American Horizon on the Indian Kshitij, a month away from release

Rare indeed. A Mumbai-based film professional named Navroz Prasla (no, not the Parsee or Irani Navroz, but a Khoja community member) moves to Houston, USA  and sets up a media and event company, gets interested in a Marathi story, and produces an all Marathi cast and crew film called Kshitij (A Horizon), the only non-Maharashtrian being Oscar-winning Sound Designer, Resul Pookutty.

The film is now complete, and the PR agency co-ordinated a media-attended cocktail-dinner last week, exactly six weeks before its release, on 09 December. Most of the cast and crew attended. A trailer (made by Ramesh Auti) was screened, a song, choreographed by Sagar Mhadolkar, performed live by young boys and girls (the subject is education in rural India). The song is written by Guru Thakur, and Shailendra Barve has given the music. Vaishnavi Tangde led the child troupe.

At the event, there was plenty of media action. Prasla was delighted to share his ambition with the gathering, and debutant writer-director Manouj Kadaamh (Pune-based) mentioned how his long-standing desire to work with Resul was now fulfilled. Khsitij, he elaborated, is a “symbol of hope, as the dawn of a better tomorrow”. The film is produced under the banner of Media Films Craft.

Media Films Craft Inc. represents a unique fusion of American and Indian film cultures. They are not an art house company. They say they respect good story telling, but their aim is to make movies that are slightly off kilter, with a certain edge. Of course, they want to make you laugh, bring tears to your eyes, get your heart pumping--but they also want you to think, to create amazing images that entertain, communicate, influence and shapes people’s views

Media Films Craft is a Houston-based production company focused on developing and producing independent feature films, and was established in 2008.

Visionary businessman, erstwhile photographer, and innovative impresario, Navroz Prasla dons many hats. Armed with several years of experience in the industry as production manager, photographer, and in every capacity that enchants on the big screen, he recognised that Bollywood has universal appeal. He moved to Houston, Texas, and sought to follow his dreams in the land of promised opportunities. In 2004, he successfully helmed and promoted the US national performance tour of Bollywood film-star and comedian, Johnny Lever.

Kshitij, a Marathi language movie, was shot on location in Maharashtra. The film tells the story of a 12 –year-old girl’s struggle to continue her education in the face of severe poverty and adversity. Prasla already has another film taking shape, which is tentatively named Valentine’s Day. He has his ambitious sights set on collaborative ventures with Hollywood, for him the holy grail of movie making.

Noteworthy is it that Prasla has distinguished himself as a force to be reckoned with in the business echelons. He is also the Founder/CEO of Mottus, a Houston-based video equipment manufacturer that puts forth high quality, affordable, durable, studio and location-ready gear and accessories, “..camera sliders and gliders,” detailed Kadaamh.

Prasla also promotes a dance academy, with Sagar as his step-master. Sagar Mhadolkar, a native of Karnataka, began studying dance styles as a teenager. Later, he assisted the ace choreographer, Sanjay Pradhan (Lolly Pop), and Pappu-Malu (Devdas). He has performed over 150 shows all over world. Called Today Dance Academy, it has over 1000 students and 8 studios in Mumbai. Courses are held here in many styles, from Modern (Ballet, Jazz, Contemporary, Hip Hop, Salsa, Ballroom, Belly Dancing, Bollywood, Freestyle & more) to Classical (Bharatanatyam & Kathak).

Based on a story by Rayban Davage, the film stars Manoj Joshi, Sanjay Mone, Vidyadhar Joshi, Upendra Limaye, Kanchan Jadhav and Akanksha Pingale. It is cinematographed by Yogesh Rajguru and edited by Niraj Voralia. Kshitij, shot in Ahmednagar district, is co-produced by Karishma Mhadolkar, who supervised the entire production in India.

Among the attendees was veteran Hindi film writer and Urdu poet, Jalees Sherwani. Jaleesbhai, President of the Film Writers’ Association for six years and yet a teetotaller, is a walking-talking contradiction. He was keen on getting a cuppa, even at 9 pm, but his companion, one Mr. Dubey, could not organise one. This humble fan of his tried to prevail upon him to compile and publish his ghazals and nazms, some of which he posts on Facebook, off and on. No volume has been collated so far. He agreed to give the task the due attention it has deserved for decades. Ever communicative, he seemed a tad sad, and it appeared that after losing his mother, his last anchor to native Aligarh, he has just lost all desire to visit the city, though his four brothers still live there.

At first look, Kshitij looks a social awareness story, with conventional aspirations and familiar obstacles, perhaps in a new ‘bottle’ (package). But let’s wait and watch. The Horizon is not too far away.