SYNOPSIS

Rajesh, a talented and hard-working dancer, moves to Bombay from his rural village to dance in Bollywood films. Under the tutelage of Sanjay, his outspoken yet introspective guru, Rajesh embarks on the journey to achieve his dream. Over the course of a year, Rajesh and Sanjay encounter the changing climate of globalized India and recognize that the new face of Bollywood does not include them.

SELECT FESTIVALS AND AWARDS

• Official Selection, 2008 MIAAC New York's Indian Film Festival
• Official Selection, 2008 Bahamas International Film Festival
• Official Selection, 2007 Filmi South Asian Film Festival

DIRECTOR'S BIOGRAPHY

Vinay Chowdhry is a first generation South-Asian American born in Philadelphia, PA. As a faculty member in the New School University's Media Studies Program and as the Media Arts Director at Little Red School House & Elisabeth Irwin High School (LREI), he takes a practical and hands-on approach to film and video curriculum, simulating real world experience in the classroom. He holds an MFA from Bard College's Milton Avery Graduate School for the Arts and a BA in Film and Video from Pennsylvania State University.

His interest in the union of physicality and emotion onscreen is apparent in his work, including his 2002 short film on the partition of India and Pakistan, Line of Control, which expresses narrative through hybridized eastern and western dance styles. In 2004 he began directing educational DVDs that teach conversational Hindi to second and third generation South Asians with the media group, Hindi Kids. This endeavor allowed him to explore a more lighthearted, yet equally productive aspect of his craft. His exploration of movement and South Asian culture continues in his first feature film, Personality, an acute glimpse into the lives of Bollywood background dancers.

In 2008 Vinay founded Dakoit Pictures, a full-service production and post-production company based in Brooklyn, NY. This enterprise is the catalyst behind goboHD, an innovative online presence producing conceptually stimulating web series in high definition, which he will launch this year.

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SHOWTIMES

MON. 5/18 at 5:30PM
Matinée Movie Lounge

CAST AND CREW

Production: Dakoit Films
Producer: Vinay Chowdhry
Cinematographer: Vinay Chowdhry
Editor: Vipal Monga
Music: Spencer Cobrin
Principal Cast: Rajesh Rajput, Sanjay Sharma

SOURCES

Print Source:
Dakoit Films
www.personalitythemovie.com