The Advisers
10 times National award winner & Padma Bhushan awardee director Known for – Tora, Mumbai cutting, Maine Gandhi ko nehi mara
Jahnu Barua is a multiple national and international award-winning Indian film director from Assam[1] He has directed a number of Assamese and Hindi films, and along with Bhabendra Nath Saikia was one of the pioneers of Assamese Art cinema. He is best known outside Assam for his Hindi film Maine Gandhi Ko Nahin Mara, a drama which uses the principles of Gandhism for its thematic backstory.
Jahnu Baruah has received the following awards:
- Padma Bhushan in 2015
National Film Awards
- 2013: Best Feature Film in Assamese: Ajeyo
- 2012: Best Feature Film in Assamese: Baandhon
- 2003: Best Regional Film for Ride on the Rainbow
- 1999: Best Regional Film for And the River Flows
- 1998: Best Regional Film for The Price of Freedom
- 1995: Best Director for Xagoroloi Bohu Door
- 1992: Second Best Feature Film for Firingoti
- 1990: Best film on Environment for Bonani
- 1987: Best Film for Halodhia Choraye Baodhan Khai
- 1983: Best Regional Film for Aparoopa
Chicago International Film Festival
- 2005: Getz World Peace Prize for Xagoroloi Bohu Door
Brussels International Independent Film Festival
- 1996: Best Director for Xagoroloi Bohu Door
Fukuoka International Film Festival
- 2006 Kodak Vision Award for Maine Gandhi Ko Nahin Mara
Fribourg International Film Festival
- 1996: Audience Award for Xagoroloi Bohu Door
- 1996: Award of the Pestalozzi Children’s Village Foundation for Xagoroloi Bohu
Locarno International Film Festival
- 1988: Prize of the Ecumenical Jury – Special Mention for Halodhia Choraye Baodhan Khai
- 1988: Silver Leopard for Halodhia Choraye Baodhan Khai
Singapore International Film Festival
- 1996: International Fipresci Award for Xagoroloi Bohu Door
Mumbai International Film Festival
- 2005: International Fipresci Award for Maine Gandhi Ko Nahin Mara
Sarhad (NGO)
- 2012: 1st Bhupen Hazarika National award
12 times National Award winner, Cinematographer & Director Known for – Ashoka, Raavan, The terrorist, Dil se
Santosh Sivan is an Indian cinematographer, film director, producer and actor in Indian cinema.[2] Santosh graduated from the Film and Television Institute of India(FTII) and has to date completed 45 feature films and 41 documentaries. He is a founding member of the Indian Society of Cinematographers (ISC) and is the most awarded Director of Photography (DOP) in India.
Sivan became the first Cinematographer in the Asia-Pacific region to be honoured with American Society of Cinematographers (ASC) membership.
As a cinematographer, he has won fiveNational Film Awards – including four for Best Feature Film Cinematography. As of 2014, he has received 11 National Film Awards for his work in various films.He was awarded the Padmashree by the president of India in the year 2014.
Santosh, a founder member of the Indian Society of Cinematographers and the most awarded Director of Photography in this country, graduated from the Film and Television Institute of India and went on to completing 45 features and 41 documentaries.
He was awarded the National Award for best Cinematographer for the films Perumthachan (Malayalam/1991), Kalapani (Malayalam / 1996), Mohiniyattam (Malayalam / 1991), Iruvar (Tamil/1998) and Dil Se.. (Hindi/1999).
Santosh was honoured by the Japanese Society of Cinematographers and has been on the Jury for the Busan Film Festival. He is a “mentor” to students for Mira Nair’s “Maisha Film Lab: in Uganda and is a director to the Sivan Foundation of photography. He was also a governing council member at the Pune Film Institute.
As a director, Santosh won his first National Award in 1988 for the film Story of Tiblu (1988). His film Halo was honoured at the 43rd National Film Awards as the Best Childrens’ Film and Best Sound.
