Today we’d like to introduce you to Abhinay Pandit.
Hi Abhinay, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today?
I come from a city called Mumbai in India, famous for being home to the largest film industry in the world, Bollywood. My father used to work as a set designer on various productions. On some of the days, I would visit his workshop, where I watched him work and followed him around the set to understand what his job entailed. Those experiences never ceased to excite me. Looking at how everybody worked together to creating a composition of art stoked my fascination and made me want to be a part of the process. He would show me his work and introduce me to various art books to draw inspiration. His love for photography was also infectious. To imitate him, I would sneak out the camera from his locker and click some snaps myself. I would take pictures of my mother while working, flowers on my balcony or just countless small but inspiring instances like these molded me into an individual who aspired to pursue filmmaking.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
It has never been a flat path and will never be, I have barely reached the path of my career but when I look back, it makes me appreciate all the commitments I made in my life to reach where I am, including leaving my country which still haunts me sometimes.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
I am a Cinematographer & Editor currently based in Los Angeles. I started my journey as a Photographer which eventually led me to transition to be a Cinematographer. Back in Mumbai, I was shooting everything I could like Dance events, Music festivals, Fashion films, Music videos and commercials. I knew what my end goal was but never had a concrete path toward narrative. It’s quite challenging to take a break from the city where you have spent your whole life working and growing yourself to a city in order to endure your dreams and find your identity and this has eventually led to a big transition in my life. It’s still one of the biggest risks but there’s no reward in life without risks.
I am glad that I was involved with people with similar passion, some of them mean a lot in my life. I am proud to have a supporting family and friends in Mumbai who believed in me and understood my vision! My family have always been my support system always grateful to them.
Being in Los Angeles allowed me to make interesting connections with filmmaker’s from different countries and artists from diverse backgrounds. Days when I am not shooting, I like to stroll around the city along with my friend Linh Tang, we observe the city and photograph the moments which only lead to a documentation of our journey. Lately, I have been enjoying the process of shooting on film, everywhere I go, I travel along with my 8mm camera or Hi-8 Tape camcorder.
You only grow in your art if you properly nourish yourself with passion and ambition. I’d like to study more about things that interest me and only make my art stronger. I am not aware where I am going to land myself in my career but I want to try different things in life and experiment with my potential. Filmmakers who inspired me are Jean Luc Godard, Wong Kar-Wai and Asghar Farhadi and their cinema have somewhat inspired me in my narrative!
Any big plans?
My major goal is to enjoy working that I have always loved to do which makes my family and friends proud! Much love to all my family and friends from Mumbai for always being my constant support.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.shotbyabhinay.com
- Instagram: https://www.
instagram.com/abhinaykmr/?hl= en - Other: https://www.behance.
net/Abhinaykmr
Image Credits
Linh Tang, Dilpreet Shah
