Ish Amitoj Kaur is a filmmaker who resides in the

U.S. The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

She is best known for her films ''Chhevan Dariya (The Sixth River)'' and ''Kambdi Kalaai(Trembling Wrist)''. She is also known for her unique theater in therapy techniques that she has evolved while doing theater workshops with children.

Background

Kaur grew up in the foothills of

Himalayas The Himalayas, or Himalaya (; ; ), is a mountain range in Asia, separating the plains of the Indian subcontinent from the Tibetan Plateau. The range has some of the planet's highest peaks, including the very highest, Mount Everest. Over 10 ...

Shimla Shimla (; ; also known as Simla, the official name until 1972) is the capital and the largest city of the northern Indian state of Himachal Pradesh. In 1864, Shimla was declared as the summer capital of British India. After independence, the ...

; she did her schooling from

Loreto Convent, Tara Hall, Shimla Tara Hall is an English-medium high school located in Upper Kaithu, Shimla, Himachal Pradesh, India. The school is run by the Loreto Education Society. It is one of the best schools for girls in Shimla. Tradition Loreto Convent, Tara Hall be ...

and later graduated from St. Bede's College, Shimla. She did her master's degree in theater from Panjab University Chandigarh and later went to

National School of Drama National School of Drama (NSD) is a theatre training institute situated at New Delhi, India. It is an autonomous organization under Ministry of Culture, Government of India. It was set up in 1959 by the Sangeet Natak Akademi and became an indepe ...

Repertory company where she was involved in variou
productions
She later went to become a Fellow of

New Delhi New Delhi (, , ''Naī Dillī'') is the capital of India and a part of the National Capital Territory of Delhi (NCT). New Delhi is the seat of all three branches of the government of India, hosting the Rashtrapati Bhavan, Parliament Ho ...

and carried on with her creative journey in creative writing from Stanford.

Career

After doing lead in plays like Bertolt Brecht's ''

Caucasian Chalk Circle ''The Caucasian Chalk Circle'' (german: Der kaukasische Kreidekreis) is a play by the German modernist playwright Bertolt Brecht. An example of Brecht's epic theatre, the play is a parable about a peasant girl who rescues a baby and becomes a bet ...

'' she later acted in many productions of National School Of Drama. She was later employed as an assistant producer with Tara Punjabi. After having assisted in

Urdu Urdu (;"Urdu"
'' Bollywood Hindi cinema, popularly known as Bollywood and formerly as Bombay cinema, refers to the film industry based in Mumbai, engaged in production of motion pictures in Hindi language. The popular term Bollywood, is a portmanteau of "Bombay" (fo ...

film, Pinjar. She continued doing theater especially with kids. She worked with Literacy India which encouraged thousands of kids to be a part of theater workshops. These kids later bagged main leads in Bollywood films including

Vishal Bhardwaj Vishal Bhardwaj (born 4 August 1965) is an Indian film director, screenwriter, producer, music composer and playback singer. He is known for his work in Hindi cinema, and is the recipient of seven National Film Awards and a Filmfare Award. Bha ...

's ''

The Blue Umbrella ''The Blue Umbrella'' is a 1980 Indian novel written by Ruskin Bond. It was adapted into 2005 Hindi film by the same name, directed by Vishal Bhardwaj, which later won the National Film Award for Best Children's Film The National Film Awar ...

'' and

Aamir Khan Mohammed Aamir Hussain Khan (; born 14 March 1965) is an Indian actor, film director and producer who works in Hindi films. Through his career spanning over 30 years, Khan has established himself as one of the most notable actors of Indian ci ...

's '' Three Idiots''. She later assisted in films of Manmohan Singh including ''Asan Nu Maan Watna Da'' and ''

Mitti Wajaan Maardi ''Mitti Wajaan Maardi'', (English: The Soil Calls, 2007) is an Indian Punjabi film directed by Manmohan Singh. Plot There is a moving saga of Punjabis who go abroad for better prospects but circumstances prevent them from returning to their h ...

''. She also assisted in the film ''

Tera Mera Ki Rishta ''Tera Mera Ki Rishta'' is a 2009 Indian Punjabi language romantic drama film directed by Navaniat Singh and produced by Mukesh Sharma. The film stars Jimmy Sheirgill and Kulraj Randhawa in lead roles along with Anupam Kher, Raj Babbar, Ar ...

''. Kaur later opened her own production company, Noor Nissan Productions, and pioneered in the direction of films made on the

Sikh diaspora The Sikh diaspora is the modern Sikh migration from the traditional area of the Punjab region of India. Sikhism is a religion, the Punjab region of India being the historic homeland of Sikhism. The Sikh diaspora is largely a subset of the Pu ...

she made History by becoming the first-ever woman to write direct and produce a Punjabi Feature Film. Presently, she is working on an untitled book to be made into a Hollywood movie.

Performances

*Grusha Vashnadze- ''Caucasian Chalk Circle'' *Paribhritika- ''

Bhagavadajjukam The ''Bhagavadajjukam'' (Sanskrit; translated as ''The Ascetic and the Courtesan'' or ''The Hermit and the Harlot'') is a Sanskrit farce composed in the 7th century CE, usually attributed to Bodhayana. However, inscriptional and scholarly eviden ...

'' *Kaveri-''Raaste''

Theater direction

Disney's Moana Jr 2022 Disney's Lion King 2021 Wizard Of Oz 2020 Peter Rabbit 2020 The Window Cleaner 2018 Betty And Her Feast 2017 Pickled Princess 2016 The Ugly Buckling 2015 * ''Evanescent Dreams'' * ''Charandas Chor'' * ''Pinti Ka Sabun'' * ''Alibaba Chalis Chor''

Documentaries

* ''Sikhs We Are'' * ''Drop In The Ocean''

Film direction

* ''Chhevan Dariya(The Sixth River)'' * ''Kambdi Kalaai''

References

External links

* https://web.archive.org/web/20100710144414/http://sixthriverfilm.com/ * {{DEFAULTSORT:Kaur, Ish Amitoj Living people Film directors from Himachal Pradesh Indian theatre directors Year of birth missing (living people) St. Bede's College, Shimla alumni