Arjun Gourisaria

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Arjun Gourisaria
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Born19th December, 1964
Calcutta, India
NationalityIndian
EducationFilm and Television Institute of India, Jadavpur University, St. Lawrence High School, Jadavpur University
Alma materFilm and Television Institute of India
Known forSthaniya Sambaad (Spring in the Colony), Patalghar, Black Magic Motion Pictures Ltd.
Notable work
Sthaniya Sambaad (Spring in the Colony), Patalghar, Tanvir ka Safarnama, Gulabi Gang, Shut Up Sona
Spouse(s)Niti Sonee Gourisaria, Sukanya Ghosh
Partner(s)Mayurakshi Banerjee

Arjun Gourisaria (born 1964, Calcutta, India) is an Indian Editor, Filmmaker, Producer, Entrepreneur, Film educator and Musician. A major figure in Indian advertising filmmaking between 1995 and 2010, Arjun has also won several awards for his editing work in critically acclaimed films like Tanvir ka Safarnama[1],[2],,[3] Gulabi Gang and Shut Up Sona[4],[5],.[6]

His production house, Black Magic Motion Pictures Ltd., produced the first Bengali language sci-fi film Patalghar[7] in 2003. The film went on to receive several awards and was screened at The Children's Film Festival Cairo, The Brussels International Festival of Fantasy Films, The Neuchatel International Film Festival Switzerland and The Times BFI London Film Festival.

Arjun's directorial feature, Sthaniya Sambaad (Spring in the Colony), won the best film award at the New York Indian Film Festival.[8] Arjun is also a trained Hindustani Classical Musician and currently resides in Kolkata concentrating on his first love, music.

Early Life and Background

Arjun Gourisaria[9] was born on 19th December, 1964 in Calcutta, India. His mother Renu Gourisaria is a retired school teacher and the author of From Zakaria Street to Mayfair Road,[10] a memoir which also records the patterns of migration and development of kinship networks among the Marwari community, people from Rajasthan who started making Calcutta their home since the early 18th century. His father, Lakshmi Narayan Gourisaria after finishing his schooling in Narayangunj, Dhaka (Part of Bangladesh, then East Pakistan) went on to study law at the Lincoln's Inn, London. In 2000, Arjun's paternal uncle, Satya Narayan Gourisaria, was honored by the Government of India with the fourth highest Indian civilian award of Padma Shri for his contribution to the propagation of Indian music, art and films in the United Kingdom. After completing his schooling from St. Lawrence High School, Kolkata, Arjun went on, in 1986, to become a gold-medalist graduate in Economics from Jadavpur University. During his school and college years he also pursued learning Hindustani Classical Music under the tutelage of Shri Sujoy Basu of the Imdadkhani Gharana. In 1987, Arjun joined the Film and Television Institute of India to study Film Editing.

Career

Early Career

Since 1989 Arjun worked as a freelance editor in the Bengali television and film industry, during which time he also edited the television series Krishnakant ka Vasiyatnama[11] (based on Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay's novel Krishnakanter Will) directed by eminent theatre and film personality Shyamanand Jalan. Simultaneously, he also started producing and directing advertising films for leading agencies like J Walter Thompson and Clarion Advertising Services.

Black Magic Motion Pictures Ltd.

In 1995, he teamed up with Abhijit Chaudhuri (Dadu) and Niti Sonee Gourisaria to form Black Magic Motion Pictures Ltd. One of the company's first major productions was a Hindi television series, Tasveer, which featured eminent national stars like Alok Nath, Raza Murad and MunMun Sen. The series was written by Rashid Iqbal and shot by Avik Mukhopadhyay. Black Magic Motion Pictures Ltd.[12] soon went on to become one of the largest advertising film production companies in India and under the leadership of Rangan Chakravarty went on to produce some of West Bengal's most popular reality television shows like Rojgere Ginni (The Earning wife), Hau Mau Khnau and Alpha Pentathlon. During it's tenure Black Magic Motion Pictures Ltd. produced television commercials for leading brands like Ambuja Cement, Asian Paints, Big Babool, Cadbury's, Colgate, Happydent, Sprite etc., working with the leading agencies of the country including Ogilvy, headed by Piyush Pandey and McCann, headed by Prasoon Joshi. Under Arjun's leadership Black Magic Motion Pictures Ltd. also went on to produce four Bengali feature films including the award winning Patalghar (2003), directed by Abhijit Chaudhuri (Dadu), Sthaniya Sambaad (Spring in the Colony) (2009) directed by Arjun Gourisaria[13],[14] and Moinak Biswas and Tin Ekke Teen[15] directed by Malay Bhattacharya.

Editing Work

  • Editor, 'Shut Up Sona', a documentary on the singer Sona Mohapatra directed by Deepti Gupta, 2018.[4],[5],.[6]
  • Story Editor, 'Who Killed Gandhi', Canadian feature-length television documentary directed by award-

winning Canadian film-maker Anand Ramayya, 2013.

  • Editor, 'Gulabi Gang', an award-winning feature-length documentary on a women's movement, directed by

Nishtha Jain, 2011/2012.

  • Editor, 'Tanvir Ka Safarnama' (Tanvir's Travelogue), a feature-length documentary by Ranjan Kamath on

Indian theatre director Habib Tanvir, 2007.

