<span class=normal>They say that the Director is the Captain of the ship and if he is not in complete clarity of his vision then but naturally the ship (in this case film) does go astray. Like each year, this year too Bollywood witnessed a plethora of new directors all eager to tell a story in their own unique way. While some had filmy connections, some were absolute rank newcomers. However, not all managed to make a mark with their first film. Bollywood Hungama’s Nikhil Ramsubramaniam takes a look at those first-time directors who made a promising start to their filmy career this year.<BR><BR><br><p class=clear>&nbsp;</p>Kiran Rao (Dhobi Ghat) <BR><BR><br><p class=clear>&nbsp;</p>Kiran Rao’s maiden directorial venture Dhobi Ghat was the cynosure of all eyes as it was looked at as the directorial debut of Mrs. Aamir Khan. Even though she had the backing of her superstar hubby actor-producer, Kiran made sure that Dhobi Ghat as a film had her own individual sensibilities. The film was always touted as a niche project aimed at the urban, thinking, multiplex crowd and it did strike a chord with its target audience. As a director, Kiran displayed tremendous maturity for her first film which won a lot of critical acclaim. It will be interesting to see the kind of films this talented lady takes up in the days to come. </span>