FTII People

Shweta Rai Chamling did her graduation in Mass Communication and Video Production from St. Anthony’s College, Shillong. She is an alumnus of FTII (Batch of 2007), Pune specializing in Film Editing (Diploma – Chidiya Udh). This film was awarded the National Awards for Best Sound and Best Director). She After graduating from the institute she has been closely working with Kamal Swaroop. She has edited films like Kamal Swaroop’s Tracing Phalke, Battle for Banaras, Pushkar Puran, Samudra Manthan, Bhaskar Hazarika’s Aamis, Aditya Kelgaonkar’s Sound Proof, Pushpendra Singh’s Lajwanti, Kabir Singh Chowdhry’s Mehasampur (Supervising Editor).

As a child what were your early influences towards cinema? Art, literature, graphics, photography?
I can’t remember anybody speaking of ‘art’ at home. However, music was an integral part of our household. In the form of satsangs or bhajans; or my Papa, Mummy, Uncles, Aunts and us cousins singing soulful Nepali songs as my father strummed the guitar at a family gathering, or just a quite evening with Lobo playing from the stereo.
But I do have a very surreal image probably of my first visit to the cinema theatre. I must have been very young then. Thank God my parents were ardent movie goers (they still are. They watch more bollywood films than I do) while my other relatives treated going to the cinemas as if it were some kind of a taboo. I don’t blame them either. Shillong theatres those days were dirty with blood red marks of betel nut spits on the walls and floors and the white finger prints impressed by limes on the walls/pillars/seats like a clue left behind for a mystery to be revealed and others had an overwhelming stench glooming across the hall. Today in the age of multiplexes, betel nut or what is popularly known as kwai in Khasi is not allowed inside the theatres. Irony is that Kwai brings people together and acts as an equalizer between the rich and the poor. But here is my very vivid memory of being in a very dark hall. I wasn’t particularly afraid because I could see people around me staring at this big thing (I didn’t know it was a screen then). All I knew was there were these really huge people who were talking to each other. They had huge faces, gigantic limbs, giant pair of eyes and there was music too. I felt I was watching these giants perform in front of me. What an experience it was.

Born in 1987, Aadish Keluskar did his graduation in journalism from University of Mumbai. His life changed after he saw Old Boy by Park Chan wook and he decided that if not given a shot to filmmaking , he would be regretting it at his deathbed.
He got into Film Direction Course of FTII in 2009, dropped out in his third year to complete the post production of his first Feature Film in Marathi named Kaul (A Calling).
Kaul won Young Critics Award for Best Film in MAMI, 2015. Along with it it was selected in Film Festivals from India and aborad. It released theatrically in 2016.
His next Feature in Hindi, Jaoon Kahan Bata Ae Dil (Lovefucked) won Young Critics Award for Best Film in MAMI, 2018. It was released as a Netflix Original in 2019.
His short films Tatpaschat (2011) and Zero By Zero (2012) were screened in film festivals such as Indian Film Festivals of Los Angeles and Clermont Fearrand International Short Film Festival.

Currently, Aadish is working on a film and a web series project.

As a child what were your early influences towards cinema? Art, literature, graphics, photography?
I was not particularly interested in films. It was one of the entertaining things that I was exposed to one a year or so. Things like Graphics, Photography were also thought to be rich kids’ hobbies in the world I was a part of. Reading was the only thing that was encouraged but as far as I remember I was more interested in non-fiction literature.Occasionally, I used to talk to myself or imagine situations with people to fulfil my hunger for creativity. However, that was casual. I was an outdoor kid, so that is how I spent most of my time till 18-19.

Sanju Surendran, an Indian film maker is a graduate of Film and Television Institute of India, Pune. At the Institute he picked his lessons from the legendary film maker Mani Kaul. Sanju has done a brief stint as a teacher of Film Direction and Screenwriting at the KR Narayanan National Institute of Visual Science and Arts, Kottayam , Kerala. His documentary on Kutiyattam, ‘Kapila’ won the National award for the Best Documentary and Special Mention at Visions du Reel, Switzerland. Sanju’s first feature film, ‘Aedan- Garden of Desire’ won Rajathachakoram award for the Best Debut Director and  the FIPRESCI award for the best Malayalam film and four Kerala state film awards. His IMDB Profile is here.

