Pooja Bhatt is an Indian film director, actress, voice-over artist and filmmaker. Born into the Bhatt family, she is the daughter of Indian filmmaker, Mahesh Bhatt. Bhatt played her first leading role in Mahesh Bhatt's television film Daddy in 1989. For the film, she won the Filmfare Award for Best Female Debut. Her breakthrough came with the romance comedy Dil Hai Ke Manta Nahin (1991), which also emerged as her highest grossing release. She was a part of Bigg Boss OTT 2, where she emerged as the 4th runner up.
Mahesh Bhatt is an Indian film director, producer and screenwriter known for his works in Hindi cinema. A stand-out film from his earlier period is Saaransh (1984), screened at the 14th Moscow International Film Festival. It became India's official entry for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film for that year. The 1986 film Naam was his first piece of commercial cinema. In 1987, he turned producer with the film Kabzaa under the banner, "Vishesh Films", with his brother Mukesh Bhatt.
Vijayashanti Srinivas (née Shanti Satti; is an Indian actress, producer and politician. In a film career spanning 40 years, she has acted in 187 feature films in a variety of roles in various languages predominantly in Telugu cinema, in addition to Tamil, Hindi, Kannada, and Malayalam films. She is widely referred as the "Lady Superstar", "Lady Amitabh", and "The Action Queen of Indian Cinema", for garnering women-oriented action roles when heroines were mere glam dolls in hero-dominated films, Vijayashanti held her own with directors scripting stories for her and creating characters that celebrated righteousness and womanhood.
Shefali Shah is an Indian actress of film, television and theatre. Respected for her acting prowess, she works primarily in independent Hindi films and has received local and foreign accolades for her performances. Shah's acting career started on the Gujarati stage before she debuted on television in 1993. After small parts on television and a brief stint with cinema in Rangeela (1995), she gained wider recognition in 1997 for her role in the popular series Hasratein. This was followed by lead roles in the TV series Kabhie Kabhie (1997) and Raahein (1999). A supporting role in the crime film Satya (1998) won her positive notice and a Filmfare Critics Award, and she soon shifted her focus to film acting starting with a lead role in the Gujarati drama Dariya Chhoru (1999).
Gandhi, My Father is a 2007 Indian biographical drama film by Feroz Abbas Khan. It was produced by Anil Kapoor, and released on 3 August 2007.
Darshan Jariwala is an Indian actor who works in Hindi films, television and stage. He won the National Film Award for Best Supporting Actor for Gandhi, My Father. He is popular for his show in which he was seen as Chedilal Chaturvedi in the show Saas Bina Sasural which aired on Sony Entertainment Television (India) between 18 October 2010 to 6 September. He is currently seen on Sony Set's show Sargam Ki Sadhe Satii which is the sequel of his popular show Saas Bina Sasural in which he is essaying the character of Chedilal Awasthi, the female protagonist Anjali Tatrari's father-in-law and has garnered appreciation for his character and performance.
Anand Gandhi is an Indian filmmaker, entrepreneur, media producer, innovator and systems researcher. He is also the founder/CEO of the Mumbai-based new media studio and systems think tank Memesys Culture Lab. His debut feature film Ship of Theseus (2013), which premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival won the National Film Award for Best Picture. Gandhi's film as creative director, executive producer and co-writer, Tumbbad opened the Critics' Week at the 75th Venice Film Festival, released to a wide critical acclaim in October 2018.
Mukesh Bhatt is an Indian film producer and actor who has produced several Bollywood films. He is the younger brother of Mahesh Bhatt, and also the co-owner of the production company Vishesh Films, set up in 1986.
Gujarati cinema, also known as Dhollywood, is the segment of Indian cinema, dedicated to the production of motion pictures in the Gujarati language widely spoken in the state of Gujarat. It is based in Ahmedabad. It is one of the major regional and vernacular film industries of the cinema of India, having produced more than one thousand films since its inception.
Chandrakant Kulkarni is an Indian director, script writer and actor associated with Marathi theatre and film. He is known for his works of directing the plays Wada Chirebandi, Dhyanimani, Gandhi Virudh Gandhi and most recently the remake of Hamidabaichi Kothi. He has also directed the acclaimed films Bindhaast (1999) and Tukaram (2012).