Mr Santosh Sivan has received the following awards:
12 times National Film Awards – India
Kerala State Film Awards
- 1992 – Aham – Best Cinematography (Colour)
- 1996 – Kalapani – Best Cinematography
- 2005 – Anandabhadram – Best Cinematography
- 1994 – Pavithram-best cinematography
Tamil Nadu State Film Awards
- 1992 – Roja – Best Cinematography
- 1996 – Indira – Best Cinematography
Filmfare Awards
- 1999 – Dil Se.. – Best Cinematography
- 2001 – Halo – Critics Award for Best Movie
- 2002 – Asoka – Best Cinematography
Filmfare Awards South
- 1998 – Iruvar – Best Cinematographer – South
IIFA Awards
- 2002 – Asoka – IFFA Best Cinematographer Award
Star Screen Awards
- 2005 – Meenaxi: A Tale of Three Cities – Best Cinematography
Zee Cine Awards
- 2005 – Meenaxi: A Tale of Three Cities – Best Cinematography
National Award winning Director, Actor, Writer Known for – Pan singh Tomar, Gangs of Wassepur, Haasil, Saheb Biwi aur Gangster, Bandit Queen
Tigmanshu Dhulia is an Indian film dialogue writer, director, actor, screenwriter, producer and casting director known for his works in Hindi cinema and Television. He wrote the dialogues for the 1998 film Dil Se.., which was the first Bollywood film to chart in the UK top ten, and was screened at the Berlin International Film Festival…
His directing career has also garnered international recognition with the biographical film, Paan Singh Tomar premiered at the 2010 BFI London Film Festival. and the thriller drama Saheb Biwi Aur Gangster.
Paan Singh Tomar eventually went on to win the National Film Award for Best Feature Film in 2012. Similarly, his sequel film Saheb, Biwi Aur Gangster Returns had gained critical acclaim. He is also well known for his role as Ramadhir Singh in Anurag Kashyap’s modern cult film Gangs of Wasseypur. [10] Dhulia holds a Master’s Degree in Theatre from the National School of Drama.
In 1990 he moved to Mumbai where he worked as casting director on the film Bandit Queen, a biopic of Phoolan Devi. He was casting director for 1995’s Stiff Upper Lips, in which he also had a cameo role as a stallholder, and 2000’s The Warrior, directed by Asif Kapadia. Dhulia started his direction career, by assisting Pradip Krishen in Electric Moon (1992) and Ketan Mehta in Sardar (1993).
Thereafter he turned to television, thus during the 90s Dhulia directed and produced several television programs, including the six-part Krishna’s Dream for UK Channel Four. Kahani Ek Kanya Ki (1991) was written for Doordarshan, and Hum Bambai Nahin Jayenge (1993), for BI Television, was set in an acting school. 1996’s Just Mohabbat was the story of a boy’s coming-of-age, and Naya Daur (1995) adapted a classic Hindi novel by Bhagwati Charan Verma for Zee TV.
Dhulia’s 1999 series Star Bestsellers, a sequence of six 45-minute short stories (“Ek Sham Ki Mulaqat”, “Fursat Main”, “Hum Saath Saath Hain Kya”, “Anekon Hitler”, “Musafir”, and “Bhawaron Ne Khilaya Phool”), won him popular recognition. His 2005 comedyWho Dus Din, for Star TV, satirised the Indian film industry, while Ek Duje Ke Liye, produced the same year and also for Star TV, was an adaptation of Neil Simon’s play The Odd Couple. He also directed the TV serial ‘Rajdhaani’ for Starplus featuring Neha Dhupia.
He directed his first feature film, Haasil in 2003, a love story set among politicised students in northern India. The film was critically well received and has gained a cult following. Haasil was nominated for six awards (including best directorial debut) at the Zee Cine Awards, where it won for best screenplay.His second film Charas: A Joint Operation was a thriller concerning drug cartels, shot in marijuana-growing regions of Himachal Pradesh. In 2011, Tigmanshu has come up with two films – the first one being Shagird which released on 13 May and the second one was Saheb, Biwi Aur Gangster
Dhulia’s film Paan Singh Tomar released on 2 March 2012 and won him wide critical acclaim including National Film Award for Best Feature Film. He has announced four other upcoming projects, Saheb, Biwi Aur Gangster Returns (2013), Milan Talkies, Jai Ramji, Bullet Raja, and Sultana Daku.
Recently he has been honoured with the life membership of International Film And Television Club of Asian Academy of Film & Television by Sandeep Marwah President Marwah Films & Video Studios.
In Spring 2013, Dhulia announced plans to produce a female oriented action film to be called Revolver Rani and to star Kangana Ranaut and Vir Das. According to Dhulia, it is a B grade entertainment movie and everybody will like it.
