Shrenik Rao

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Shrenik Rao
Born Shrenik Rao
India
Alma mater London School of Economics.
Occupation Director, Producer, Screenwriter.
Parents Vijayalakshmi Rao (née Tavitiki)
N Prabhakar Rao
Shrenik Rao at Harvard University2007.

Shrenik Rao is an Indian born film-maker, academic, and broadcaster. He is the Founder and Chief Executive of Dolsun Media (2005) and 7MB - 7 Media Broadcasting Pvt Ltd (2010).

He wrote, directed, and produced critically acclaimed factual films - Denied - This Bit of Truth, Mugabe's Zimbabwe, 7 Notes to Infinity, and The Monsoon Oracle, which have been distributed to 52 countries around the world.[1]

Films

The global premier of his first factual film titled Denied-This bit of Truth took place at The London School of Economics in October 2007 and was quickly followed by a premier at Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government in November 2007. The factual film has also been featured on BBC world service 'Outlook'.

He created an environmental initiative in association with United Nations Environment Programme for which he cycled for 4800 kilometres from Kanyakumari, the southernmost tip of India to Kashmir – India’s northern most state. Along his journey,he gathered pledges for planting trees to spread environmental awareness about offsetting the effects of global warming.[2] This epic journey was made into a Six-part Television series titled TreeCycle with Shrenik Rao which has been licensed to Gaiam TV in the United States, Canada and Peurto Rico. Snippets of his journey were broadcast on NDTV. The series also features celebrated authors, environmentalists and other prominent personalities such as Maneka Gandhi, Shashi Tharoor, Gurcharan Das, Daggubati Purandeswari and Sunita Narain.

His factual film titled Mugabe's Zimbabwe, charts three decades of Robert Mugabe’s rule as the President of Zimbabwe. The film examines Mugabe's transition from liberator to dictator, and of Zimbabwe from a state of hope to one of desolation.[3][4] The film was taken up for world-wide distribution by TVF International and was featured as one of the ‘Hot Picks of 2011’ by Real Screen at Cannes.[5][6] The film was critically acclaimed by media across the world and translated to multiple languages.[7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14] Pulitzer Prize winning journalist Barry Bearak of the New York Times said that,
‘The film seems a primer to the situation, something of value especially to those not yet familiar with Zimbabwe and its recent history’.
[15]

In 2012, Shrenik produced and directed 7 Notes to Infinity, a musical factual film which pays tribute to Indian Classical Music. It tries to explore the universality of music through infinite musical compositions created from 7 Notes to the scale - Sa Re Ga Ma Pa Da Ni. Legendary musicians, the likes of "Chevalier of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres"- Dr M. Balamuralikrishna, Padma Bhushan, T.V.Gopalakrishnan, Prince of the Royal family of Travancore, Aswathi Thirunal Rama Varma, the direct descendant of the great king Maharaja Swathi Thirunal and Sanjay Subrahmanyan feature prominently in the film. The film was produced and launched on the World Music day in Kerala, in association with Saptaparani and State Bank of Travancore.[16][17][18][19][20]

He produced and directed The Monsoon Oracle, a factual film which presents a shocking insight into extraordinary ritualistic practices that are performed every year in Hyderabad to predict the Monsoons and keep infectious diseases at bay.[1][10] The film focuses on people who dedicate their lives to playing the role of oracle to the goddess or to the role of Pothuraju, the goddess’s whip wielding brother. The film narrates stories of hope, faith and uncertainty and presents the psychological and emotional dimensions of assuming these roles.

The Monsoon Oracle has been critically acclaimed and screened at Massachusetts Institute of Technology(MIT)[21] and also at the University of Chicago,[22] .

Early life and Education

He earned his Master’s degree from the London School of Economics specializing in Political Communication and New Media Information and Knowledge Systems. His first Master’s degree was in Anthropology from the University of Hyderabad where he was awarded the University Gold Medal and University Merit Scholarship for Academic Excellence.

Career

Prior to founding Dolsun Media and 7MB, Shrenik worked as the Vice-President (Programming) at MAA TV Network Pvt Ltd where he conceptualized and worked on several top rated shows.