Bey Yaar is a 2014 Indian Gujarati-language coming-of-age film directed by Abhishek Jain. The film is about friendship and focuses on two childhood friends. The film stars Manoj Joshi, Darshan Jariwala, Divyang Thakkar, Pratik Gandhi, Amit Mistry, Samvedna Suwalka. The film was released on 29 August 2014. It received positive reviews and became a box-office success. It completed 50 weeks in theatres. The film was screened at the New York Indian Film Festival, becoming the first ever Gujarati film hosted by the festival.
Dhanak is a 2015 Indian Hindi-language children's road film written and directed by Nagesh Kukunoor. Produced by Manish Mundra, Nagesh Kukunoor, and Elahe Hiptoola, the film features Hetal Gada and Krrish Chhabria as the two children, playing brother and sister, in the leading roles, with supporting performances from Chet Dixon, Vipin Sharma, Gulfam Khan, Vibha Chibber, Flora Saini, and Vijay Maurya. The film was released India wide to widely positive reviews on 17 June 2016. Dhanak received the Best Children's Film trophy at the 64th National Film Awards. Dhanak won the Special Mention Crystal Bear for the Best Feature Film by The Children's Jury for Generation Kplus at the 65th Berlinale.
The Indian Film Festival of Melbourne (IFFM) is an annual festival based in Melbourne founded in 2010. It was previously funded by Victoria State Government. It is presented by Film Victoria, and the provider is chosen through a tender process. The current tender provider is Mind Blowing Films, run by Mitu Bhowmick Lange who is the Festival Director of IFFM. The festival has currently been provided with State Government funding until 2018. The goal of the film festival is to showcase Indian cinema to the Australian audience. The festival has streamed Bollywood films, Indie movies, documentaries, regional cinema from India etc. It also organizes short film competitions, dance competitions and a flag hoisting ceremony since it is during the time of Indian Independence day celebrations in Melbourne.
Wrong Side Raju is a 2016 Indian Gujarati thriller drama film directed by Mikhil Musale. Starring Pratik Gandhi, Kimberley Louisa McBeath, and Asif Basra, it is inspired by a hit and run in Ahmedabad in 2013. The film won National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Gujarati at the 64th National Film Awards.
Dhh is a 2017 Indian Gujarati children's film directed by Manish Saini. The film won National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Gujarati at the 65th National Film Awards.
Hellaro is a 2019 Indian Gujarati period drama film co-written and directed by Abhishek Shah and produced by Ashish Patel, Nirav Patel, Aayush Patel, Prateek Gupta, Mit Jani and Abhishek Shah under the banner of Saarthi Productions and Harfanmaula films. The film having ensemble cast of Jayesh More, Shraddha Dangar, Brinda Trivedi Nayak, Shachi Joshi, Niilam Paanchal, Tejal Panchasara and Kausambi Bhatt, marks the directorial debut of Abhishek Shah. The film revolves around a group of women living in the Rann of Kutch in the 1970s.
Mrugtrushna: The Other Side of the River is a Gujarati film directed by Darshan Ashwin Trivedi, starring Jayesh More, Karan Patel, Nishma Soni, Arya Sagar, and Khush Tahilramani. The plot follows four children living on the bank of the river and their dreams of crossing the river. The film is produced by Mrinal Kapadia and Devdutt Kapadia, and co-produced by Burzin Unwalla, Nishith Mehta, and Darshan Trivedi.
Manish Saini is an Indian filmmaker who works in Gujarati language films. He is known for his work as a director in his debut, Dhh (2017), for which it received the National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Gujarati at the 65th National Film Awards. The film is a story of three school children who come to believe that a magician, who just came to city, can magically get them out of their troubles. The film that starred Naseeruddin Shah was released by Viacom18 and was also a part of the Toronto International Film Festival Kids.
Darshan Ashwin Trivedi is an Indian film director and academician best known for his contribution for Gujarati cinema. He is known for his movies Mrugtrushna, Mara Pappa Superhero, Lakiro and Keri. He is Adjunct faculty at MICA.
Aum Mangalam Singlem is a 2022 Gujarati romantic comedy film directed by Saandeep Patel. It stars Malhar Thakar, Aarohi Patel, Tatsat Munshi, Bhamini Oza Gandhi, Darshan Jariwala and Nisarg Trivedi in lead roles.