Mr Tigmanshu Dhulia has received the following awards:National Film Awards
- National Film Award for Best Feature Film – Paan Singh Tomar – Director – 2013
Filmfare Awards
- Filmfare Award for Best Screenplay – Paan Singh Tomar – 2013
Stardust Awards
- Best Director – Saheb, Biwi Aur Gangster – 2012
SAARC Film Festival
- Best Director – Paan Singh Tomar- June 2013
Honours
- Jury Member for India Film Project in 2013
National Award winning Director, Actor, Writer Known for – Iqbal, Hyderabad Blues, Dhanak, Laxmi
A chemical engineer by profession, Nagesh Kukunoor gave up his lucrative career as an environmental consultant in Atlanta and using his personal savings wrote, produced, acted and directed his immensely successful debut film, Hyderabad Blues, which went on to become the largest grossing low budget Indian film in English.
Some of its box office records in India were astounding given the fact that the film was not what was traditionally defined as “commercial” in Indian filmdom. It ran to full houses for 31 weeks in Mumbai, 28 weeks in Hyderabad and 28 weeks in Bangalore.
In addition, the film has been to several international festivals winning audience awards at the Peachtree International Film Festival in Atlanta and the Rhode Island Film Festival. With it’s commercial box-office success in India, Nagesh has created a new genre in Indian cinema – the indie film that breaks the traditional barrier of both commercial and art cinema.
Rockford, a coming of age story of any boarding school going kid, his second film also written and directed by him, follows the same style of film making- of telling empathetic stories that are real and everyday, as well as entertaining. Besides it’s tour of several film festivals, beginning with the Austin Film Festival in 1999, the film was also commercially successful, doing over 16 weeks of business in India.
Bollywood Calling, the filmmaker’s third film, stars Om Puri and Naveen Nischol in the lead. This film also had a very successful commercial run in India and other countries with Indian Diaspora.
His next film 3 Deewarein is another ‘genre bender’ on the Indian movie front combining elements of drama and mystery and boasting of an impressive star cast of Naseeruddin Shah and two of India’s biggest Hindi stars Jackie Shroff and Juhi Chawla. The film has been acclaimed critically in India and abroad. It also won the writer-director, Nagesh, a premier Indian award, Film Fare award, in the best original story category.
Hyderabad Blues-2 : Rearranged Marriage, the fifth film from the director, is a sequel to Hyderabad Blues, a film that started it all. Picking up six years from where it left off, HB2 also casts Nagesh in its lead.
Iqbal, featuring Naseeruddin Shah, Girish Karnad and Shreyas Talpade, is an inspiring story of a deaf mute boy from a small town in rural India who dreams of making it to the Indian cricket team. Released in 2005, the film was a huge box office success and has been included as mandatory reading in many middle school text books. This film won many awards for the director and acting awards for the cast.
Loosely based on a true incident, Nagesh’s next film ‘Dor’, starring Shreyas Talpade, Ayesha Takia, is a story of two women of different worlds coming together. This film received rave reviews, was a run away success at box office and screened at many international festivals.
His Bombay to Bangkok, again starring Shreyas Talpade and Lena Christensen, is a whacky romantic comedy released in early 2008. In 2009, shifting gears yet again, Nagesh tackled the action thriller genre about a man with the ability to see the past in 8 X 10 Tasveer starring Akshay Kumar.
Nagesh’s next film Aashayein opened in August of 2010 to rave reviews and tells the story of a man who learns to live life all over again when he realizes he has ninety days left to live.His next release Mod, is a romantic drama and tells the story of a lonely girl who runs a watch store in a small town in India and a stranger with a mysterious past shows up at her doorstep to have his watch repaired.
His last film Lakshmi is based on a harrowing true story of a girl who was sold into prostitution at 14, but who once rescued had the courage to sue her traffickers successfully in a landmark case in the state of Andhra Pradesh in southern India.
The film has been to numerous festivals and has won numerous awards, primarily the Audience Award in Palm Springs for the Best Film, Best International Feature at the Toronto Reel World Film Festival and Best Director at the Stuttgart Indian Film Festival.His current film Dhanak (Rainbow) is the story of an eight-year old blind boy and his sister and the magical journey they take across the desert state of Rajasthan to get his eyesight back.
Academy Award winner, and Padma Sree awardee Sound designer Known for – Slumdog Millionaire, Highway, Ra One
Resul Pookutty is an Indian film sound designer, sound editor and mixer. He, along with Richard Pryke and Ian Tapp won the oscars, Academy Award for Best Sound Mixingfor the film Slumdog Millionaire. He has worked in Hollywood, Hindi, Tamil and Malayalam films. Pookutty moved to Mumbai after his graduation. He termed it as “a natural immigration as a graduate of the institute”…
He pointed out that “Ninety-five per cent of the technicians of the Mumbai film industry are alumni of FTII, Pune.”[ Pookutty made his debut in sound design with the 1997 film Private Detective: Two Plus Two Plus One, directed by Rajat Kapoor
He got his big break with the critically acclaimed 2005 film Black, directed by Sanjay Leela Bhansali. He subsequently engineered sound for major productions like Musafir (2004), Zinda (2006), Traffic Signal (2007), Gandhi, My Father (2007), Saawariya (2007) and Dus Kahaniyaan (2007).
