Nominations for ISMAT CHUGHTAI AWARD FOR BEST INDIAN WOMAN FILMMAKER
Indian woman filmmaker residing in India, whose first or second narrative film completed after January 1, 2023 and playing at KASHISH 2024, are eligible for nomination under this award category.
It carries a KASHISH Butterfly Trophy and a cash award of Rs.20,000 instituted in the memory of renowned novelist, short story writer, liberal humanist and filmmaker Ismat Chughtai. The award is supported by her grandson and filmmaker Mr. Ashish Sawhny.
This year FOUR Indian woman filmmakers are nominated for this prestigious award.
BONITA RAJPUROHIT (Director, IYKYK)
Born & brought up in Rajasthan, Bonita started her career with modelling for brands and magazines which led to acting in TV/Digital commercials. She was crowned the Miss Trans Queen India 2019 as the 2nd Runner-up. In 2020, she joined 1719 Film Factory Production House where she wrote & directed her first commercial fashion film for URBANIC. She is one of the three key casts in the upcoming Debakar Banerjee film LSD2 (Love, Sex aur Dhoka 2) as Kullu Vishwakarma, which marks her acting debut in Indian mainstream cinema. She has written & directed a short IYKYK (If You Know You Know) that was incubated by KASHISH QDrishti Film Grant under the mentorship of Alankrita Shrivastava.
Director: Bonita Rajpurohit
25 min | 2024 | India | Hindi | Narrative Short
Everyone seems to have a different approach to the elephant in the room; her Gender Identity. Address it or ignore it. No one seems to have a clue how to go about it. We follow a series of dates, Kusum goes on.
DISHA BHARDWAJ (Director, Chupi Roh)
Disha Bhardwaj stands as an independent filmmaker and the Founder & Board Director of Eiya Films Pvt Ltd. based in Himachal Pradesh. Chupi Roh is its first proud production and the directorial debut of Disha. She endeavours to create films that not only celebrate the local essence but also possess the universal appeal to resonate with audiences globally.
CHUPI ROH
Dir: Disha Bhardwaj
16 min | 2023 | India | Pahari | Narrative Short
Chupi Roh is about a family of three, Leela Raju & their son, Abbu. They live in a small beautiful village deep in the Himalayas. Abbu is struggling with his gender identity while at the same time Raju is stricken by loss & failure. Amidst these issues, Leela is trying to find a way to deal with everything in the best possible way she knows.
EISHITA (Director, Sifar)
Eishita ‘Edythe’ is a non-binary trans poet and filmmaker from Lucknow, India. They directed and co-wrote an anthology Change For The Line, supported by Gaysi Family, in November 2022. It has been screened in 15+ colleges across India. Their work focuses on queerness, grief, gender and trauma.
Director: Eishita
21 min | 2024| India | English, Hindi
The film explores the themes of love, grief, acceptance, and resilience within queer identities. Through Inaaya, the narrative unravels emotions in the face of life-altering loss. She wakes up every day, grieving the suicide of her partner, Shaayra, and the life she thought she once had.
NAIREETA DASGUPTA (Director, Night Queen)
Naireeta started her career at Delhi Doordarshan. She’s been a columnist at India Today. She went on to the advertising side by producing a lot of ad films for diverse clients. She has always been writing and developing new concepts, feeding her creative hunger.
Her first writing gig was being one of the writers on Shakeela starring Richa Chadha and Pankaj Tripathi. She has done the screenplay and dialogues of the film Dead Girls Don’t Talk, starring Sharib Hashmi and Warina Hussain. She is the writer and director of the short film Night Queen starring Vipin Sharma and Sheeba Chaddha. Naireeta is currently developing a web show for Panorama Studios. Amongst other projects, she is also collaborating with Anurag Kashyap to make a Night Queen into a feature film.
NIGHT QUEEN
Director: Naireeta Dasgupta
29 min | 2023 | India | Hindi |Narrative Short
Forty-eight-year-old Lakshmikant Sharma lives in Old Lucknow with his wife, daughter and widowed mother, living a life that is the textbook definition of monotony. Except it isn’t. Lakshmi wants to wear Sarees, put on her favourite shade of pink lipstick and live like a woman.
