Manish G. Acharya (14 June 1967 – 4 December 2010) was an Indian
film director
A film director controls a film's artistic and dramatic aspects and visualizes the screenplay (or script) while guiding the film crew and actors in the fulfilment of that vision. The director has a key role in choosing the cast members, p ...
and
actor
An actor or actress is a person who portrays a character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. The analogous Greek term is (), li ...
. Acharya was best known for ''
Loins of Punjab Presents
''Loins of Punjab Presents'' is a 2007 Indian film directed by Manish Acharya. It stars Shabana Azmi, Ayesha Dharker and Ajay Naidu. The film marked Acharya's feature directorial debut.
Plot
A New Jersey town catches Bollywood fever when five ...
'', the film he co-wrote with
Anuwab Pal, directed, acted in, and co-produced.
Released theatrically to great critical acclaim in 2007 in India and the US, the film ''s''tarred
Shabana Azmi
Shabana Azmi (born 18 September 1950) is an Indian actress of Hindi film, television and theatre. One of India's most acclaimed actresses, Azmi is known for her portrayals of distinctive, often unconventional female characters across several ge ...
,
Ayesha Dharkar
Ayesha Dharker (born 16 March 1978) is a British actress, known for her appearance as Queen Jamillia, the Queen of Naboo, in '' Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones,'' and for her stage performances.
Her other film roles include ...
and
Ajay Naidu
Ajay Kalahastri Naidu (born February 12, 1972) is an American actor best known for playing Samir in ''Office Space''. Naidu was nominated for the Independent Spirit Award for Best Supporting Male for his performance in the film '' SubUrbia''.
Ea ...
among others.
[ Manish Acharya's other film credits include a cameo in the 2009 ]Zoya Akhtar
Zoya Akhtar (born 14 October 1972) is an Indian film director and screenwriter who works in Hindi cinema. After completing a diploma in filmmaking from NYU, she assisted directors such as Mira Nair, Tony Gerber and Dev Benegal, before becomin ...
film '' Luck by Chance'' and narration in Nina Paley's animation feature film ''Sita Sings the Blues
''Sita Sings the Blues'' is a 2008 American animated musical romantic comedy-drama film written, directed, produced and animated by American artist Nina Paley. It intersperses events from the ''Ramayana'', light-hearted but knowledgeable disc ...
''.[
Acharya completed his Undergraduate Studies from ]Grinnell College
Grinnell College is a private liberal arts college in Grinnell, Iowa, United States. It was founded in 1846 when a group of New England Congregationalists established the Trustees of Iowa College.
Grinnell has the fifth highest endowment-to-stu ...
in Iowa, USA, with a major in Physics
Physics is the natural science that studies matter, its fundamental constituents, its motion and behavior through space and time, and the related entities of energy and force. "Physical science is that department of knowledge which r ...
. He then received a Master's degree
A master's degree (from Latin ) is an academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice. from Iowa State University
Iowa State University of Science and Technology (Iowa State University, Iowa State, or ISU) is a public land-grant research university in Ames, Iowa. Founded in 1858 as the Iowa Agricultural College and Model Farm, Iowa State became one of the n ...
in Industrial Relations
Industrial relations or employment relations is the multidisciplinary academic field that studies the employment relationship; that is, the complex interrelations between employers and employees, labor/trade
unions, employer organizations, ...
. Acharya worked in the US corporate world as Head of Marketing at Microsyrategy, and was featured on the cover of Marketing Magazine
''Strategy'' is a Canadian business magazine about marketing, advertising and media. The magazine is published by Brunico Communications
Brunico Communications is a Canadian magazine publishing company."Desktop tabloid publishing firm sports 2 pu ...
at the age of 27. At the age of 30, Manish left corporate America to study film directing, and received his Master of Fine Arts
A Master of Fine Arts (MFA or M.F.A.)
is a terminal degree in fine arts, including visual arts, creative writing, graphic design, photography, filmmaking, dance, theatre, other performing arts and in some cases, theatre management or arts admini ...
degree from New York University (NYU)'s prestigious 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 ...
.Matheran
Matheran is an automobile-free hill station and a municipal council in the Karjat taluka of the Raigad district located in the Indian state of Maharashtra. Matheran is part of the Mumbai Metropolitan Region, and one of the smallest hill ...
, India. He is survived by his wife, artist Dhruvi Acharya
Dhruvi Acharya (born in 1971) is an Indian artist known for her psychologically complex and visually layered paintings. She is based in Mumbai, India.
Early life and education
Dhruvi Acharya was born in 1971 in India and she was raised in Mumb ...
and their two children Malhar and Aman.
References
External links
*
Loins of Punjab Presents in New York Times
{{DEFAULTSORT:Acharya, Manish
1967 births
2010 deaths
Deaths by horse-riding accident in India
Film directors from Mumbai
Male actors from Mumbai
Tisch School of the Arts alumni
Grinnell College alumni
Iowa State University alumni
Indian expatriates in the United States