Manish Jha
Directing
Biography
Manish Jha is an Indian film writer and director. After completing his studies, Jha moved to Mumbai and began working as an assistant director in television serials hoping to get a break. When the break never came, he made a five-minute short film on the homeless putting in Rs 30,000, A Very Very Silent Film, which won the Jury Prize for the Best Short Film at the 2002 Cannes Film Festival. Thereafter he made his feature debut with Matrubhoomi (2003) about effects of female infanticide, which won a series of awards and critical acclaim. At the 2003 Venice Film Festival, it was presented in the Critic's Week (Parallel section) and later awarded the FIPRESCI Award "For it's important theme on women's issues and female infanticide handled with sensitivity by a first-time director". His next was Anwar (2007), a film set in Lucknow, about stereotyping of Muslims in the post 9/11 era. In 2008, he directed the segment title, "And it Rained" in anthology film, with 11 directors, Mumbai Cutting, which became the closing film of 10th Osian's Cinefan Festival in Delhi. He next directed a two-hour yoga DVD, Shilpa's Yoga (2008) for actress Shilpa Shetty, shot against the coastal backdrop of Kerala.
Known For
A woman, attended by two midwives, is giving birth in a small village in India. When the child's cry rings, the father bangs on a steel plate to attract the attention of all the villagers, ...
Matrubhoomi: A Nation Without Women
Michael Mishra, a kidnapper from Patna, falls for a girl, Varsha Shukla, at a very young age. He got arrested and sent to jail. After releasing from jail, he searched for her but couldn't find her. He then finds her in a talent show. The story revolves around as to how he gets his love and what he has to go through.
The Legend of Michael Mishra
Anwar is the story of a young man, an artist, who leaves his home and everything he knows in order to escape a world he no longer recognizes. All he ever wanted was a love story, Instead, his mentor abandons him and his best friend and his one true love betray him. Devastated, emotionally exhausted, he takes refuge in an old building, only to wake up the next morning to find his world turned upside down. Mistaken for a terrorist, Anwar finds himself in the midst of an unusual set of circumstances that resonate deeply with the modern Indian Condition and indeed with the Human Condition in this present-day global village.
Anwar
An anthology of eleven short films from eleven directors featuring stories of life in Mumbai.
Mumbai Cutting
For them, life has been a series of physical and mental exploitation. “Fortunately” the time has come when they can no more be exploited. But… maybe we are wrong.