Pankaj Advani (Hindi: पंकज आडवाणी) (1 August 1965 – 11 November 2010) was an
Indian film
The Cinema of India consists of motion pictures produced in India, which had a large effect on world cinema since the late 20th century. Major centers of film production across the country include Mumbai, Chennai, Hyderabad, Visakhapatnam, Ko ...
director, editor, screenwriter, photographer, theatre director, and painter, known for his works in
Bollywood, and cross over cinema.
Pankaj made his
Hindi film
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 ...
screenwriting debut with ''
Kabhi Haan Kabhi Naa'' (1993) which went on to win the
Filmfare Critics Award for Best Movie.
In 1994, he scripted, and directed the short film ''Sunday'' which won the Children's Film Society of India Award for best writing, and the
National Film Award for Best Short Fiction Film.
[National Award-Best Short Fiction Film-CFSI]
The film was screened at the Indian Panorama Section of the 25th
International Film Festival of India
The International Film Festival of India (IFFI), founded in 1952, is one of the most significant film festivals in Asia. Held annually, currently in the state of Goa, on the western coast of the country, the festival aims at providing a common pla ...
, Calcutta; the Asian Panorama section of 8th International Children's Film Festival, Udaipur;
and has participated in other festivals including Cairo International Children's Film Festival and 11th Annual Chicago International Children's Film Festival.
The same year Pankaj won an award for best writing for ''Shadow Boxer'' at
NFDC.
Early life and education
Pankaj was born in
Lucknow and grew up in the small town of
Veraval in the Saurashtra region of
Gujarat state. As a young boy he was drawn to the magical world of cinema and as a first step wrote, acted, and directed for his school plays.
He obtained his Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree in painting from the
Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda. At the
Faculty of Fine Arts
In European academic traditions, fine art is developed primarily for aesthetics or creative expression, distinguishing it from decorative art or applied art, which also has to serve some practical function, such as pottery or most metalwo ...
, he specialized in photography and built up a portfolio of photographs. While in Baroda he participated in playwright and film-maker,
Habib Tanvir's workshop. He wrote and directed black comedies under his supervision (''Andher Nagari'' and others) that participated in college festivals. He then went on to do his Diploma in Editing at the
Film and Television Institute of India
The Film and Television Institute of India (FTII) is a film institute under the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting of the Government of India and aided by the Central Government of India. It is situated on the premises of the erstwhile ...
-Pune, receiving a merit scholarship for his academic excellence.
Film craft
After graduating from FTII-Pune, Pankaj returned to Baroda and put up a theatrical production of his black comedy ''Kataria Gul Hui Gawa''. Pankaj's next attempt was a short film ''Highway'' (19-minute video shot in Baroda about a woman who asks for a lift from a stranger in a car on a deserted highway) which participated in the South Asian Short Film Festival in Colombo and the International Short and Independent Film Festival-Dhaka.
[Biography of Pankaj Advani](_blank)
/ref>
Pankaj faced many hurdles in garnering funds for his unconventional films but continued to work even with low budgets. He forayed into TV when Shashanka Ghosh, the then head of Channel who, impressed with his film ''Sunday'' and 'quirky' ideas created a tiny space for him in the channel for experimentation, starting off with the promo the dark 'Anarkali Petticoat Show' which got a special mention at the Promax Awards and subsequent shows like the iconic Toofan TV and Bheja Fry. His long association with Channel provided him with a platform to showcase his creative ideas albeit on very low budgets.
In 2000 Pankaj received a '1.3 million – 13 days no-holds barred on creative aspect' offer from Digital Talkies which he grabbed and gave birth to the now iconoclastic, underground, cult classic
Urf Professor
'.
/ref> It screened at Dahlonega Film Festival;
iDream Production
gave him a chance to make his stylised, surreal, psychological thriller ''Cape Karma''.
Awards
;National Film Awards
The National Film Awards is the most prominent film award ceremony in India. Established in 1954, it has been administered, along with the International Film Festival of India and the Indian Panorama, by the Indian government's Directorat ...
* 1994: National Film Award for Best Short Fiction Film (Director) for ''Sunday''[
;International honors
* 2001: Best Film at the International Digital Film Festival, India for ''Urf Professor''
* 2003: Best Editing at Kara Film Festival, Karachi, Pakistan for ''Urf Professor''
;Other honors
* 2010: Honorable Member of Animation Jury at the 20th Cairo International Children's Film Festival in 2010.]
Filmography
Short films
TV
Documentary
Theatre
Death
On 11 November 2010, Pankaj Advani died of sudden cardiac arrest in Mumbai, India age 45.[Obituary: In memory of Pankaj Advani](_blank)
by Minty Tejpal, ''Mumbai Mirror
The ''Mumbai Mirror'' is an Indian English-language newspaper published in Mumbai, Maharashtra. Launched in 2005 as a compact daily newspaper, its coverage focuses on city specific local news and civic issues concerning education, healthcare an ...
'', 12 November 2010.
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Advani, Pankaj
1965 births
2010 deaths
Sindhi people
People from Veraval
Artists from Lucknow
20th-century Indian film directors
Hindi film editors
Indian male screenwriters
Hindi-language film directors
Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda alumni
Film and Television Institute of India alumni
21st-century Indian film directors
Film directors from Uttar Pradesh
Film editors from Uttar Pradesh