''Mahek'' is an Indian children's film by writer-director

Kranti Kanade Kranti Kanade is a National Award winning Indian filmmaker. His films include ''Peepal Tree'', ''CRD (film)'', ''Gandhi of the Month'', ''Mahek (film), Mahek'' and ''Chaitra (film), Chaitra''. He studied at UCLA (University of California, Los Ange ...

Synopsis

It's about 11-yr old dreamer Mahek who wants to be the best at everything, but is unsure of how to achieve her goals.

Production

Development

The film was produced by the

Children's Film Society of India Children's Film Society India (CFSI) was a nodal organization of Government of India that produced children's films and various TV programs in various Indian languages. Established in 1955, CFSI functioned under the Ministry of Information and ...

(CFSI).

Crew

Legendary artist and cartoonist

Mario Miranda Mário João Carlos do Rosário de Brito Miranda (2 May 1926 – 11 December 2011), popularly known as Mario Miranda or Mario de Miranda, was an Indian cartoonist and painter based in Loutolim in the Indian state of Goa. Miranda had been a ...

did the illustrations for the film. The crew was FTII alumnus who subsequently did notable work. Mrinal Desai, the DOP, was the second unit director of photography on ' Slumdog Millionaire' and later shot universally acclaimed film ' Court'. Editor Suchitra Sathe and Sound designer Anmol Bhave worked on National Award-winning films.

Release

It premiered at the

BFI London Film Festival The BFI London Film Festival is an annual film festival founded in 1957 and held in the United Kingdom, running for two weeks in October with co-operation from the British Film Institute. It screens more than 300 films, documentaries and shor ...

to affectionate reviews. Invited to over twenty International film festivals including Chicago, Munich, Toronto, St Louis and Cleveland, it won awards in Hollywood and Houston. It was Best Children's film nominee at the

Asia Pacific Screen Awards The Asia Pacific Screen Awards (APSA) is an international cultural initiative overseen by the Asia Pacific Screen Academy and headquartered in Australia. In order to realise UNESCO's goals of promoting and preserving the different cultures th ...

, Australia and was shown as part of "Modern India" studies syllabus at the Otterbein University.

Reviews

This film received positive with ''

British Film Institute The British Film Institute (BFI) is a film and television charitable organisation which promotes and preserves film-making and television in the United Kingdom. The BFI uses funds provided by the National Lottery to encourage film production, ...

'' terming it as "An inspiring family film from India". The ''Sprockets Toronto Film Festival'' noted that "The film celebrates imagination, self-confidence and perseverance." One of India's most respected critics

Maithili Rao Maithili Rao is an Indian freelance film critic, writer, journalist and former English language, English lecturer based in Mumbai. She has worked for several publications, including ''The Hindu'', ''Frontline (magazine), Frontline'', ''Film Comm ...

, in the

Frontline (magazine) ''Frontline'' is a fortnightly English language magazine published by The Hindu Group of publications headquartered in Chennai, India. Vaishna Roy is the editor of the magazine. It is a news and views magazine that provides in-depth coverage o ...

said that the film was "A rare combination of sensitivity and gentle humour". Similarly, Rachel Dwyer, ''

University of London The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in post-nominals) is a federal public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The university was established by royal charter in 1836 as a degree ...

'' termed the film as "Totally delightful". ''Cleveland Film Festival, USA'' noted it a "Gem of a film". ''St.Louis Film Festival, USA'' described ''Mahek'' as a "Beautifully filmed with a nice eye for color and very funny", whereas the ''Syracuse New Times,

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

'' applauded that the film "Certainly matches Truffaut’s cinematic spirit." Mahek has been included in the curriculum of Otterbein College, one of the oldest universities in the US. *Outlook - A new filmmaker on the horizon *Indian Express - Imagery of childhood *Mahek's first screening in India *Interview with Kranti Kanade *Indian children's film win accolades in Houston

References

{{Reflist Indian children's films 2000s Hindi-language films 2007 films 2000s children's films