Kaizad Gustad (born 1968) is an Indian film director and
author
An author is the writer of a book, article, play, mostly written work. A broader definition of the word "author" states:
"''An author is "the person who originated or gave existence to anything" and whose authorship determines responsibility f ...
based in
Mumbai
Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' financial centre of India. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Mumbai is the second- ...
,
India
India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
. He is best known for his 1998 comedy '' Bombay Boys.'' In his career as an author, he has written three books, ''Of No Fixed Address'' published in 1998 by HarperCollins, ''The Road to Mandalay'' and ''7 Storeys''.
Early life
Gustad was born in Bombay (now
Mumbai
Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' financial centre of India. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Mumbai is the second- ...
) into a wealthy
Parsi
Parsis () or Parsees are an ethnoreligious group of the Indian subcontinent adhering to Zoroastrianism. They are descended from Persians who migrated to Medieval India during and after the Arab conquest of Iran (part of the early Muslim conq ...
family. He has an older brother and a younger sister. He grew up on a farm in the outskirts of
Wadi
Wadi ( ar, وَادِي, wādī), alternatively ''wād'' ( ar, وَاد), North African Arabic Oued, is the Arabic term traditionally referring to a valley. In some instances, it may refer to a wet (ephemeral) riverbed that contains water onl ...
, a town in the
Kalaburagi district
Kalaburagi district, formerly known as Gulbarga district, is one of the 31 districts of Karnataka state in southern India. Kalaburagi city is the administrative headquarters of the district. The district is the headquarters of Kalaburagi div ...
of
Karnataka
Karnataka (; ISO: , , also known as Karunāḍu) is a state in the southwestern region of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, with the passage of the States Reorganisation Act. Originally known as Mysore State , it was renamed ''Karnat ...
, where his father and grandfather owned cinema theaters and a stone quarrying business. He first attended the
Cathedral and John Connon School
The Cathedral & John Connon School is a co-educational private school founded in 1860 and located in Fort, Mumbai, Maharashtra.St. Paul's School, Darjeeling. At the age of sixteen, he moved along with his family to
Sydney
Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...
,
Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...
. He later attended
New York University
New York University (NYU) is a private research university in New York City. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded by a group of New Yorkers led by then-Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin.
In 1832, the ...
's
Tisch School of the Arts
The New York University Tisch School of the Arts (commonly referred to as Tisch) is the performing, cinematic and media arts school of New York University.
Founded on August 17, 1965, Tisch is a training ground for artists, scholars of the a ...
to study film.
At the age of 18, Gustad left home and started traveling to different parts of the world. He kept a diary on his travels and called it "Of No Fixed Address," in reference to the fact that he had no fixed address for three years. He used this diary as the basis for his book of short stories entitled ''Of No Fixed Address,'' which was published in 1998.
Filmography
Bombay Boys
At 28, Gustad wrote and directed his debut feature film Bombay Boys. It starred
Naseeruddin Shah
Naseeruddin Shah (born 20 July 1950) is an Indian actor. He is notable in Indian parallel cinema. He has also starred in international productions. He has won numerous awards in his career, including three National Film Awards, three Filmfare A ...
, Naveen Andrews and Tara Deshpande among others. It was a break out commercial and critical cult success, paving the way for independent cinema in India. It also travelled to several film festivals worldwide and premiered at the Toronto Film Festival in 1998, followed by the Vancouver and London Film Festivals. The film was nominated for best film at Verzaubert,
Berlin
Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...
.
Boom
Gustad's next film as writer and director was
Boom
Boom may refer to:
Objects
* Boom (containment), a temporary floating barrier used to contain an oil spill
* Boom (navigational barrier), an obstacle used to control or block marine navigation
* Boom (sailing), a sailboat part
* Boom (windsurfi ...
, which had an ensemble cast like
Amitabh Bachchan
Amitabh Bachchan (; born as Amitabh Shrivastav; 11 October 1942) is an Indian actor, film producer, television host, occasional playback singer and former politician known for his work in Hindi cinema. He is regarded as one of the most succe ...
,
Zeenat Aman
Zeenat Khan (born 19 November 1951), better known as Zeenat Aman, is an Indian actress and former fashion model. She first received recognition for her modelling work, and at the age of 19, went on to participate in beauty pageants, winning both ...
,
Jackie Shroff
Jaikishan Kakubhai Shroff (born 1 February 1957), popularly known as Jackie Shroff, is an Indian actor and former model. He has been in the Bollywood industry for over four decades, and , has appeared in over 220 films in 13 languages namely Hi ...
,
Gulshan Grover
Gulshan Grover (born 21 September 1955) is an Indian actor and producer who has appeared in over 100 films. He is popularly known as the "Bad Man" of Bollywood because of his ability to create an impact with his negative roles in films.
Early ...
, with the debut of supermodels
Padma Lakshmi
Padma Parvati Lakshmi (; born September 1, 1970) is an Indian-born American author, activist, actress, model, philanthropist, and television host. She has hosted the cooking competition program ''Top Chef'' on Bravo continuously since season 2 ( ...
,
Madhu Sapre
Madhu Sapre (born 14 July 1971) is an Indian supermodel from Maharashtra. She won Femina Miss India pageant in 1992.
Career
In the 1990s, Sapre was an athlete who rose to fame when she started modeling at a very young age. As Miss India she ...
and
Katrina Kaif
Katrina Kaif (; born Katrina Turquotte; 16 July 1983) is a British actress who works in Hindi-language films. One of the highest-paid actresses in India, she has received accolades, including four Screen Awards and four Zee Cine Awards, in a ...
. It was released worldwide.
Later films
Gustad's third film, Bombil and Beatrice, was a British arthouse film made in English, and his fourth and latest offering was
Jackpot
Jackpot or Jackpot! may refer to:
* A prize, such as a progressive jackpot
* Gardena jackpots, a poker variant
* Jackpot, Nevada, a community on the Nevada–Idaho state border
Comics
* Jackpot (comics), several comic book characters
* ''Jack ...
, a film set in a casino in Goa, starring
Sunny Leone
Karenjit Kaur Vohra (born May 13, 1981), known by her stage name Sunny Leone (), is a Canadian-American model and actress in the American and Indian film industries. She is a former pornographic actress. She was born in Canada to an Indian S ...
and Naseeruddin Shah. The premiere of Jackpot was held at PVR Cinemas in Juhu, Mumbai, and was attended by Shah Rukh Khan. It was released worldwide.
Incidents
In May 2010, Gustad was found guilty of negligence leading to the death of Nadia Khan, an assistant producer working on the set of his film Mumbai Central. Khan was struck by a train near Mumbai's Mahalaxmi station during shooting in May 2004.
Personal life
Gustad dated Miss World
Diana Hayden
Diana Hayden (born 1 May 1973) is an Indian actress, television host, model and the winner of Miss World 1997 pageant. She is the third Indian woman to win the title of Miss World. She also won three subtitles during the pageant and is the o ...
in 1998, during the release of Bombay Boys. In January 2004, he married Alexandra Ritt, an American woman. He has two sons, Zahaan and Zakary.
Kinopoisk
Kinopoisk (russian: Кинопоиск, a portmanteau of "cinema" and "search") is a Russian online database of information related to films, TV shows including cast, production team, biographies, plot summaries, ratings, and reviews. Since 2018 ...