Anand Gandhi

Anand Gandhi
आनंद गांधी

Anand Gandhi in 2012
Born 26 September 1980 (1980-09-26) (age 35)
Mumbai
Occupation filmmaker, screenwriter, director
Years active 2000–present

Anand Gandhi (आनंद गांधी) (born Anand Modi;[1] 26 September 1980 in Mumbai, India) is a filmmaker and a media producer based in Mumbai most known for his debut feature film Ship of Theseus, which won the National Film Award for Best Picture. He has also written and directed several critically acclaimed plays and popular TV shows.

Career

His film directorial debut Right Here, Right Now (2003), a 30-minute film that deals with the idea of cyclic causality, achieved substantial critical acclaim.[2] His second film Continuum (2006) was co-directed with Khushboo Ranka.[2] Continuum is a montage of simple stories from everyday life, popular culture and folklore that explore "the continuum of life and death, of love and paranoia, of trade and value, of need and invention, of hunger and enlightenment".[3]

Anand Gandhi's writing career began in 2000 with the emergence of the daily soap opera genre in India. He wrote dialogue for the first eighty-two episodes of a popular show called Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi. Kyunki... and Kahaani Ghar Ghar Kii, for which he wrote screenplay, are the longest running TV shows in the history of Indian television. He is often quoted for his disgust over the aesthetics of Indian television, including the shows he wrote for.[2][4]

He moved away from his television career to write and direct critically acclaimed plays,[2] like Sugandhi, Pratyancha, Kshanotsav, Na and Janashtaru. Almost all his work has been produced for the alternative one-act theatre. He has written only one mainstream play, Chal Reverse Ma Jaiye in Gujarati.[5] It achieved moderate success commercially and won the Transmedia Best Play award for 2005.

His first feature-length film, Ship of Theseus set in Cairo, Stockholm and Mumbai,[6][7] premiered at the 2012 Toronto International Film Festival, where it was discovered as the "hidden gem" of the festival's selection of films from Mumbai that year.[8] It won the Best Film Award at the Transylvania International Film Festival, Best Cinematography Award at the Tokyo International Film Festival, the Jury Prize for Technical Excellence at the Mumbai Film Festival,[9] Best Actress Award at the Dubai International Film Festival.[10] It was given a Special Mention by the Sutherland Jury "for tickling our intellect and showing us rarely-seen facets of Indian life".[11] Critic Derek Malcolm put it on the list of "films that changed our lives", made to celebrate the centenary of The Critics' Circle.[12]

In July 2013, the Philosophy Department of the Mumbai University honoured him with a "Contribution to Jain Philosophy" award.

He is currently co-directing and producing a new period-thriller called Tumbad, with his production company Recyclewala Labs. The film is under production and stars Gandhi's personal friend and producing partner Sohum Shah, as well as acclaimed Indian actor Irrfan Khan.[13]

He is overseeing the production of a crowdfunded documentary called Proposition for a Revolution on the rise of the Aam Aadmi Party and the anti-corruption protests in India.[14]

He has announced that he will now be producing content for virtual reality under his new banner Elsevr. [15]

Filmography

Year Film Contribution Awards/Notes
2003 Right Here, Right Now Director/Writer/Producer/DOP Syracuse International Film Festival – Best Film (International Short)[16]
Shnit International Short-Film Festival – Best Film (Audience Choice Award)[16]
Mocha Film Club – Best Film
2006 Continuum Director/Writer/Producer/DOP Hanover Up and Coming Film Festival – Film Comet[16]
2013 Ship of Theseus Director/Writer/Producer National Film Awards – Best Film
Hong Kong International Film Festival – SIGNIS Award (Special Mention)
London International Film Festival – Sutherland Award (Special Mention)
Screen Weekly Awards – Jury Prize
Transylvania International Film Festival – Best Film
Sakhalin Film Festival – Grand Prix
Mumbai Film Festival – Jury Prize for Technical Excellence
Tokyo International Film Festival – Best Artistic Contribution Award
Tumbad Writer/Producer in-postproduction
Proposition for a Revolution Producer in-postproduction

Personal life

He was born into a Vaishnav Gujarati family and spoke Gujarati for the first ten years of his life. Later he was raised by a Gujarati Jain family. He has always identified himself as thoroughly non-religious and atheistic. He loves Gujarati poetry, including that of Ramesh Parekh, Mareez, and Shekhadam Abuwala. He writes poetry but does not publish it.[5]

References

  1. ↑ "Anand Gandhi comments on..". reddit. Retrieved 5 September 2014.
  2. 1 2 3 4 PTI (2 April 2010). "Anand Gandhi turns filmmaker with "Theseus's Ship"". The Hindu. Retrieved 5 September 2014.
  3. ↑ Continuum at the Internet Movie Database
  4. ↑ Shetty, Shakti (26 October 2012). "Even a crappy Bollywood film passes off as indie: Anand Gandhi". Mid Day.
  5. 1 2 Runa Mukherjee Parik (11 August 2013). "Gujarati poetry meets Greek paradox". The Times of India Mobile. Retrieved 5 September 2014.
  6. ↑ Prithwish Ganguly (10 April 2010). "On a different pitch". Daily News & Analysis. Retrieved 5 September 2014.
  7. ↑ Radhika Bhirani (6 April 2010). "Who's next in Bollywood?". Hindustan Times. Retrieved 5 September 2014.
  8. ↑ Wadera, Guneet (20 August 2012). "Ship of Theseus – Cameron Baileys hidden gem from Mumbai". Filmi Cafe.
  9. ↑ Kumar Singh, Rajesh (30 October 2012). "SHIP OF THESEUS wins award at Tokyo International Film Festival". Bollywood Trade.
  10. ↑ Dubai International Film Festival. "2012 Winners". Dubai International Film Festival.
  11. ↑ News Desk (23 October 2012). "Anand Gandhi's "Ship of Theseus" wins Jury Special Mention at BFI London Film Festival 2012". Dear Cinema.
  12. ↑ Cline, Rich (27 February 2013). "The Film That Changed My Life: A Celebration of 100 Years of the Critics’ Circle". The Critics' Circle.
  13. ↑ "Irrfan and Sohum Begin Shoot". Twitter. Retrieved 22 June 2014.
  14. ↑ Prop4Rev.com. "Prop4Rev". Retrieved 22 June 2014.
  15. ↑ Guha, Kunal (12 July 2015). "SMALL TALK WITH ANAND GANDHI - AN ALTERNATIVE REALITY". Mumbai Mirror.
  16. 1 2 3 Jaskiran Kapoor (22 March 2010). "Sea change". Indian Express. Retrieved 5 September 2014.

Anand Gandhi's Interview by Lokesh Todi for Storybaaz.in . Published on 8th February, 2014.

External links

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