India, Nov. 21 -- Several filmmakers, including Imtiaz Ali, Tigmanshu Dhulia, Anubhav Sinha, Anurag Basu, Anurag Kashyap and Rajkumar Hirani, have dabbled with the small screen before making it big in Bollywood. On World Television Day today, we talk to a few of them about what creating for TV meant to them.

I have directed several times for the television - the serial Hum Bambai Nahi Jayengey (1993), Bhagwati Charan Verma's novel Naya Daur (1996), the first six episodes of Just Mohabbat and Rajdhani. I also directed 6 episodes of Star Bestsellers which people still remember. Hansal Mehta, Anurag Basu, Rajkumar Hirani, Anurag Kashyap all were directing on TV in that phase. Since, at that time, I was assisting in films as well so I direct...