  • Editor, 'Dubai Return', Hindi feature film directed by Aditya Basu Bhattacharya, 2006.
  • Editor, 'Patalghar', Bengali feature film directed by Abhijit Chaudhuri, 2002. The film was part of the official

selection at the Brussels International Festival of Fantasy Films, 2003, and the Times-BFI London Film Festival, 2003. It won several awards, including the Indian National Film Awards for Best Debut Film and for Best Cinematography. It also won, amongst others, the BFJA award for Best Editing.

  • Co-editor, 'Skin Deep', a feature-length documentary on women's perception of their self-image and bodies,

directed by Reena Mohan, 1998.

  • Editor and Director, 'Jesuits of Southern Bengal', a feature-length study of the relationship of Jesuit priests

and Christianity with the people of Bengal, 1992.

  • Editor and Co-director, 'Voice in the Wilderness', a documentary on a uniquely successful environment

movement in the interior villages of Orissa, 1990.

Currently Arjun[16] is editing Women's Gurgaon,[17] a film born out of the academic project, Urban Transformation and Gendered Violence in India and South Africa headed by Manali Desai and funded by ESRC.

Personal Life

After having tried to make Bombay and, subsequently, Goa, home, Arjun now lives in his city of birth, Kolkata. He resides in Ballygunge with his mother and his partner and devotes time to music.

Award

  • Silver Lotus, the Indian National Award for Best Editing for feature-length documentary, 'Shut Up Sona'[18],[19],.[20]
  • Silver Lotus, the Indian National Award for Best Editing for feature-length documentary, 'Gulabi Gang'[21],.[22]
  • 11th New York Indian Film Festival Award for Best Film for 'Sthaniya Sambaad' (Spring in the Colony)[23],.[24]
  • Indian Documentary Producers' Association Award for Best Editing for 'Tanvir Ka Safarnama' (Tanvir's Travelogue), a feature-length documentary on Habib Tanvir, Indian Theatre Director.
  • Bengal Film Journalists' Association Award for Best Editing of a Feature Film for 'Patalghar'.

References

  1. https://search.lib.asu.edu/discovery/fulldisplay?docid=alma991027265309703841&context=L&vid=01ASU_INST:01ASU&lang=en&search_scope=MyInst_and_CI&adaptor=Local%20Search%20Engine&tab=Everything&query=sub,exact,%20Anticensorship%20activists,AND&mode=advanced
  2. "Tanvir Ka Safarnama in Kolkata, Weavers Studio Centre For The Arts | What's Hot". Whats Hot.
  3. Mitra, Shayoni (November 13, 2014). "Tanvir ka Safarnama (Tanvir's Travelogue) directed by Ranjan Kamath (review)". Asian Theatre Journal. 31 (1): 315–318. doi:10.1353/atj.2014.0013 – via Project MUSE.
  4. 4.0 4.1 "Shut Up Sona Review : Sona Mohapatra's struggles for equality are skillfully depicted". The Times of India.
  5. 5.0 5.1 Vasudeva,DHNS, Rashmi. "'Shut Up Sona' review: Compelling, uncomfortable watch". Deccan Herald.
  6. 6.0 6.1 "Sona Mohapatra's Talks About Her Documentary 'Shut Up Sona'".
  7. https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/enter
  8. "Sthaniya Sambaad Wins Best Film Award At New York Festival". NDTV.com.
  9. "Nagari 2021 Archives". Charles Correa Foundation. December 12, 2022.
  10. Ghatak, Anchita (December 20, 2020). "This memoir reveals the struggle for rights that even affluent women in India have to go through". Scroll.in.
  11. "Krishnakant Ka Vasiyatnama | Serial | Episode 5" – via www.youtube.com.
  12. "Black Magic Motion Pictures LTD. | the Company Check".
  13. https://www.cinestaan.com/people/arjun-gourisaria-47077
  14. "Title: International Kolkata Short Film Festival | The winners of the ..." www.google.com.
  15. "'Tin Ekke Tin'". The Times of India.
  16. https://www.cinemaazi.com/feature/-a-bottle-in-one-pocket-your-childhood-in-the-other-ritwik-ghatak-s-bombay-poona-years
  17. https://www.womensgurgaon.com/
  18. "Arjun Gourisaria elated by his second National Award win for best editing". The Times of India. March 22, 2021.
  19. "Powerful and gifted artists like Sona deserve equal space, respect and opportunities says Arjun Gourisaria-Entertainment News , Firstpost". Firstpost. July 27, 2022.
  20. "Title: Bengal's triumph on the stage of the National Film Awards ..." www.google.com.
  21. https://www.business-standard.com/article/news-ians/jolly-llb-gulabi-gang-named-for-national-award-lead-superseding-earlier-story-114041600831_1.html
  22. "Gulabi Gang Awards: List of Awards won by Hindi movie Gulabi Gang". The Times of India.
  23. "Latest News Today: Breaking News and Top Headlines from India, Entertainment, Business, Politics and Sports".
  24. http://cscs.res.in/irps/inter-asia-cultural-studies-summer-school-2018/sthaniya-sambaad-spring-in-the-colony-arjun-gourisaria-moinak-biswas-2009

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