Hits and Misses: First Time Actor Director Collaborations In 2018 So Far And How They Fared

The first half of 2018 saw a lot of new beginnings in Bollywood. We saw a lot of fresh ideas, stories and performances that took us by surprise. One of the factors that led to a plethora of fresh content in Bollywood in the first half of 2018 was actors and directors collaborating each other with each other for the first time.

While some like Ranbir Kapoor and Rajkumar Hirani spread magic, some faltered and tanked like Neeraj Pandey and Sidhharth. Here are a few actors and directors who collaborated for the first time in 2018 so far and how they fared.

Sanjay Leela Bhansali and Shahid Kapoor

The opinion on this particular collaboration has been somewhat divided. While some loved Shahid and Sanjay collaborating for Padmaavat, for some it fell a little short on expectations. But going by the box-office numbers, the fact that this Shahid’s most profitable film in his career can make us conclude that it was indeed a successful collaboration.

Ranbir Kapoor and Rajkumar Hirani

This is one collaboration that we are truly thankful for. Ranbir’s excellence as an actor has been wonderfully complimented by the ace filmmaker Rajkumar Hirani and the end product, Sanju, has not only broken several records but has also been Ranbir Kapoor’s best performance in his career so far. Any director that brings out the best in an actor and an actor who can translate the vision of the director this perfectly is a collaboration worth having. We hope we see this duo coming together for more films.

Meghna Gulzar and Alia Bhatt and Vicky Kaushal

This is yet another collaboration that blew our minds. We knew Alia and Vicky are actors par excellence and Meghna Gulzar can do wonders with her unique take on stories and storytelling, but nothing prepared us for the cinematic treat that was Raazi. We would surely like to see more of this trio in the future.

Remo D’Souza and Salman Khan

To be honest apart from ABCD series we had doubts about Remo D’Souza’s direction abilities, and coupled with Salman Khan’s limited acting chops, we did not exactly dig the product of their collaboration that is Race 3. Having said that they do have a commonality of interest and the genre of films that they represent, so box-office wise it might not be a bad idea to have more of Remo and Salman together.

R. Balki and Akshay Kumar

This talented duo came together for Padman this year and we were not disappointed. While this is not the career best of either, but it is surely a collaboration we would like to see more of. Maybe, instead of a social drama, it would be interesting to see Akhshay in a romantic film under Balki’s direction.

Ahmed Khan and Tiger Shroff

This has been one of the most profitable collaborations of 2018 so far. Both Ahmed Khan and Tiger Shroff have a flair for a certain kind of cinema that appeals to a large section of the audience. Thus, maybe this duo should come up with more mass entertainers which might not please the critics but entertains the audience at large.

Neeraj Pandey and Sidharth Malhotra

This was one collaboration that was surely made in cinema paradise. Aiyaary was, without a doubt, Neeraj Pandey’s worst directorial venture so far and Sidharth Malhotra who is not exactly known for being a very refined actor worsened the film further. For the love of cinema, we hope the duo never considers doing another film together.

Varun Dhawan and Shoojit Sircar

This was one collaboration we really did not see coming, but Shoojit sircar deserves a massive thanks for every Varun Dhawan fans out there for bringing not only Varun’s career best performance in October, but also showing us a side of Varun as an actor that we did not know existed. 

Watch This Video To Know Records That Sanju Has Broken: