Manisha Ranawat, who has been conferred with the title of youngest colorful filmmaker from India, recently co-sponsored the Short Film Festival Modi@9. The short film festival, which was organized on 30 June at Whistling Woods International in Mumbai, was attended by several luminaries from politics, cinema and elsewhere. Some of the notable personalities who attended this event were Subhash Ghai, Jackie Shroff, actress leslie Tripathy and Sandip Ghuge.

Apart from being a filmmaker, Manisha has also been a business personality and one of the trustees of the First Humanity foundation which engages in several philanthropic activities including building schools and hospitals for the underprivileged. First Humanity has helped people from all spheres of life and continues to move ahead in its mission to uplift the society. The foundation’s contribution towards the society has been recognized by the government on multiple occasions. Manisha has also ensured the foundation has an international presence and helps the underprivileged based in different countries.

Manisha is also an ardent supporter of the LGBTQ community and for years, have been associated with several social causes. One of the reasons behind her co-sponsoring the Short Film Festival Modi@9 is that she has always believed in the vision of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and admired the progressive governance espoused by the BJP.

Elaborating on the same, she says, “For most filmmakers, making short films serves as the stepping stone for making feature-length films and long-format shows. I had a similar journey as a filmmaker. Through festivals like these, young filmmakers, actors and technicians get the opportunity to showcase their talent. That’s one of the primary reasons why I lend my support to such film festivals. Another big reason for me being associated with this festival as a co-sponsor was that it was celebrating the 9 glorious years of Shri Narendra Modi ji leading our country towards a brighter future”.

At a very young age, filmmaker Manisha Ranawat has managed to set up a production house on her own. The company, which is named MD International, is based in Mumbai, Dubai and the UK and will be churning out multiple films every year across different genres. Manisha was drawn to the medium of cinema at a very young age and realized that telling stories for the celluloid is what she would want to do all her life. Just like any other filmmaker, she has her distinctive identity and the stories she wants to tell are a reflection of her sensibilities.

Elaborating on this, she says, “I have always read extensively and conducted a lot of research on issues plaguing our society. Since I have seen many of such issues taking place around me, I have been very concerned about them and always wanted to talk about them. I want to make films that create awareness around social issues. I will be making Indian films which would have a global appeal. Globally, no other medium has the kind of reach and accessibility cinema has. Films, therefore, are the best medium to trigger a positive change in the society.”

Attending various international film festivals and exploring markets in the West, Europe, Asia and South Asia that have played an important role in expanding Manisha’s horizon as a filmmaker and giving her ideas on how she can make her films accessible to a global audience. It has also helped her gain a strong understanding of key processes involved in filmmaking like production, marketing and distribution. At the moment, Manisha is gearing up for the release of her new film ‘Jahaan’ which she described as an out-and-out love story but with a theme that has not been explored before.

Nitin Jain