Daily Inspiration: Meet Rishav Raman

Today we’d like to introduce you to Rishav Raman

Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
I was lucky in that I realized what I wanted to do from a young age. Though there are different paths to take in this big dream, the overarching goal is to be a storyteller that tells stories that reaches a universal audience. I realized the way I wanted to do that was by being a Film Director. The path I’m taking to achieve that goal isn’t too extraordinary in that I’m trying to make a series of short films, that would enable me to grow as a filmmaker as well as showcase my work. I’ve made about six short films so far, and am extremely happy in that, with the passing of each film, you can clearly pinpoint my learnings from the first film to the latest. The most recent film I’ve made is this short called “Dream Door”, that is currently undergoing a festival run. Though obviously even from this film, I’ve made mistakes and learnt a lot. I’m super proud of the effort everyone put into it, and am excited to show it to more people. I, now strive to continue making more short films, as well as focusing on writing on different projects that keeps me on my toes, and makes me creatively charged.

I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
I would say, a lot of the things that you expect to be hard, have turned out better than expected. For example, I always thought the days you spend shooting a film would be super challenging. Whilst that is true, it never really felt hard per se or something like a roadblock. The obstacles I faced were more mental in nature, in the sense that there were a lot of times when I had tremendous self-doubt and moments where I didn’t feel like delivering to the best of my ability leading to procrastination. These are moments that make everything feel like a mistake, which obviously isn’t a good thing. However, I’m really grateful to have some amazing people next to me that help me by giving perspective, helping me get through these obstacles. So, all in all, I would say, it has mostly been a smooth road, that I’m happy to continue going on.

Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
I am a Writer and Filmmaker. I make short films, as well as write different material across different mediums from screenwriting to writing novels. This is mainly because I constantly have different ideas that keep coming to me and excite me to work on them. I choose the medium based on the need of the story and also based on what I feel like writing. I currently am working on writing a Pilot Episode as well as trying to publish a novel that I recently completed.
I would say, I’m most proud of the fact that no matter how many rejections or failures I might have, I will continue to work on the stories I want to write, because this is something I love doing, irrespective of how far it takes me. I believe what sets my work from others, is the constant focus on making my work extremely personal yet trying to tell them in a way that is devoid of traditional practices used in storytelling.

We’d love to hear about any fond memories you have from when you were growing up?
Looking back at my childhood, I’m extremely grateful for having a blissful one, that I will forever look back at with fondness. If I were to pick one moment, it would probably be when I performed in my first ever theatre production. I was someone who was extremely reserved and shy to any extra-curricular activity. I used to only play Cricket, was ordinary in school work and was pretty much aimless in what I wanted to. But when I randomly got the chance to be a part of my school’s annual theatre production, I knew this was something I instinctively wanted to do. I’m so glad I did, because it became something way better than I ever expected. I found a place where there were people like me and quite literally a stage, where I could express anything I wanted to, without any sort of judgement. Though I was only 11 then, I knew I found my calling and henceforth strived to replicate such moments of artistic liberation such as that moment of being on stage for the first time.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://rishavraman96.wixsite.com/my-site
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rishavraman/

Image Credits
Savitha R
Anushri Eswaran
Jagruti Savant
Jordan Diomande
Em Chen