Season 1 Hall of Fame
Who doesn’t love some validation?
Season 1 Workshop Speakers
Seen as one of Hindi cinema's gifted contemporary filmmakers, Abhishek made his directorial
debut with the Vidya Balan, Naseeruddin Shah, and Arshad Warsi starrer Ishqiya (2010). He
followed it up with Dedh Ishqiya (2014), a sequel that had Madhuri Dixit in the cast, and then
Udta Punjab, a highly lauded film on drug abuse in Punjab. Sonchiriya, was his next. A brooding
tale of redemption set in the 1970s based on the dacoits of the Chambal ravines, starring Manoj
Bajpayee, Sushant Singh Rajput, and Bhumi Pednekar. He is currently shooting a series set in
South India for an OTT platform. Starting off as an associate to Vishal Bhardwaj on Makdee,
Abhishek went on to co-write films like The Blue Umbrella, Omkara and Kaminey.
Abhishek is also the co-founder of MacGuffin Pictures that has produced A Death in the Gunj
(2016), Raat Akeli Hai (2020), and Sharmaji Namkeen (2022) starring the late Rishi Kapoor. His
upcoming series Soup is all set to launch on Netflix.
Amrita Mahal is one of India's premier Production Designers who started her career by assisting
one of the finest production designers in India - Sharmishta Roy. Under her guidance, over three
years, she learned almost everything she knows. After that, she spent the best years of her life
working with amazing directors. She started with Dostana in 2008 before moving on to Wake up
Sid, 2 States, Yeh Jawani Hai Deewani, Student of the Year, Ae Dil Hai Mushkil, Kalank,
Brahmastra, and more recently, Rocky aur Rani ki Prem Kahaani.
Anish John is an acclaimed Indian movie sound designer and mixer. A graduate of FTII Pune, he
started his career as a sound recordist and editor for various shorts, narrative features and
documentaries before shifting to
sound-designing and mixing. Having contributed to films like The Sky is Pink, Trapped, Bulbbul,
Sherni, Bell Bottom and the acclaimed web-series Sacred Games, Anish won the National Award for
Best Sound Design (Best Audiography) Award for his work in the wordless Labour of Love. He has
worked in English, Hindi, Bengali, Tamil, Malayalam, and Marathi films, besides having worked on
numerous documentaries and creative advertisement projects.
Anvitaa Dutt is an acclaimed writer and director, composing chiefly the dialogues, screenplay,
and lyrics for films. After 14 years in advertising, she has contributed to films such as Bachna
Ae Haseeno, Dostana, Patiala House, Queen, Shaandaar, Phillauri, and Lipstick Under My Burkha.
In 2020, she made her directorial debut with the critically acclaimed film Bulbbul and more
recently wrote and directed Qala. She has been an avid reader since childhood, with a keen
interest in the fantasy genre.
Guneet Monga is an Indian film producer, a BAFTA nominee and amongst the first producers from
India to be invited to the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. She has been a recipient
of the second highest civilian honor of France, the Chevalier dans l'Ordre des Arts et des
Lettres. She is the founder of Sikhya Entertainment, a Mumbai based production house. Under her
able leadership, Sikhya Entertainment has carved an unprecedented space in the Indian film
industry by producing films that are focused on heartland stories and also travel globally. The
Lunchbox, Masaan, Pagglait and Oscar Winning Short Documentaries - Period End Of Sentence and
The Elephant Whisperers are few of the many titles from her awe inspiring filmography. She
recently founded a cinema collective called Indian Women Rising aimed at discovering, amplifying
& distributing the work of Indian women filmmakers across the globe.
Hansal Mehta is an Indian film director, writer, and producer who works in Hindi cinema. He is
known for Shahid (2013) for which he won the National Film Award for Best Direction. He then
went on to direct City Lights (2014), Aligarh (2016), Simran (2017), Omerta (2018), Scam 1992
(2020) and Faraaz (2022). His recent series is Scam 2003 - The Telgi Story.
Harshil Karia is an entrepreneur and musician. He is the Founder of Schbang and Co Founder at
Level with a team of 800+ of some of India's smartest young talent working across both these
companies. Schbang is a creative & technology transformation company that has been featured in
LinkedIn's Top Startups India for 2021.
Harshil spends his time and energies on building Level. Level, is a real life ethical game with
a technology that aims to change the negative connotation around phones. Harshil, through Level,
wants people to view smartphones as a contributor to personal growth rather than the object of
addiction. He is an aspiring musician as well with singles, namely 'Udd Jaa Bandeya' and 'Uthh
Jaa Rey' that he has launched drawing inspiration from his entrepreneurial journey. As an
artist, Harshil seeks to inspire listeners to raise their level of consciousness with
inspiration and awareness being a big theme with his music. It is what drives him to create.
