Mithun Chakraborty's Chariot films opens division in Los Angeles spearheaded by younger son Ushmey

Ans: I have been part of the company since the beginning. I've had varied positions over the course of three films produced in the company. I have also produced, written and directed three independent feature films under the banner. 

 

For their first production film, "Spaghetti 24/7" - I was a second assistant director, responsible for scheduling and script supervising. For their second production film, "Enemmy", I was promoted to  First Assistant Director overseeing all aspects of film production. Finally, for their third film, "Ishquedaariyan", I was hired to rewrite the screenplay. I was also the Second Unit Director, in-charge of production and filming of my unit. 

 

Ans: My first film under the banner, "Life,Somewhere" was made in 2010. I made it on a shoe-string budget. I was wearing many hats on that project, because that is the life of an independent filmmaker. But the many roles also taught me so many things that film-school can never teach you. For this film, I produced it, wrote it and directed it. Upon its completion, we sent it out to many film festivals, strategising every submission. As fate would have it, we won The Royal Reel Award at the Canada International Film Festival -- which is the equivalent of the Special Jury Prize. Mind you, all of this happened when I was twenty one years old. This kind off approbation at such a young age was fuel to my fire. 

 

I went on to create two more films under the banner with a bigger budget after my previous success. "How to be Good?" and "Lucky Man" were made over the span of the next four years. Due to my previous accolade, festivals were keen to look at these projects. 

 

Ans: It was a surreal moment, Frankly, it still is. Me and my family flew to Vancouver to attend the festival. It was such great sense of community, filmmakers from around the world, sharing, caring for each other. The award ceremony was excellent. Before I went up on stage to receive the award, I was palpitating. But once my name was announced, I was perfectly fine. I can't remember the speech I gave, just that I thanked the festival for giving me this award at such a young age because it means that I'm on the right path. I'm not making a mistake by pursuing this uncertain career as a screenwriter/producer. 

 

Ans: I'm a voracious writer. I write for four hours a day. Writing may seem like its not that hard to do -- compare it to say, producing -- but that's not true. Writing is mentally taxing. I'm usually more tired after a long day of writing than a long day running around my set as a producer. My process is simple, I follow the rules. It helps me structure my thoughts and my stories.

 

As a producer: I'm always ready for any contingencies. One of my mentors, Mr. Harlan Freedman, who has been producer for almost twenty years and has produced the hit reality tv show, Billy the Exterminator on A&E -- gave me the best advice about producing: always have a Plan B .... a Plan C .... and even, a Plan D. Film sets are voracious when it comes to things going wrong. It's like Murphy's Law in action, thus being prepared for any setbacks gives you the upper hand. 

 

Ans: Multiple projects. I'm currently writing a romantic comedy entitled, "My Best Friend's Love Story" and even in the process of starting a project on one of my most inspiring idols, Malala Yousafzai. My screenplay entitled, "She Can Fly Too" is generating quite a buzz in the industry after placing great in competitions such as The Academy Nicholl Fellowship, Screencraft Fellowship and most recently, Scriptapalooza. I have two TV Pilots in the competion circuit as well, "Lake High" and "Boyfriends" - of which, "Lake High" was been a Quarterfinalist, whereas "Boyfriends" has just started it's festival run. I have a short called, "Blasian", which is also in the competition circuit and I've started looking for investors to produce it.