A total of 23 directors made their debut in 2004, a few good, some bad and the others totally indifferent.

A few of these directors were connected to the film industry.

The year started with Hriday Shetty, whose brother Rohit Shetty made his directorial debut in 2003 with the slick "Zameen".

Hriday's "Plan" was a slick crime caper about a bunch of inept boys who accidentally kidnap an underworld don. The film failed, but Shetty is now directing a new film with Rishi Kapoor, Dimple Kapadia, Sammir Dattani and Soha Ali Khan in the lead.

Srinivas Bhashyam, the second debutant director of the year wasn't that lucky. His Manisha Koirala-Sushmita Sen crime caper "Paisa Wasool" left him high and dry and his producer Koirala poorer than before.

Sriram Raghavan came next with "Ek Hasina Thi". A gripping Ram Gopal Varma production with Urmila Matondkar in splendid form as a woman wronged by her evil boyfriend (Saif Ali Khan). Raghavan's grip on his narrative was incredible. He's now directing a film for producer Gaurang Doshi.

Pooja Bhatt and Farah Khan were the two female debutante directors of the year. Bhatt's "Paap" was a fairly well thought-out romantic thriller shot in the stunning wilderness. It flopped.

Farah's "Main Hoon Na" put her at the forefront of filmmakers. That's the difference between casting John Abraham and Shah Rukh Khan in the lead.

Shimit Amin ("Ab Tak Chappan"), Rajat Kapoor ("Raghu Romeo"), Sanjay Upadhyay ("Satya Bol") and Sourabh Usha Narang ("Vastu Shastra") were the other notable directorial talents of the year.

But the list of those new directors who left no impression is quite long. Those that came and went without creating even a slight tremor were Puneet Sira ("I Proud To Be Indian"), Shrey Shrivastava ("Insaaf"), Rohit-Manish ("Muskaan"), Santram Verma ("Krishna Cottage"), Jeeva ("Run"), Ahmed Khan ("Lakeer"), Samir Karnik ("Kyun...Ho Gaya Na"), Poori Jagannath ("Shart: The Challenge"), Ravi Shankar Sharma ("Hum Kaun Hain"), Atul Agnihotri ("Dil Ne Jisey Apna Kaha"), Tanveer Khan ("Madhoshi"), Kabir Sadanand ("Popcorn Khao...Mast Ho Jao"), Anupam Sinha ("Shukriyaa") and Omkar Nath Mishra ("Dil Bechara Pyar Ka Mara").

Interestingly, even 'well-connected' directors like Anupam Sinha (brother of Anubhav Sinha), Atul Agnihotri (Salman Khan's brother-in-law), Jeeva (a well known cinematographer) and Poori Jagannath (one of the highest paid directors in south India) couldn't make a mark.

It would be no exaggeration to call 2004 a dull year for directorial talent.