First ‘NRI TV Film Awards’ held at the Grand Ballroom, Manhattan Center Studios, on Dec. 5 showcased NRI cinema talent. Seen in the photo are, from left, Kishore Dadlaney of Video Sound, H.R. Shah of TV Asia, actor and producer Tirlok Malik, Lal Dadlaney of Video Sound, and Sreenath Sreenivasan, associate professor of professional practice at the Columbia Graduate School of Journalism.

Fifteen films addressing issues of concern to Indian Americans were honored at the first ‘NRI TV Film Awards’ on Dec. 5.

The awards are a brainchild of actor and producer Tirlok Malik who said he was “motivated by an urge to create an awareness about the growing NRI film talent.” The final execution of the awards was done jointly by NRI TV Film Club, Video Sound, a film distribution company run by Lal Dadlaney and H.R. Shah of TV Asia. The awards ceremony at the Grand Ballroom, Manhattan Center Studios, drew in well-known names of NRI cinema as well as leading lights of the Indian-American community.

From left, concert promoters Bharat Jotwani of Poojanka Entertainment, Kamal Dandona of Bollywood Awards Inc. and Kanu Chauhan of Rajsun Megastar Entertainment, at the event.

Malik told News India-Times in an interview after the ceremony that the main purpose of the awards “was to celebrate NRI talent.”

“Being the first year we did not want to make it competitive. We decided to honor 15 films for their contribution in furthering NRI cinema,” he said. The guest list was an eclectic mix of actors, show promoters, media members, community leaders and diplomats. The keynote speakers included well known actress Madhur Jaffrey, Reeves Lehman, chair of the Film, Video and Animation Department for the School of Visual Arts, and Sreenath Srinivasan, associate professor of professional practice, Columbia Graduate School of Journalism.

The guests and presenters included Indian Consul General in New York Pramathesh Rath; Preeta Bansal, member of the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom and former Solicitor General of New York; H.R. Shah of TV Asia; A.J. Khubani, head of TeleBrands Corporation; Poonam Khubani, actor and producer; Kamal Dandona, head of the Bollywood Awards Inc.; Kanu Chauhan, show promoter and concert organizer of Rajsun Megastar Entertainment and Bharat Jotwani, promoter of Bollywood show for his company Poojanka Entertainment.

The event also featured actors and performers including Alok Mehta, Amber Khan, Dan Nainan, Manu Narayan, Padma Khanna, Pooja Kumar, Prashant Kumar, Samrat Chakrabarti, Sheetal Shah and Sejal Patel.

Bansal said unlike Hollywood, which addressed mainstream themes, and Bollywood, which addresses Indian themes, NRI cinema focuses on issues she can identify with as an Indian American.

Malik said the ‘NRI TV Film Awards’ would be an annual feature and “turn it into a platform where NRI talents can be showcased even for mainstream Americans.” Asked if he planned to offer distribution deals as part of a film market at the future events, he said, “That is certainly on the cards. We also want to position ourselves as people who can help aspiring filmmakers at the planning and scripting stage in terms of treatment of a film.” He said since 1981, when the first NRI movies such as ‘West is West’ and ‘Girl from India’ were made, the genre of NRI cinema was coming into its own.

“There are enough themes within the expatriate community that can be turned into engaging cinema. It is true that the production values of some of the movies are not impressive, what matters is the content they deal with. These are themes that directly concern NRIs.”

Among the criteria that Malik and his colleagues used to honor the films were ensuring that the movies which had either had a theatrical release, were released on DVD or had been to a film festival.

LIST OF 15 FILMS HONORED AT ‘NRI TV FILM AWARDS 2004’

* American Desi Director: Piyush Pandya Producers: Gitesh Pandya, Deep Katdare * Wings of Hope Director: Raj Basu Producer: D.G. Parekh * Journey Director: Harish Saluja Producer: Harish Saluja * ABCD Director: Krutin Patel Producer: Krutin Patel * Leela Director: Somnath Sen Producers: Anjalika Mathur, Kavita Munjal * Flavors Directors: Raj Nidimoru, Krishna D.K. Producers: Anupam Mittal, Raj D.K. * Kehta Hai Dil Baar Baar Director: Rahul Dholakia Producers: Lal Dadlaney, Kishore Dadlaney * Piyy Gavo Pardesh Director: Kanu Chauhan Producers: Kanu Chauhan, Suresh Patel

* Trade-Offs Director: Vikram Yashpal, Producers: Several * Carry on Papa Director: Shirish Patel Producers: Shirish Patel, Dax Patel *American Addiction Director: Bryan Poffenberger Producer: Visha1 Shah * Legally Desi Director: Ajay Rupani Producer: Ajay Rupani * Lonely in America Director: Barry Alexander Brown Producers: Tir1ok Malik & Chander Malik * Arya Director: Manan Katohora Producer: T. Malik * Little Magician 3D Director: Jose Punnoose Producer: Appachan, Allu Arvind, N.Y. Producer: Tirlok Malik