Bharatbala is a visionary filmmaker, crafting cinematic journeys across mediums for the last 40 years. His debut feature, Hari Om, premiered at TIFF 2004, and won eight audience awards across international festivals. His next, Maryan, starring Dhanush and Parvathy, wowed the audience at international festivals, winning several accolades. The mind behind iconic musicals, like Vande Mataram – Maa Tujhe Salaam and Jana Gana Mana, Bharatbala continues his journey with storytelling through his thousand-short-film initiative, Virtual Bharat, preserving India’s untold stories. His upcoming film, set in the Maha Kumbh Mela, will release in 2026.
R. Mahendran is a prominent Indian film producer with over 30 years in films, TV, and digital media. As a former Vice President at Star Vijay Television, he was instrumental in content acquisition and the launch of Fox Star Studio in South India. Founder of Turmeric Media, Mahendran shaped iconic Tamil films like Raja Rani, Cuckoo, and Engeyum Eppothum. Renowned for supporting new talent and innovative storytelling, he's been the creative producer for blockbusters like Mersal, Theri, and Thupakki, and produced hits such as Vikram in 2022 and Amaran in 2024. He continues blending artistic vision with commercial success.
"Rajeshwari Sachdev is an acclaimed Indian actor, singer, and a Bharatanatyam dancer trained at the Rajarajeshwari Bharatanatyam Kala Mandir. A recipient of the National Film Award, Maharashtra State Government Award, Screen, MaTa, and ITA Awards, she has performed in Hindi, Marathi, English, and Punjabi films, television, web shows and plays. Rajeshwari has worked with celebrated directors including Shyam Benegal, Bernardo Bertolucci, Basu Chatterjee, M.S. Sathyu, K.K. Raina,Lillette Dubey, Ramesh Talwar, and Sumitra Bhave–Sunil Sukthankar, Prakash Jha, Lokesh Gupte. She has also featured in acclaimed stage productions and released popular music albums, showcasing her versatility and contribution to Indian performing arts. "
Sekhar Das is a noted Indian film director and screenwriter known for his contributions to Bengali cinema. With a background in theatre and television, he transitioned to filmmaking and gained recognition for his realistic storytelling and strong social themes. He has so far made twelve films, four of those are for TV release. Das's films received critical acclaim and won several national and international awards. Das’s films often explore rural life, human relationships, and socio-political issues with sensitivity and authenticity. Apart from directing, he has been involved in teaching, and writing and producing television serials and documentaries, making him a versatile and respected figure in the Indian film industry.
"Munjal is a creator, producer and director with 30 years of experience across the entire spectrum of live-action, animation, gaming, VFX and immersive entertainemnt. He has forged partnerships with some of the biggest names in entertainment industry including Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, Disney, Cartoon Network and Nickelodeon and has also helped to put India on the global map for original content. His Netflix Original, Deepa and Anoop swept the Kidscreen 2023 Awards with four wins – Best New Show, Best Inclusivity, Best Music and Best Voice Talent. His latest creation is Krish, Trish and Baltiboy – Bharat Hain Hum, a 52 part series on the unsung heroes of Indian Freedom Struggle which is co-produced with CBC, Ministry of Information and Broadcasting. He also crafted the unique distribution multi-lingual and multi-platform release of this series. It’s the first show in the world to release simultaneous globally on Netflix, Amazon Prime Video and 28 channels of Doordarshan – Public Service TV Network. His character creations Krish, Trish and Baltiboy and the iconic show Bharat Hain Hum were recognised by Hon. Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi and recommend the show as a “Must Watch” in his monthly national address “Mann Ki Baat” in December 2024. In his role as the Chairman of FICCI AVGX-XR Forum he has helped craft the National AVGC-XR policy and setup Indian Institute of Creative Technologies, a lighthouse institution focusing on education, upskilling, policy advocacy and startups and incubations. He is relentlessly working closely with the Government of India on various policies to position India as a significant force in the Global Media and Entertainment Industry. He also serves on the Governing Council of Media & Entertainment Skill Council (MESC) to bring structured approach to the building a vibrant skilling ecosystem. "