'Art' permeates the life of the young and versatile Jay Oza. Hailing from Baroda, Gujarat, Jay
was majoring in art history and aesthetics (MSU, Baroda) when he decided to take a stab at
filmmaking by interning as a set PA over his summer breaks. He ended up being a part of 'Rang de
Basanti' shot by the veteran cinematographer Binod Pradhan, Isc and 'Jodhaa Akbar’ shot by ace
lensman Kiran Deohans. After honing his craft at Prague Film School, his stint on a short-film
for Anurag Kashyap led to him being offered 'Raman Raghav 2.0'. He continued his visual
avant-garde into his next works' Blackmail', 'Ghoul', 'Gully Boy' and 'Made in Heaven', the last
two being monumental for his career. He has continued his mastery with the TV series 'unpaused'
and has helmed the camera for Rakesh Omprakash Mehra in 'Toofan'. Jay is also among the 10
selected participants for the talent initiative BAFTA Breakthrough India in the year 2021.
Jaideep Ahlawat, is a renowned Indian actor who’s known for his multifaceted characters in films
and web series. A graduate of FTII, Pune, Jaideep started his career with a small role in a
short film called "Narmeen" in 2008. After laudable appearances in Khatta Meetha, Chittagong and
Rockstar, Jaideep received wide recognition for his turn as Shahid Khan in Gangs of Wasseypur,
and the villain, AK 74, in Commando: A One Man Army.
Jaideep was highly praised for his award-winning performance as Delhi Police Inspector Hathiram
Chaudhary, in the Amazon Prime web series Paatal Lok. Since then he has headlined a number of
web series and films including Raazi, Ajeeb Daastaans, Bloody Brothers, The Broken News and An
Action Hero.
K Hariharan graduated from FTII in 1976, since then he has made 8 feature length films and over
350 short films and documentaries. Besides winning national awards and international recognition
for his films, he has served on several important film juries such as the Indian National Awards
and at international venues such as Manila, Jeonju, Warsaw and Trivandrum. He is a regular
contributor to various newspapers and magazines while also conducting film workshops in India
and overseas. He has served as adjunct faculty at the Asian College of Journalism, Chennai and
the FTII. He also taught at the University of Pennsylvania for almost ten years and then went on
to be the founder director of LV Prasad Film & TV Academy. Thereafter, he designed and took
charge of the media labs at Ashoka and Krea Universities.
Kabir Khan is an Indian director, screenwriter and cinematographer, who works across fiction and
documentary. He is a two-time National Award recipient for his debut fiction feature Kabul
Express and the highly-acclaimed Bajrangi Bhaijaan. His second feature New York was the opening
film at the Cairo International Film Festival and was screened at film festivals in Busan and
Krakow. Since then he has made numerous critically-acclaimed and wildly popular films like Ek
Tha Tiger, Phantom, Bajrangi Bhaijaan, Tubelight and 83. His work in documentary includes the
award-winning films The Forgotten Army, Two Assassinations and an Accident, The Taliban Years
and Beyond, and The Titanic Sinks in Kabul. His photographs have won awards at the 50th
anniversary of the Geneva Convention in Switzerland in 1999, and the Nikon International Photo
of the Year in 2003.
DATES, MANAGING YOUR CREW, BEING A PROBLEM SOLVER
Karishma Dev Dube is a filmmaker currently based in New York. Born and raised in New Delhi,
Karishma went to the States to attend the Graduate Film Program at NYU with a full scholarship.
Her award-winning short film Devi (Goddess) has played 54 festivals worldwide, including BFI
London Film Festival, Edinburgh FF, and Outfest LA, where it won the Grand Jury Award for Best
Narrative Short. Her short film Bittu was shortlisted for the 93rd Academy Awards in the Live
Action Short category. Karishma is in development for her debut feature film as a
writer/director.
Kanika Dhillon is a critically acclaimed author, screenwriter and producer who creates and
curates engaging stories for the visual medium in the Hindi Film Industry. She is known for her
distinct voice with female driven narratives and aims to empower the place of women in cinema.
Back in the 1990s, Navin started his career with ADLABS Films Pvt. Ltd. & thereon worked with
illustrious post-production houses before launching his studio in 2015. The inception of Nube
Studio began with an elevated vision; to create a hub for excellence. With over 10000 TV
commercials to his credit along with widely successful Bollywood films such as Omkara, Kaminay,
Kahani 2, Force, RAW, Badhai Ho, along with web series like Aarya (both seasons), Ray to name a
few, the Founder of Nube Studio, Colourist Navin Shetty has collaborated with a colossal array
of Production Houses, Cinematographers, and Directors across Asia. He firmly believes that
post-production has an integral role in pre-production activities too. He thinks of both as
cohesive units that must work in harmony to create something truly magnificent.
