“Mumbai is always going to be home”

Success comes to those who think out of the box and work with passion and devotion towards a goal. This is what Rohit Gupta did when he went out of his motherland- India to United States. Just like many other Indians who are surprising people across the globe with their extraordinary performances in different. Whether it is business, academics, media, politics, information technology or literature, Indians are everywhere. Rohit has proved this with his awe-inspiring performance in field of cinema. 

Rohit Gupta, a native from Mumbai moved to United States about 12 years ago to pursue his MBA degree from Wingate University in North Carolina. But decided to switch careers and get into filmmaking. Coming from a family of entrepreneurs, he knew nothing about filmmaking until he joined the New York Film Academy for a four week workshop. This is when he realised his love for filmmaking and craft and decided to extend his course and enrolled to the one year conservatory program. For him, it was a shot in the dark but he took his chances and decided to go with it. His first project was a four-minute American suspense-thriller film Another Day Another Life, which received remarkable acclaim from around the world including an Official Selection at Cannes in 2009. Gupta is currently working on the post-production of his upcoming American comedy feature Midnight Delight, due for release in 2015. 

Recently, Rohit Gupta’s name has been added to Limca Book of Records for setting up two national records for his work in award-winning feature film “Life! Camera Action”. The new record set is for the first full-length motion picture shot by just a two-member crew that were the producer and director Rohit Gupta and Ravi Kumar respectively. The second record is for the first film to release on Facebook. 

Since the release, Life! Camera! Action has been appraised and critically acclaimed at various international platforms. The film has received over seventy international accolades in various categories including awards in the prestigious award functions in the United States of America. These awards include Orson Welles Award in California International Film Awards, Royal Reel Award in Canada International Film Festival, Grand Jury Award in Oregon Film Awards (USA) and Best Feature Film in World Peace Film Festival amongst many others around the world. Apart from all the awards the film left everyone flabbergasted by winning nine Board of Directors' Special Awards at 28th Goldie Film Awards (USA).

Rohit’s work in film has taken him to all together a different height. Adding to the accolades is the list where the film has been listed as “One of the 10 Outstanding Movies by Indian American Filmmakers” by a news house. The list also includes Hollywood blockbusters such as The Sixth Sense and Unbreakable by M. Night Shyamalan, Mississippi Masala and Namesake by Mira Nair, and Fire and Earth by Deepa Mehta. 

In a brief Interview with India Empire’s Assistant Editor Misha Singh, Rohit Gupta talks about his decisions, inspirations and films

Please tell us something about your connect with India.
I was born and raised in Mumbai so it's always going to be home. I moved to the US over a decade ago but I often come and spend time Mumbai. 

You are a management postgraduate. What drove you into filmmaking?
I have run several business enterprises in various streams but just didn’t feel the pulse in any of them. Every endeavour got boring after a while. There came a time when I wanted to explore. Since, movies are a part of our life I was always influenced by the glamour and wondered how could I be a part of it? The entertainment industry is generally considered unstable so coming from a business family I could never get an opportunity to explore in that direction. But somewhere within me I had that feeling and inkling to be associated with this industry and that kept coming up. Call it destiny, one day I decided to enroll into NYFA for a short program to take a shot at this feeling and get it out of my system once and for all. As, you can see here I am now and it feels like one of the most beautiful experience I have ever had. It feels like the best thing that could have ever happened to me. This is how it all changed and guess at one level it connected me to my goal of existence. It just comes naturally but not to forget, I still get bored at times! (laughs).

Your movies have more of a realistic approach. Where do you draw your inspiration from for the plot of your films?
Generally our system and existence. During the making of Another Day Another Life and Life! Camera Action... inspiration were mainly to firsthand experience the creative and business process of the over-hyped world of movie-making. I also feel that I did not choose these scripts, but it was the scripts that chose me and it all worked out magically in the end. It is an exhilarating process to crafting a thought to words and words to screen. Anything that has the ability to transport me in to a different world or experience becomes my inspiration. I entered move making primarily for the reason to be able to transport myself in to a world which I could never experience in real life. To imagine and create a world that is completely unheard of. 

How do you feel after receiving such a response for your film "Life! Camera Action" and entering Limca Book of Records for setting up a new record. 
I enjoyed the making of it and knew we have done the right thing. So, we kind of expected this kind of a response. From the very start I was confident of the film’s relatability factor between its audience and their emotional connection. Accolades, Awards and Limca Book of Records are all great. It's an add-on towards overall credibility and value-perception. When I started off, without any guidance these accolades came in handy as the only form of encouragement and reassurance but in the bigger picture I feel it is only one of the elements in product’s packaging and its success as it changes perception and increases its recall value. I believe in a win-win situation, so being ahead of anyone doesn’t feel any special or exciting therefore accolades did not provide any personal gratification. Mainly it feels happy to know that our short journey has made many people gain strength and take steps in pursuit of fulfilling their dreams in various streams. At one level, there is no better feeling than knowing our actions have benefited someone.

April 2014