Gauri Shinde

• Strong female characters
• Based on life experiences
• Thought-provoking dialogue

Gauri Shinde is an Indian film director and writer. Despite only directing two films, she is being known to be one of the few talented directors to watch out for. After finishing college, she made over 100 advertising and short films. In 2012, she made her first film, English Vinglish, in 2012. This film was inspired by Shinde's own experiences with her mother. Her mother was a Marathi-speaking woman who did not speak English very well, which embarrassed Shinde as a child. English Vinglish was a critical and commercial success. She won the Filmfare award for Best Debut Director. In 2018, she directed the film, Dear Zindagi, which received postive responses from critics.

Gauri Shinde focuses on real life experiences within her films. She uses strong female characters to portray those experiences. English Vinglish can be relatable to many minority women who do not speak English well. Dear Zindagi focused on mental health issues that is not spoken much in Indian society. Shinde is able to handle human emotions when portraying them on her films. Shinde still has a long way to go to fully create her brand of cinema.

"Through this process, I find my voice and what I want to convey — the emotions and expressions that are important to me at that point in my life and issues I want to resolve, and those find their way into a film. In that process, I look for my answers as well" - Gauri Shinde when asked about her inspiration

"She has strong opinions, free-flowing, but never too imposing. Subtle and sure. An iron fist in a velvet glove. Soft to touch, but firm to shake. Like her stories ' simplistically set in the make-real world, with warm vibes, wondrously fleshed out characters and moments to behold" - Madhureeta Mukherjee