Shivam Nair

Shivam Nair, man, this guy’s been in the trenches of Indian television since the early ‘80s. You mention Sea Hawks to anyone who grew up on Doordarshan and watch their eyes light up, seriously. That’s classic Nair—a dude who knows how to get under your skin with suspense and drama. He didn’t just pop out of nowhere either. Nope, he was the right-hand man for Sriram Raghavan on that wild ride called Raman Raghav, A City, A Killer. If you haven’t watched that, you’re missing out on some seriously gritty true crime stuff. Nair apparently has a thing for the dark side, ‘cause he also tackled stories about infamous folks like Auto Shankar, Ranga Billa, and Feroz Daruwalla. Dude loves his serial killers, not gonna lie. Jump to 2006, and he’s finally calling the shots as director with Ahista Ahista. That one’s got Imtiaz Ali’s fingerprints all over the script, which is why the dialogues hit different. Then there’s Maharathi in 2008, which, honestly, doesn’t get talked about enough considering it’s based on Uttam Gada’s play—solid source material. And don’t sleep on Bhaag Johnny (2015) either. It’s got Kunal Khemu running around in a plot that’s just bonkers, with T Series backing the whole thing. Nair’s not the flashy type, but he’s always pulling the strings behind the scenes, crafting stories that stick around in your head way after the credits roll.