KASHISH 2022 JURY

Leena Yadav started her career as an editor on various ad films, corporate shows as well as television serials. She went on to direct films like Shabd, Teen Patti, Rajma Chawal and the critically acclaimed Parched which premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival and won prestigious IMPACT AWARD at the Stockholm International Film Festival. Her recent work is the acclaimed true crime docu-series for Netflix- House of Secrets: The Burari Deaths.

Hardik Mehta is a filmmaker who works both in fiction and non-fiction. Amdavad Ma Famous (2016), his documentary film won several awards including the National Award for Best Non-Feature Film (2015). His debut feature Kaamyaab (2020) had its World Premiere at Busan International Film Festival. He also co-wrote Paatal Lok, an Amazon series which won him FilmFare Awards for Best Story & Best Screenplay.  His most recent work includes Netflix series Decoupled as a showrunner.

Sameera Iyengar is a theatre person, facilitator and creative producer. After a decade at Prithvi Theatre, she co-founded the arts organisation Junoon. She also co-founded the India Theatre Forum and SMART, a capacity building course for theatre groups. Her writings include the poem The Women I Love and You’ve Got Mail! Letters Between an Older and a Younger Lesbian. She currently works as Arts Lead at Point of View, and freelances on various theatre and arts related projects.

Anjali Panjabi is a Mumbai based Producer & Filmmaker. She has several years of experience, working on Indian as well as International projects. The projects have been non-fiction & fiction, of different genres. These projects have travelled and many have won awards, both international & national. Anjali is also an Academic & Catmom.

Ramanuj Dutta is based out of Mumbai. He started his career assisting DOP Diego Romero (AEC) on renowned filmmaker Buddhadeb Dasgupta’s series Trayadashee and went on to shoot his first feature film Chauranga in 2013. Ramanuj has shot a number of independent feature films namely Kadvi Hawa, Noblemen and Chippa which have been showcased in multiple International and National film festivals. His latest production Asur 2 is awaiting its release on Voot.

Priti Chandriani graduated from Temple University, Philadelphia, U.S.A (Film & TV). Her student films, Glasshouses (about mime artists), Kendo (about a form of martial art combined with meditation) and What is Art (a satire on Art ) set her in the direction of making off-beat but thought-provoking films. After a brief stint at Kero-TV 23, Bakersfield (CBS Affiliate), she returned to India and joined Rediffusion. Soon, she started making commercials, serials and documentaries independently.

Anupam Barve is a filmmaker and an Associate Professor of Film Direction at FTII. He received the ‘Scholarship to outstanding Performing Artistes’ by the Ministry of Culture, Goa. His work has received critical acclaim at film festivals worldwide like London Asian Film Festival, New York Indian Film Festival and LUMS Film Festival. He has also won Best Director at Smita Patil Film Festival, Pune for his film So What! Transitioning Positively. His feature film screenplay The Shadow Lines was selected at NFDC’s Screenwriters’ Lab and Film Bazaar.

Raga Olga D’silva is a TedX Speaker, an author, Co-Founder and Director of Speaking Minds.  Raga hosts several shows including Coming Out Stories from India on her YouTube channel. Over the last 25 years, Raga has worked in senior positions in advertising in India and New Zealand and has been named amongst the Top 100 wonder women in advertising, marketing and entertainment in 2021. Raga is a known advocate in the LGBT space internationally.

Prathyush Parasuraman is a cultural critic with words in Film Companion, The Hindu, Verve, Firstpost, and News9. He has a newsletter on culture at prathyush.substack.com  

NARGIS WADIA was the first woman to launch a full–service Advertising Agency in India – Interpub, and was also a Founder Member & Chairperson of Media Monitoring Services which preceded the establishment of Media Research Users Council. In 1991, she became President of The Press Guild of India. Nargis Wadia is the mother of late filmmaker Riyad Wadia in whose memory the Riyad Wadia Award for Emerging Indian Filmmaker has been instituted at KASHISH by Wadia Movietone.

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, and then switched careers by joining the World Health Organisation’s China office as its communications and advocacy officer. From 2010-2013, he was Executive Director of Heroes Project, the Bombay-based HIV NGO. Roy currently is with the United Nations in Denmark.