Neeraj is among India's leading contemporary filmmakers and is a National Award-winning director
of the critically acclaimed Indo-French drama Masaan. Neeraj has also directed the award-winning
short film, Juice and co-directed the second season of Netflix's original series Sacred Games.
He wrote and directed the highly praised short 'Geeli Pucchi' of the Netflix anthology film
Ajeeb Daastaans from Dharmatic Entertainment and most recently directed two episodes for Made In
Heaven Season 2.
Raj Nidimoru is one half of the director-producer-writers duo Raj and DK, known for his quirky
and uniquely original content. Their production company, D2R Films, produces films, premium
shows and more. Their hit Amazon show The Family Man has won multiple accolades and awards,
proving them a trailblazer in OTT content. His filmography includes popular cult films like Go
Goa Gone, Shor In The City, 99 and his most recent series Guns & Gulaabs. Currently, he is
helming a new initiative, D2R Indie, to encourage new formats and new filmmakers, while also
producing multiple shows and feature films.
Reema Kagti is predominantly considered one of the best working talents in Indian cinema, with a
singular voice as an artist, screenwriter, and filmmaker. Reema's directorial ventures,
Honeymoon Travels Private Limited, the neo-noir Talaash, and the historic sports drama Gold were
well-received by audiences and were critically acclaimed. Her long-time partnership with Zoya
Akhtar has brought audiences genre-bending belters such as Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara, Dil
Dhadakne Do, Made in Heaven for Amazon Prime, and India's official entry in the Academy Awards -
Gully Boy. More recently, the complemented collaborators are enjoying the success of Made in
Heaven Season 2, and awaiting their next feature film The Archies for Netflix, under their film
and series production company Tiger Baby founded in October 2015. Her recent directorial project
Dahaad, a gripping crime-thriller web series for Amazon Prime has been widely acclaimed.
Sanyukta Kaza is an Indian film editor. Her first feature film Ship of Theseus (2012) won the
National Award for best film and was selected as one of the '15 life changing films of all time'
by British Film Institute to celebrate their 100th anniversary. Sanyukta is also the editor and
creative producer of the cult classic, Tumbbad (2018) which opened at Venice International
Critic's Week. She is also the editor of Pataal Lok, Mismatched, Abhishek Chaubey's Madhyantar,
Avinash Arun's Vishanu and Amar Kaushik’s Bhediya. Her films have won accolades at multiple
festivals such as Cannes, Venice, Sundance, Toronto, Sitges, Screamfest and Palm springs.
Hailed as one of India's perceptive filmmakers, Shakun Batra is the director/co-
writer of the widely acclaimed and award-winning family drama - Kapoor & Sons
(since 1921). A graduate of Vancouver Film School, he has assisted academy
award winner Errol Morris and Emmy award winner Christopher Wilcha during
their stints in India. He proved his versatility when he directed the hilarious low
budget mockumentary 'Alia Bhatt - Genius of the Year' in 2014, which went viral
and became the second most-watched YouTube video in India that year. At 39,
he's already made two successful feature films, and is about to release his much
anticipated third feature film called Gehraiyaan. He was the executive producer
on a documentary for Netflix on Ma Anand Sheela called Searching for Sheela.
Currently, he is developing a mini TV Series for Fox Searchlight.
Tisca's insistence on excellence and passion have not only won her acclaim and fame but also two
Filmfare Awards, as well as recognition on the international stage in both, films and on stage,
at the New York International Film Festival and the Toronto Film Festival. She recently turned
filmmaker, writing and producing award-winning and critically acclaimed short films like
Chutney, and her directorial debut, Rubaru. Tisca has created a singular path to showcase the
idea of rising above barriers and sparking conversation around socially sensitive topics through
filmmaking and writing. Her short films have been about breaking traditional perceptions of
female characters and roles and creating a distinct, authentic narrative. She carries this
unique voice to her writing and offscreen persona as well.
Vishal Dadlani is a Vocalist and songwriter with acclaimed Indian alt-rock pioneers "Pentagram",
and one half of renowned Indian composer/producer duo "Vishal & Shekhar". Acknowledged to be
amongst the architects of the modern sound of Indian film soundtracks, Vishal Dadlani is the
rare genre-busting success story that leaves a mark on every style he explores. He has been
nominated for and won several of India's most prestigious awards across both the alternative/
indie scene as well as the mainstream. Vishal (along with composing collaborator Shekhar
Ravjiani) has also spearheaded some of the most commercially and critically successful
international collaborations with artists such as Imogen Heap and Akon.