aftermath of the 2002 Godhra riots, Das has now set herself the task of chronicling the life of the celebrated and controversial India-Pak writer, who was both a radical and far ahead of his times.

When it came to his outlook on life, the familiar was defamiliarised and taboo subjects like sexuality also found voice in his works of fiction and non-fiction.

What's interesting to note is that Konkona Sensharma's directorial debut A Death in the Gunj also boasts of an ensemble cast. Leading the star cast is Vikrant Massey.

For the uninitiated, he was the actor who played Ranveer Singh's friend in Vikmaditya Motwane's Lootera which released in 2013. The cast also includes names like Kalki Koechlin, Tillotama Shome, Gulshan Devaiah, Tanuja, Om Puri and Ranvir Shorey.

A Death in the Gunj will premiere at the prestigious Toronto International Film Festival in September this year. The trailer which hit the airwaves in the last week of July clearly suggests that the film centres on a student who sets out on a holiday with his family.

What happens during the holiday is something we will have to wait and find out once the film hits Indian screens, but trailer suggests enough drama and dysfunctionality to keep the viewer hooked.

Sensharma who won her first National Award in the best actress category for her nuanced performance in her mother's directorial venture Mr & Mrs Iyer in 2002, has also proved her mettle as a versatile actor with roles in films like Amu, Page 3, Omkara, Aaja Nachle, Luck by Chance and Wake Up Sid.

It looks like her new role as a director will pack as much punch, if not more, as her previous avatar of an actor.

Though, it might be too early to arrive at the conclusion that they might be the new-age Deepa Mehta and Mira Nair.

However, there's no harm in hoping that they deliver films which will be cherished and held as celluloid gems in years to come.