Last year, I had an amazing opportunity to work with a New York Film Academy student on his dialogue project. His name is Dev Parikh, a Mumbai-based aspiring director who studied at the New York Film Academy in New York. He came to India for a holiday, but he had a project pending. He needed to make a short film with dialogues in English.
He contacted me through email and sent me all the details about the project. I liked the story and the concept, and I agreed to play the lead role of Danish, a guy who meets his ex-girlfriend after five years and has a meaningful conversation with her. He had a friend in FTII Pune, a cinematography student, who agreed to shoot the film on the FTII campus. They also selected a female actor from the FTII acting batch to play the ex-girlfriend.
The project was very exciting for me, as I got to work with young and enthusiastic film students from different backgrounds and cultures. I also got to speak in English, which was a challenge and a learning experience for me. The story was about finding closure and happiness after a breakup, which I think many people can relate to.
We shot the film in various locations in Pune, such as the FTII campus, Law College Road and Juna Bazaar. It was a thrilling experience working with Dev and his team. They were very professional and creative, and they knew what they wanted from each scene. I enjoyed acting with the female actor, who was very talented and expressive. We had great chemistry on screen.
I also had a lot of fun traveling with Dev from Mumbai to Pune on his Fortuner. We had great conversations about films, life and dreams. He shared his experiences of studying in New York and his aspirations as a director. He was very passionate and ambitious about his craft. After the shoot, we celebrated by having delicious food at a nice restaurant.
After completing the film, Dev left for New York after two days. He did all the post-production work with his friends from the same school and submitted it to his faculty. He told me that they liked the film and appreciated his work. I was very happy and proud of him. I feel grateful that I got to be part of this international project and work with such talented people. It was one of the best experiences of my life.
Find Glimpse of our film on Dev's Showreel:
Nishant B. Kumar, Actor
Inspiring story bro!