Filmography
Musafir – Kerala Varma Pazhassi Raja – slumdog millionaire – endhiran – Kochadaiiyaan – ankhon dekhi – Highway – Yaan – Blemished Light
Mr Resul Pookutty has received the following awards:
- 2012 : Zee Cine Award for Best Sound Design for his work in Ra.One.
- 2010 : National Film Award for Best Audiography for his work in Pazhassi Raja
- 2010 : Honorary Doctorate (D.Litt) by Sree Sankaracharya University of Sanskrit
- 2010 : Padma Shri by Government of India
- 2009 : Asianet Film Awards – Special Honour Jury Award
- 2009 : Chakkulathamma Swaravarsha Award
- 2009 : Bahadoor Award
- 2009 : Academy Award for Best Sound Mixing along with Ian Tapp and Richard Pryke for his work in Slumdog Millionaire.
- 2009 : BAFTA Award for Best Sound along with Glenn Freemantle, Richard Pryke, Tom Sayers and Ian Tapp for his work in Slumdog Millionaire.
- 2005 : Zee Cine Award for Best Audiography for his work in Musafir.
National award winning Director Known for – Shahid, Citylight, Raakh, Chaal
Hansal made his debut with Jayate (Victory, 1998), a languid tale on the Indian judiciary, medical malpractice and ordinary human lives in the city of Bombay. This was followed by the dark, tragic and funny Dil Pe Mat Le Yaar (Don’t Take It To Heart, 2000), a film that reflected Hansal’s concern for the increasingly marginalized immigrants in the city of Bombay…
This film (and Hansal) ran into trouble with intolerant political parties in Bombay because of an innocuous section of dialog. While it was not a huge commercial success it met with equal amounts of appreciation and flak for its unconventional story about betrayal and innocence.
In 2003 the film was discovered in a glowing DVD review on Site and Sound magazine – a larger version of this review eventually found its way into an independent list of 46 underrated works of world cinema (Gentleman Magazine, India). Dil Pe Mat Le Yaar was followed by a breezy gangster film called Chhal (Deceit, 2001) which for reasons unknown to Hansal has been regarded as a cult film and has met with more praise than his previous film (his personal favorite).
Hansal’s early films reflected various subcultures that inhabit the culturally complex city of Bombay (now Mumbai). After these films Hansal made unsuccessful attempts at films that pandered to the mainstream sensibility while continuing to work with newer talents. Among these were the comedy Yeh Kya Ho Raha Hai (What’s Happening, 2002), a gangster drama Raakh (Ashes, 2005), a short film in Dus Kahaniyaan (Ten Stories, 2007) and Woodstock Villa (2008).
Disappointed with his output and his attempts to make films that did not reflect his independent sensibilities, Hansal went on an extended sabbatical to explore social work, rural life and new stories. Shahid (2012) is the result of this soul searching mission and a return to roots for Hansal. Shahid is a deeply personal story that reflects Hansal’s anger and concern towards religious/class based/racial intolerance around the world. He calls it “an attempt to exorcise the demons of 2000 when I was attacked by intolerant political parties and was forced to remain silent out of fear for my life”. Shahid won Hansal Mehta the 61st National Award for Best Direction and its lead actor Rajkummar Rao the National Award for Best Actor.
Close on the heels of Shahid’s theatrical release in October 2013, Hansal Mehta teamed with Rajkummar Rao to make the acclaimed ‘Citylights’ (an official adaptation of the British Indie hit ‘Metro Manila’) for Fox star Studios and Mahesh Bhatt.
Hansal has also dabbled in television with India’s longest running food show, Khana Khazana and many other television series that were considered acclaimed for their non-conformist approach compared to the mainstream Indian television industry. In his spare time Hansal experiments with Indian cuisine and his home is regularly frequented by unsuspecting friends who are subjected to his culinary digressions. He also loves ranting through blogs and amateurish free-verse poetry on his website that is humbly called www.hansalmehta.com. The humble website also lists out some of Hansal’s more successful Indian recipes.