I grew up in a typical Indian middle-class household; my mom watched popular Hindi T.V. soaps and movies with family meant the typical masala family dramas from Bollywood. They did not interest me as such (no offense to the filmmakers and creatives involved) largely because I could not find any link to their stories and my surrounding real life. It was just a method to escape our daily routine. They primarily promoted larger than life sets and over dramatic familial bonds. It was, I felt, just a medium to sell fancy goods, and to wire the audience in a certain way of living without offering them a chance to consider different point of views. Even Hollywood movies that used to be aired on T.V were carefully selected to have the same style of drama, comedy, and action to appease the average Indian audience. And as a result, movies for me were not just a medium of entertainment for a few hours it’s beyond that having real impact on my life.
2012, I got admission in Electronics and Telecommunication Engineering at Sinhgad Institute Of Technology in Lonavala. I learn basics of electronics and technical usage of equipment during my first year. During college, I became friends with like-minded people from diverse backgrounds sharing the same urge for learning and absorbing the art of visuals. In the first year of engineering, I watched lots of movies. I love to watch horror film or tv series. In my first year of engineering college I watched atleast one Fear Files episode everyday with my friends and while watching this episode, I have a habbit to shut down all the lights and also corridor lights to get feeling of horror. After first year, I started watching time related movies and then I found my favourite genre that is Sci-Fi, Mystery, Thriller. In these four years of engineering, I watched almost 1000 movies including Bollywood, Tollywood, Hollywood, Spanish, Russian, Chinese, Japanese etc. I have been constantly trying to expand my knowledge ever since. Watching YouTube video essays, films, reading critical reviews, experimenting during shoots, learning from books and websites; I’ve been trying to understand the medium of visual storytelling and the depth of it. From this course, I aim to get exposure to world cinema, explore the various potentials of films and find a purpose of it above average entertainment. I would especially love to have the opportunity to learn and analyze the different genres and types of films from international to independent cinema to classic Hindi and regional films.
Summer of 2016, I felt practical experience would help me much more than just theoretical knowledge gained from books and online videos then I started making short films. “Penitence” is my first short film. I have done direction and screenplay in this short film and edited by one of my best friend Antriksh. After completing my engineering, 2017 brought with it opportunities for me, I have done one featured film “Rokeeda” as a assistant director. Vinay Tak is the director of this film. This movie is zero budget film.
I would like to make more creative and informed decisions in my work.The foremost purpose of any creative medium is to tell stories. And to tell stories through films.