How did I meet an aspiring Indian filmmaker? Read my post “We Are Really Rock Stars. . .  Action TV Stars” for the details.  The students and I were invited to be tourists playing tourists in two episodes of a very popular Indian action TV  show called Shapath-Sabe Bado Talaaph. Chandresh Bhatt was the line producer for these episodes. He was in charge of the actors, extras, transportation, food, timing and just about all the details needed to run seamlessly for the shoot to be successful.

Chandresh on the phone at the shoot.  The star is in the blue shirt. Shooting was  at Adalaj Ni Vav step well near Amedabad.

When I wrote my post on entrepreneurs in India, I thought it would be fun to add and independent Indian filmmaker. After all, Bollywood is now the world’s largest producers of film. In 2012, there were 155 Indian films released. Hollywood recognizes the huge market that is available in a country of 1 billion people who love film.  New films are released simultaneously in the States and India. That also cuts down on piracy.  The Oxford Dictionary has added Bollywood to its esteemed pages . . . . .Indian film has arrived on the world stage!

Chandresh, at the young age of 35 is on his second career. As a teenager he loved to read and enjoyed the arts. But when time came for college, he chose the secure major of  chemistry, thinking of a stable and lucrative position after finishing his education. After four months working for a pharmaceutical company, he realized that he just couldn’t do this work every day for the rest of his life. He took the courageous, and some might say foolish, step of leaving his job to find and follow his dream.

Chandresh spent much time reading, writing and thinking. He soon decided that film making would fill the need of a creative outlet in his professional life. He began networking and studying film production and was hired as an assistant director for a film in Gujarat. Here he learned the day to day production of films. After eleven years, he has been working in both TV  in Gujurat  and Bollywood films in Mumbai. Currently, he is line producer of  TV in Ahmadabad, Gujarat,  and  feature films in Mumbai. He has been involved in these Indian films: “Aakrsoh”, “Agneepath”, “Matru Ki Bijli Ka Mandola”, “The Grand Masti” and “Two States”.

He is rightly proud of a recognition of  his personal  award winning project at the Gujarati Film Festival, 2007-2008.   His film, “Halo Manviyu Ne Mele”  tells the story of a small Gujarati village 70-80 years ago. It won five awards for  story, screenplay, dialogue, director  and producer all for Chandresh.  It was his project beginning to end. Interesting aside: all Gujarati films must have either a  historical or mythological  plot.

When he came to invite us to be on the TV show, he had worked for three months straight, 7 days a week either meeting about new projects, filming, or searching for new ones.  Chandresh is a very hard worker. When I suggested that all those accomplishments were impressive, Chandresh says he is just beginning.  His dream is to be an international  writer/director so that he can tell his own stories to the world. He has put his personal life on hold to focus on this dream.  In the future, he wants to be a caring husband and father, but at the proper time.

Image by “Secret Entourage”                                                                                         http://www.secretentourage.com

 Chandresh feels that there is a war for the truth in the world. The weapons that Indians learned from Ghandi-ji are ones from the heart . . . kindness and love. His dream is to go to Hollywood because he says that Americans have kind hearts and feel the pain of others’ suffering. He used as an example,  the sacrifices made by Americans in WW II. With all this as a guide, he wants to first entertain, then educate, inspire and motivate audiences through his films. “Then my hard work and personal sacrifice will have been worth it.”

“I know the price of success: dedication, hard work, and an unremitting devotion to the things you want to see happen.” –Frank Lloyd Wright, Architect and Entrepreneur

Namaste. . . . . .TII

Chandresh Bhatt’s contact information:

chandreshfilms@yahoo.com    email and LinkedIn

chandresh.bhatt.184@facebook.com