KASHISH ADVISORY BOARD MEMBERS

KASHISH Pride Film Festival is happy to announce the new KASHISH Advisory Board. We look forward to their guidance and support for the next three years.

ARUNARAJE PATIL

A critically acclaimed award-winning filmmaker, Arunaraje passed out of the Film Institute of India with a gold medal in 1969 and was the first trained girl technician to join the industry. Some of her features are Shaque, Gehrayee, Situm, Rihaee, Bhairavi, Keh Do Na, Tum and Firebrand produced by Priyanka Chopra & currently showing on Netflix. Apart from teaching, she has been part of decision-making bodies in many film schools. She has served on many juries including National Film Awards and has been a strong voice for documentaries. She has won 6 National awards for her documentaries Mallika Sarabhai, A New Paradigm and Behind the Glass Wall. She has been a Landmark Forum Leader and has led transformational programs as a Life Coach.

DOLLY THAKORE

Dolly Thakore has worn many hats –starting her career on Radio, she became known as a News Reader on Bombay Doordarshan. And simultaneously, a writer of many personal columns, and reviewer of English and Hindi Films and Theatre – in almost every English daily and periodical of that time. She has been a Communications Consultant for numerous Corporate Houses. Her two passions have remained the stage and social Work. She has been part of the ensemble of actors of the hugely successful Vagina Monologues, which has been running for over 23 years, in English and Hindi. She is on the Advisory Committee of Council for Fair Business Practices, National Sponsorship Council for Education of Destitute and Underprivileged Women and Children. She is also the national coordinator for ‘Laadli Girl Child Campaign Media Award’.

MEGHNA GHAI PURI

Meghna Ghai Puri is the President of Whistling Woods International (WWI), India’s premier film and media institute. A graduate of King’s College London with a postgraduate diploma in Communications, she returned to India to realize her father, filmmaker Subhash Ghai’s vision of building a world-class film school. Meghna has been central to WWI’s growth since inception, launching seven schools in filmmaking, acting, animation, fashion, music, design, and media, in partnership with TISS. She previously led marketing and international distribution at Mukta Arts, working on films like Taal and Pardes. Honoured with an Honorary Fellowship from Bradford College and named among the 75 Indian Achievers by NISAU and the British Council, Meghna is committed to nurturing talent and shaping the global media and entertainment education landscape.

ONIR

Onir is a Director/Producer/Editor and Writer working in the Hindi Film Industry. His work includes the ground breaking My Brother Nikhil (2005), National Award winning I AM (2011), Kuchh Bheege Alfaaz (2018), Semi-autobiographical Pine Cone and My Melbourne (2025). He received the Likho award for “Outstanding Book” (Dec 2023) for his biography I Am Onir and I Am Gay published by Penguin. He received the KASHISH Rainbow Warrior award for his film Pine Cone at the KASHISH Pride Film Festival (2023). “Rainbow Stories Award” from the Minister of Equality Australia at IFFM 2023.  His latest film We Are Faheem & Karun which is the first Kashmiri language queer feature film won him the Best Director award at UK Asian Film festival. Among the various other awards, Onir has also received The Diversity Award from Film Victoria Australia and La Trobe University (2019).

RENUKA SHAHANE

Renuka Shahane is a popular actress in Indian theatre, television and film for the last  38 years. She is well-known for her role in the iconic Bollywood blockbuster Hum Aapke Hain Kaun?. She has received the Best Actress award for the film Aboli and the Star Screen Best Actress Awards for her roles in the TV series Imtihaan and Sailaab. Her first directorial feature film Rita was critically acclaimed, winning her the Best Director award in the 16th Nokia Star-Screen Awards 2010, and also received the best screenplay award at the 8th Pune International Film Festival, as well as the V Shantaram Award for Best Supporting Actress in 2010. Her latest feature film as director Tribhanga was released on Netflix in 2021. She has written, directed and produced her first Animation short धावपट्टी (Loop Line) in 2024, which has one the Best Animation film at the Oscar qualifying Tasveer South Asian Film Festival, Seattle.

ROY WADIA

Roy Wadia hails from the Wadia Movietone family. His brother was the late filmmaker and gay activist Riyad Wadia (Fearless: The Hunterwali Story, BOMgAY). Roy worked at CNN for 12 years, helping launch and produce much of the global broadcaster’s Asia-Pacific news programming. In 2003, Roy switched careers by joining the World Health Organization’s China office as its communications and advocacy officer, and in 2006 joined the British Columbia Centre for Disease Control in Vancouver. From 2010-2013, he was Executive Director of Heroes Project, the Bombay-based HIV NGO under the Gates Foundation’s Avahan programme. Roy is currently with the World Health Organization, moving in June from the WHO European Regional Office in Denmark to the WHO Western Pacific Regional Office in the Philippines.

SATYA RAI NAGPAUL

Satya Rai Nagpaul, a Mumbai-based cinematographer and alumnus of the Film and Television Institute of India (FTII) is the first transmasculine cinematographer to graduate from the national film school. His top honors include the National Award, the Filmfare and the Outstanding Achievement in Cinematography nomination at the Cinema Eye Honors. His acclaimed screen credits are: Anhey Ghode Da Daan (Competition, Venice), Chauthi Koot (Competition, Un Certain Regard, Cannes), Zinda Bhaag [Oscar Entry], Aligarh [Premier, Busan], and Nocturnes [Special Jury Award for Craft, Sundance]. A BAFTA Breakthrough India honoree, Satya is also a pioneering trans rights activist. He is the founder of ‘Sampoorna,’ one of the region’s oldest trans and intersex networks, and continues to be a leading advocate for trans and intersex rights in the Asia Pacific.

VIVECK VASWANI

Viveck Vaswani has been an entertainment industry professional for the past 42 years. He has been an actor, producer, writer, distributor and has produced 15 films, 3 TV shows and acted in more than 60 films. He has mentored a lot of talent in these 4 decades and made them successful, including Shahrukh Khan, Raveena Tandon, Aziz Mirza, Boman Irani amongst others. After being the Dean of the School of Contemporary Media at Pearl Academy for the last three years, Mr Vaswani is now Distinguished Faculty at the School of Modern Media at UPES. Mr Vaswani is also a full time Director at Curious Eyes Cinema, which has produced its first major feature film Mannu Kya Karegga which has its World Premiere in London on 18th June 2025