As a child what were your early influences towards cinema? Art, literature, graphics, photography?

Childhood is a blossoming of curiosities. I was always interested in stories, colours and graphics. Bedside stories which my father would say or the dramatic narration of an incident by my mother. I used to draw and paint as a child and was quite impressed by the graphical film posters of filmmaker Bharathan et al. I was also a voracious reader. Maybe all this and more helped me in becoming a filmmaker.

Jyoti Kapoor is a Mumbai based screenwriter and former journalist. She was born and brought up in Karnal. After completing her Masters in Mass Communication from Punjab University, she went on to work as a correspondent with publications like ‘The Indian Express’ and ‘Mid-Day’ before she crossed over to fiction. She also taught screenwriting at Whistling Woods International, a film school based in Mumbai, before starting out as a full time writer. An alumnus of Film and Television Institute of India, Jyoti has co-written scripts for films like ‘Badhai Ho’, ‘Dawat-e-Ishq’ & ‘Kaccha Limboo’ and is the writer of upcoming film ‘Good News’.

Jyoti has been actively involved in writers’ rights initiatives and is the Vice President of the Screenwriters’ Association (SWA).

Jyoti’s IMDB link is here.

As a child what were your early influences towards cinema? Art, literature, graphics, photography?
Films:
Mostly what I got to watch on Doordarshan. But I do remember gravitating most towards the films of Shyam Benegal, Gulzar, Govind Nihlani, Satyajit Ray, Basu Chatterjee, Hrishikesh Mukherjee, to name a few.
Also, I was lucky to have witnessed the golden age of Indian TV. Buniyaad, Nukkad, Malgudi Days, Hum Log, Pachpan Khambe Laal Deewaarein, Bharat Ek Khoj – were some of my favorite shows on TV.

Have always admired Raghu Rai’s photography.

Literature:
I have grown up on a staple diet of Munshi Premchand, Sharad Joshi, R.K.Narayanan, Mahadevi Verma, Manohar Shyam Joshi, Mulkh Raj Anand, Ruskin Bond and of course, stories told by my grandmother, who was one of the biggest influences on me while growing up. My bedtime stories, on most days, were a mix of tales woven around partition, Ramayana and Mahabharata. I also remember her telling me the desi version of Snow White among other stories. It’s amazing how fairytales and folklores travel across continents, generations, and how they transcend age, religion, and geography.
After having worked in the business of storytelling for more than a decade, I can say this with confidence, that my grandmother was one of the best storytellers I have come across. I wonder if she would have liked to collaborate with me if she were alive today. Maybe in a different universe!

Hailing from a pilgrimage, Maheshwar, in Madhya Pradesh, Dinesh S Yadav, more than a film Diretor is an ‘evocateur’. Before taking up film editing from The Film & Television Institute of India, Pune, he did his masters in Television Direction & Graduation in Film & Television Production from EMRC, Indore. But long before he started his formal education in filmmaking, he came onto the floor with a couple of music & animation videos, theatre & short films like ‘Aashaad’ and ‘Umas’ winning him awards at various national and international film festivals. ‘Turtle (Kachhua)’, his debutant feature film starring Sanjay Mishra, is taking rounds in the film festivals worldwide before hitting the screens. His second bollywood feature, ‘Wah Zindagi’, an entertaining family drama starring Sanjay Mishra, Vijay Raj, Manoj Joshi, Naveen Katuria & Plabita Borthakur is expected to have a grand release later this year. His IMDB profile is here. 

Siddartha Jatla is from Hyderabad, he studied still photography (B.F.A) from Sri Venkateswara College of Fine Arts, Osmania University.
He further pursued motion picture photography from FTII, Pune. He has directed the much acclaimed film ‘Love and Shukla’, amongst many other credits.

His IMDB Profile is here.

