In these days of more flops than hits, there are hardly any stars who can be considered sureshot saleable. However, the industry still believes that there are certain directors who you can lay your bets on…

— Mani Ratnam. His films are known more for the issues they tackle than the star cast. Whether it was Anjali or Roja or Bombay, his films drive a message home, successfully.

— Subhash Ghai. We can forgive him for Trimurti now that he has given us Pardes. This showman’s films have all the masala ingredients — glamour, family values, melodrama, music and action.

— Yash Chopra. He is the perpetual romantic. Some experiments may have gone wrong but he still continues to rule in tinseltown.

— Indra Kumar. He came from nowhere or so it seemed, and made his presence felt. Almost all his films have been hits. With a dash of comedy, his movies are usually family entertainers.

— J P Dutta. Well, if he wasn’t reliable, the Bollywood Badshah would not have let his son signAkhri Moghul with him. After Ghulami he gave a string of flops like Hathyar, Yateem, Batwara and Kshatriya. But his films have always generated curiosity. And with Border, Dutta earned his stars.

— Rajiv Rai. Not only does he have a brilliant star cast, he always has an extraordinary supporting cast. Everything about his film is big — his stars and his budgets.

— Sooraj Barjatya. He is the last word on superhit entertainers. Need we say more?