5 most underrated actor-director duos in Bollywood

Akshay’s most memorable early 2000s films like ‘Aankhen’, ‘Waqt’, ‘Namastey London’, ‘Action Replayy’ are with Shah, and  yet the two aren’t often mentioned in the same breath.

 1. Akshay Kumar and Vipul Amrutlal Shah

Worked on films like ‘Article 15’, ‘Anek’, this duo has explored socially relevant themes with a gutsy tone. It seems like the two make a perfect collaboration, pushing each other into riskier storytelling zones.

2. Ayushmann Khurrana and Anubhav Sinha 

Worked on ‘Special 26’, ‘Satyameva Jayate’ and ‘Secrets of Sinauli’, Manoj Bajpayee and Neeraj Pandey’s association isn’t always highlighted, but when together, they bring authenticity and gravitas to even commercial setups.

3. Manoj Bajpayee and Neeraj Pandey 

Collaborated on ‘Mardaani’, ‘Laaga Chunari Mein Daag’, Rani Mukerji and Pradeep Sarkar understood the woman-in-focus narrative beautifully. The director died in 2003. 

4. Rani Mukerji and Pradeep Sarkar

Worked together in ‘Serious Men’, Mishra brings out Nawaz’s intellectual depth, and while ‘Serious Men’ was a streaming gem, the pair has only scratched the surface. No?

5. Nawazuddin Siddiqui and Sudhir Mishra