Trailer of Love And Shukla

As a child what were your early influences towards cinema? Art, literature, graphics, photography?
My early influences were all the Hindi films and mostly where Amitabh Bachhan was present. Sholay is one film that i have seen over 500 times and heard the cassette over 1000 times , may be more. Films by Hrishikesh Mukherjee, Raj Kapoor, Satyajeet Ray, Bimal Roy, Ritwick Ghatak were the ones which I got to see the most. Then in school and home and around I had a great no.of bengalis and so Rabindra Sangeet, dance drama and other cultural activities like skits, theatre, was a regular thing. And I participated in one and all. I was not a book worm but liked to read a mix bag of stories ranging from Thakur ma er jhuli to champak or chandamama. But most importantly my grand parents had a great influence on me. Every night I forced one of them to tell me some new jatak Katha and in school I used to narrate them to my school mates. So the influence happened from various sides. Parents, teachers, films, radio, theatre, story books, comics, ramleela, family traditions etc. all had their fare share on me.

How did you first become interested in the performing arts?
During durga Puja, as a kid I was mesmerized by the Kakus and Kakimas doing aarti of ma durga with dhunochi. That was the first performing art form I wanted to master. And later I became a regular attraction in my pada and every year my aarti was a celebrated item no. (hahahahaha). Followed by break dance, disco, bhangra and many more dances.

What steps did you take to train yourself as an actor?
I am born and brought up in Jhansi and there are no real acting schools or very good level of theatre that happens there. But during my matriculation I had decided to be an actor. So I started researching. One of my close friends told me that to be an actor one has to do plays, theatre. So the closest city where decent theatre happened was Gwalior. So i went to Gwalior to do my graduation and simultaneously did stage. But not good enough. Internet was little expensive and not available every where. Had to travel 20 Kms to surf net. So google helped me to get to know about Barry John, FTII, NSD, BNA, and many more acting schools.Post my graduation I joined Barry John’s acting school in 2002 and landed in Mumbai in 2003. Stayed in Mumbai for 5 years and in 2008 I went to FTII to study acting and film making.

Read the rest of this entry »

Monday 04/06/2018 : One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest (Milos Forman/USA/133min/1975) : NFAI

Tuesday 05/06/2018 : Loves of A Blonde (Milos Forman/Czechoslovakia/88min/1965) : NFAI

Wednesday 06/06/2018 : Amadeus (Milos Forman/USA/160 mins/1984) : NFAI (FTII Copy)

Thursday 07/06/2018 : The Round Up (Milos Jancso/Hungary/90min/1966) : FTII MT

Friday 08/06/2018 : Aguirre, The Wrath Of God (Werner Herzog/West Germany/95min/1972) : FTII MT

Additional Titles

1. Silence And Cry (Miklos Jancso/1967)
2. Red Psalm (Miklos Jancso/1972)
3. Everyman for Himself And God Against All (Werner Herzog/1974)
4. Mandi (Shyam Benegal/1983)
5. Manthan  (Shyam Benegal/1976)
6. 2001 : A Space Odyssey (Stanley Kubrick/1968)
7. A Clockwork Orange (Stanley Kubrick)

As a child what were your early influences towards cinema? Art, literature, graphics, photography?
There was always something about movies. The action, the drama, the romance. I remember as an army brat we use to often go to an open air theatre every weekend. Trust me I would become very cranky if I were to be devoid of this. And after every movie my father would ask me how I liked it and if it had all the components that, in my opinion, made for a good film – hero, heroine, love, fighting and songs

Life was simple.

How did you first become interested in the performing arts?
I am a dancer at my core. Dancing is my solace. To be able to express all your emotions without words but were mere grace and posture. However my first date with acting was when I was in college. I was part of the dramatic association and it is there were I was able to fuse both and use acting as a medium of expressing myself.

What steps did you take to train yourself as an actor?
I am a post gradute in acting from FTII, and that was my pathsala where iron sharpened iron.

Read the rest of this entry »

As a child what were your early influences towards cinema? Art, literature, graphics, photography?
It began with literature given the usual atmosphere in an academically inclined middle class family from Indore. My room-mate was my grandfather, I called him ‘bauji’. His resources when it came to literature was never-ending and that spiked my interest. I was also greatly consumed by graphic novels. ‘rusi lok-katha’ ram rahim, nagraj and all diamond comics characters were my favourites and amusingly enough i ran my little library where books were select, varied and quite a rarity in the area i lived.

How did you first become interested in the performing arts?
Debates, fancy dress competitins and solo performances made for the typical rite of passage for the enthusiast in me just like it does for every aspiring artist in the country, in fact the world.

Read the rest of this entry »