Kasinadhuni Viswanath was an Indian film director, screenwriter, lyricist and actor who predominantly worked in Telugu cinema. One of the greatest auteurs of Indian cinema, he received international recognition for his works, and is known for blending parallel cinema with mainstream cinema. He was honuored with the "Prize of the Public" at the "Besançon Film Festival of France" in 1981. In 1992, he received the Andhra Pradesh state Raghupathi Venkaiah Award, and the civilian honour Padma Shri for his contribution to the field of arts. In 2016, he was conferred with the Dadasaheb Phalke Award, the highest award in Indian cinema. He is popularly known as "Kalatapasvi."
Shobana Chandrakumar Pillai is an Indian actress and Bharatanatyam dancer. She acts predominantly in Malayalam films along with Telugu, Tamil, Hindi, Kannada and English films. She has won two National Film Awards, one Kerala State Film Awards, two Filmfare Awards South with 14 Nominations for Best Actress Category in three different south Indian languages. She was honoured with Kalaimamani by Tamil Nadu State Government in 2011 and numerous other awards. In a career spanning more than 40 years, Shobana has starred in 230 films across several languages.
Sattiraju Lakshminarayana, known professionally as Bapu, was an Indian film director, painter, illustrator, cartoonist, screenwriter, music artist, and designer known for his works in Telugu cinema, and Hindi cinema. In 2013, he was awarded the Padma Shri, for his contribution to Indian art and cinema. He has garnered two National Honors, two National Film Awards, seven state Nandi Awards, two Filmfare Awards South, a Raghupathi Venkaiah Award, and a Filmfare Lifetime Achievement Award – South.
Rajesh Touchriver is an Indian film director, screenwriter, and producer known for his works in English, Malayalam, Telugu, and Hindi language films. He received various National and International honors for his works. In 2002 he directed In the Name of Buddha which was later screened in the Spotlight on India section at the 2003 Cannes Film Festival. In 2013, he scripted, and directed the social problem film Naa Bangaaru Talli which won five International honors, the National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Telugu, and four state Nandi awards including Second Best Feature Film.
Divyaa Unni is an Indian former actress and classical dancer of Indian origin who teaches various forms of dance such as Bharathanatyam, Kuchipudi and Mohiniyattom. As an actress, she mainly appeared in Malayalam language films, in addition to few Tamil, Telugu and Kannada language films too.
Telugu cinema, also known as Tollywood, is the segment of Indian cinema dedicated to the production of motion pictures in the Telugu language, widely spoken in the states of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. Based in Film Nagar, Hyderabad, Telugu cinema has become the largest film industry in India by box-office revenue as of 2021. Telugu films sold 23.3 crore tickets in 2022, the highest among all Indian film industries. As of 2023, Andhra Pradesh has the highest number of movie screens in India.
Sunanda Nair is an Indian dancer trained in Mohiniattam. She did her master's degree in this dance form from Nalanda Nritya Kala Mahavidyalaya affiliated to the University of Mumbai. She has completed her PhD from University of Mumbai for her thesis "Intrinsic Lyrical Feminism in Mohiniattam". She was born in Mumbai, India.
"Bombay" Jayashri Ramnath is an Indian Carnatic vocalist, singer, and musician. She has sung songs in multiple languages, including for Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam, and Hindi movies. Born into a family of musicians, Jayashri represents the fourth generation of music practitioners in her family. Trained by Lalgudi Jayaraman and T.R. Balamani. She was awarded India's fourth highest civilian award, the Padma Shri, in 2021. In December 2023, she was awarded the most prestigious award in the Carnatic music field, the Sangeetha Kalanidhi, by the Madras Music Academy. She was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Original Song (Oscar) for Pi's Lullaby from Life of Pi movie. She has become one of the most sought-after Carnatic musicians today.
Ashim Ahluwalia is a film director and screenwriter. He made his directorial debut with the feature-length documentary John & Jane (2005), which had a world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival and a European premiere at the Berlin International Film Festival, and won him the 2005 National Film Award for Best First Non-Feature Film of a Director. This was followed by his first narrative feature film Miss Lovely, premiered at the 2012 Cannes Film Festival. which won him India's National Film Award – Special Jury Award, and Best Production Design at the 61st National Film Awards.
Deepa Bhatia is a Bollywood film editor, producer and director based in Mumbai. She is known for editing commercially successful films like Tare Zameen Par, My Name is Khan, Rock On, Kai Po Che, Student of the Year and Raees. She has recently edited films like Kedarnath, Drive and the much talked about biopic on Sachin Tendulkar, Sachin: A Billion Dreams.
Shabnam Virmani is a documentary film maker. She has also been an artist-in-residence at the Srishti School of Art, Design and Technology in Bangalore since 2002. A co-founder of the Drishti Media Arts and Human Rights Collective, Virmani has directed several documentaries, some of which have won awards. She's also a composer and festivities participant.
Bongu Narsing Rao is an Indian film director, screenwriter, littérateur, composer, poet, producer, actor and painter known for his works in Telugu cinema, and Telugu theatre. Rao has garnered five National Film Awards, three Nandi Awards, various international honors, and has served as a jury in various Asian film festivals. He directed, Daasi "(Bonded Woman)" and Matti Manushulu "(Mud People)" which won the Diploma of Merit awards at the 16th and 17th Moscow International Film Festivals in 1989 and 1991 respectively.
The Indo-American Arts Council (IAAC) is an American non-profit cultural organization that promotes Indian theatre, art, film, fashion, music, dance, and literature in the United States. The Council was established in 1998 in New York City and is headed by Aroon Shivdasani. IAAC hosts cultural and artistic events throughout the year, including the annual New York Indian Film Festival, which showcases Indian and diaspora-related films.
Isla Vista Arts is an organization at the University of California, Santa Barbara with the goal of promoting art and culture in the small, neighboring community of Isla Vista, California. It is affiliated with the UCSB Interdisciplinary Humanities Center and Associated Students. Isla Vista Arts provides free and low-cost entertainment to college students and community members.
Dinesh Kumar is an Indian choreographer working with South Indian films, including Tamil films. He won the National Film Award for Best Choreography for his work in Aadukalam (Tamil) in 2010.
Saba Dewan is an Indian documentary film maker based in New Delhi. Her films are based on sexuality, gender, identity, communalism and culture. Her notable works include Dharmayuddha, Nasoor, Khel, Barf and Sita's Family (2001). She is best known for her trilogy on stigmatized female performers, Delhi-Mumbai-Delhi (2006), Naach and The Other Song (2009). She has written her first book "Tawaifnama" which has emerged from her trilogy on dancing girls. It is a well researched book on "tawaif (courtesans) living in banaras and Bhabhua. It is multi-generational chronicle first published in 2019.
Paromita Vohra is an Indian filmmaker and writer. She is known for her documentaries on subjects such as urban life, desire, pop culture and gender. She has also written the screenplay of the award-winning feature film Khamosh Pani. Her film production company Parodevi Pictures is based in Mumbai. She writes a column Paro-normal Activity for the Sunday Mid-day and also wrote a weekly column for Mumbai Mirror.
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The Lost Behrupiya is a 2013 film.
Surabhi Sharma is a filmmaker, educator and curator, based in Mumbai, India. She has worked on several feature-length documentaries apart from some short fiction films and video installations. Her key concern has been documenting cities in transition through the lens of labour, music and migration, and most recently reproductive labour. Cinema verite and ethnography are the genres that inform her filmmaking.,
