Vasan Bala is an Indian film director and screenwriter known for his work in Hindi cinema. He wrote the scripts for the period crime drama Bombay Velvet (2015) and the psychological thriller Raman Raghav 2.0 (2016). Bala made his directorial debut with the crime thriller Peddlers in 2012, which earned him a nomination for the Golden Camera Award at Cannes. He's also worked as an assistant director on films like Dev.D (2009), Gulaal (2009), and Trishna (2011). As a dialogue writer, he's contributed to The Lunchbox (2013) and Rukh (2017). In 2019, he released his film Mard Ko Dard Nahi Hota. His latest directorial was Dharma Productions Jigra (2024), starring Alia Bhatt.
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Biography from TMDB.
- July 20, 1978 (48)
- India
- Director and writer, also producer
- 7 on MovieCove · 16 credits in all
What are Vasan Bala's films like?
Across their 7 MovieCove titles with a thematic analysis, their films lean Morality and Society.
Genres
Their MovieCove films by primary genre. The badge is the typical Midcredits score of the genre's films, the median percentile; an up arrow marks a genre at or above their average across these genres.
Themes
What they feel like to watch
Ironic 2 · Wry 0 · Earnest 4
A split, not a type: Light 5 · Serious 0 · Dark 1
Grounded 2 · Stylized 3 · Heightened 1
A split, not a type: Gentle 1 · Charged 2 · Intense 3
Steady 2 · Shifting 3 · Whiplash 1
Straight-faced 1 · Some laughs 5 · Funny 0
Slow burn 1 · Even-paced 5 · Relentless 0
A split, not a type: Casual 3 · Engaged 0 · Full focus 3
Easy watch 0 · Affecting 5 · Heavy 1
A split, not a type: Resolved 3 · Open-ended 1 · Ambiguous 2
Moods and endings
- Happy1
- Bittersweet2
- Ambiguous4
AI-generated from each title's plot synopsis and cast list, with extra plot summaries, reviews and Parents Guide notes for titles the model may not know, and the model's own knowledge of the ones it recognizes. Only analyzed titles count, so this covers part of the filmography; the feel axes count films only for now.
Where can I watch Vasan Bala's films?
As of October 24, 2026, 5 of their 7 MovieCove titles stream on a subscription or free service, most on Netflix (4).
Subscription and free streaming for Vasan Bala's titles on MovieCove; rent and buy are not counted. Titles are listed by Midcredits score, highest first, at most 12 per service; a dashed chip is a producer credit or a minor one, such as a thanks. A service opens the browse page, which counts movies only, so its number can differ.
Filmography
16 credits, 7 with a MovieCove page; 4 appearances as themselves are hidden until asked for.
Jigra(2024)
Midcredits score: 70th percentile of all films
Cinema Marte Dum Tak (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2023)
Monica, O My Darling(2022)
Midcredits score: 91st percentile of all films
'83(2021)
Midcredits score: 89th percentile of all films
Ray(2021)
Midcredits score: 50th percentile of all shows
Dug Dug(2021)
Midcredits score: 58th percentile of all films
Midcredits score: 88th percentile of all films
Rukh (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2017)
Raman Raghav 2.0 (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2016)
Bombay Velvet (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2015)
Bunny (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2015)
Bombay Mirror (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2014)
Geek Out (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2013)
The Lunchbox(2013)
Midcredits score: 98th percentile of all films
Peddlers (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2012)
Aamir (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2008)
Career shape
A full career of 14 titles from 2008 to 2024.
Film career
- 2008Screen debut· Aamir
How do Vasan Bala's films land?
Their typical MovieCove film has a Midcredits score in the 89th percentile, the median of all 6; across their 6 films with reception data, the typical film sits in the 85th percentile for acclaim.
- 75th and up4
- 50th to 74th3
Shape of the crowd
4 of their 7 titles are Mixed.
- Universally Loved3
- Mixed4
Reviewers score the atmosphere 75/100 and the pacing 48/100 in their films, across 6 reviewed titles. The element that speaks to their work as a director.
Percentiles are each film's standing among all films on MovieCove; the typical film is the median, so one outlier cannot drag it. Percentiles and reviewer scores count the films IMDb credits them on, for now; the Midcredits score bands, the shape of the crowd and the two cards count their MovieCove titles, shows included (a show ranked among shows), appearances as themselves left out. A descriptor is the shape of a title's IMDb rating distribution against the catalog; "most divisive" needs a spread wider than half of all titles, and a card names only a principal credit: a craft role, and on a show a crew role or a run of episodes, never a courtesy credit or a one-off guest spot.
Is Vasan Bala's work okay for kids?
Across up to 6 MovieCove titles with content scores, sex & nudity runs lighter than most films.
Severity 0–100 from the Content Guide. Categories with under 10 votes on a title are not counted. The band's colour is the severity of their median, named beside it.
Who does Vasan Bala work with?
People who share at least 2 of Vasan Bala's MovieCove titles, grouped by what they did on them; Radhika Madan shares the most, 3.
Actors
- Radhika MadanShared titles: Monica, O My Darling (2022), Ray (2021), The Man Who Feels No Pain (2018)See all 3 shared titles with Radhika Madan
- Akansha Ranjan KapoorShared titles: Jigra (2024), Monica, O My Darling (2022)See all 2 shared titles with Akansha Ranjan Kapoor
Composers, cinematographers and editors
- Prerna SaigalShared titles: Jigra (2024), Ray (2021), The Man Who Feels No Pain (2018)See all 3 shared titles with Prerna Saigal
- Swapnil S. SonawaneShared titles: Jigra (2024), Monica, O My Darling (2022), Ray (2021)See all 3 shared titles with Swapnil S. Sonawane
- Achint ThakkarShared titles: Jigra (2024), Monica, O My Darling (2022)See all 2 shared titles with Achint Thakkar
- Nitin BaidShared titles: '83 (2021), Ray (2021)See all 2 shared titles with Nitin Baid
Producers
- Karan JoharShared titles: Jigra (2024), The Lunchbox (2013)See all 2 shared titles with Karan Johar
- Pratik Nandkumar MoreShared titles: Jigra (2024), Monica, O My Darling (2022)See all 2 shared titles with Pratik Nandkumar More
- Vishal BajajShared titles: Jigra (2024), Monica, O My Darling (2022)See all 2 shared titles with Vishal Bajaj
- Alex Anthony FernandesShared titles: Monica, O My Darling (2022), '83 (2021)See all 2 shared titles with Alex Anthony Fernandes
Mixed roles
- Ankur KhannaShared titles: Jigra (2024), The Man Who Feels No Pain (2018)See all 2 shared titles with Ankur Khanna