Shrenik also taught 'Information and Politics', 'International Media Development', ‘Information Communication and Society', 'Information Technology and Communication’ to Masters level students at Napier University, Edinburgh, UK. He has also given guest lectures at the University of Westminster, London, UK and at the University of Hyderabad, India, Indian School of Business, Microsoft (India) and so on. He was also associated with the Indian School of Business where he was instrumental in conceptualizing and creating a digital content platform called ‘ISB Knowledge 360’.

In 2008,he was also awarded the Karmaveer Puraskaar, a high Civilian Honour, for commitment to Social Justice and the Environment.

Ad-Films

Shrenik has also made several ad-films. Prominent among them are 'APIIC' Andhra Pradesh Industrial Infrastructure Corporation and ‘Experience Himachal Pradesh’, for Ministry of Tourism (India),Government of India.

As part of his productions, he has interviewed several heads of states and prominent personalities.

Filmography

Year Film
2013 The Monsoon Oracle
2012 7 Notes to Infinity
2011 TreeCycle with Shrenik Rao
2010 Mugabe's Zimbabwe
2007 Denied- This bit of Truth

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Samyuktha K. (2013-01-28). Lifestyle: Books/Art. "Make way for the rain man". Deccan Chronicle (Deccan Chronicle). Retrieved 2013-11-07. 
  2. ↑ "Treecycle". Gaiam TV: Nature & Culture. Gaiam TV. Retrieved 2013-11-07. 
  3. ↑ India. "Indian docu-maker captures Mugabe's horrors". msn news (Microsoft). 2011-04-23. Retrieved 2013-11-08. 
  4. ↑ Paul, Ndou (2011-04-23). Entertainment. "Indian docu-maker captures Mugabe's Zimbabwe". Bulawayo24 (Bulawayo24). Retrieved 2013-11-07. 
  5. ↑ Salvadore, Sarah. Regional: Telugu: Home: Collections: Documentary. "Shrenik Rao at Cannes". The Times of India (Bennett, Coleman & Co. Ltd.). Retrieved 2013-11-07. 
  6. ↑ Verma, Anupam Kant (2011-05-11). Lounge. "The Cannes India package". live mint & The Wall Street Journal (HT Media). Retrieved 2013-11-07. 
  7. ↑ National: Andhra Pradesh. "Indian filmmaker finds acclaim at Cannes". The Hindu (Hyderabad: The Hindu). 2011-05-01. Retrieved 2013-11-07. 
  8. ↑ "Film maker Shrenik Rao on Behind the Headlines (Interview)". SW Radio Africa. SW Radio Africa. 2011-05-02. Retrieved 2013-11-07. 
  9. ↑ Interviews. "Film maker Shrenik Rao Behind the Headlines". Nehanda Radio (Nehanda Radio). 2011-06-11. Retrieved 2013-11-07. 
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 Vishnupriya Bhandaram (2013-02-03). Features: Cinema Plus. "Getting on with the facts". The Hindu (The Hindu). Retrieved 2013-11-08. 
  11. ↑ News. "TVF International picks up Indian film Mugabe's Zimbabwe for worldwide distribution". Business of Cinema (Mumbai: Businessofcinema.com). Retrieved 2013-11-08. 
  12. ↑ "New documentary on Mugabe". TheSouthAfrican.com (Zimbabwe: www.thesouthafrican.com). 2011-04-28. Retrieved 2013-11-08. 
  13. ↑ Udgirkar, Trushna (2011-04-25). Home: None of My Business. "Behind-the-scenes enquiry into Zimbabwe's collapse". mydigitalfc.com (Financial Chronicle). Retrieved 2013-11-08. 
  14. ↑ "Indian film gets international distributor", Indiantelevision.com (Mumbai: Indian Television Dot Com Pvt. Ltd.), 2011-04-30, retrieved 2013-11-08 
  15. ↑ Front Page: Business: Press Releases. "Indian Film Maker Makes Waves Internationally with his Film on Mugabe". The Telegraph (Calcutta, India) (Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh, India: The Telegraph). 2011-04-29. Retrieved 2013-11-07. 
  16. ↑ Saraswathy Nagarajan (2012-06-07). "Infinite compositions". The Hindu (The Hindu). Retrieved 2013-11-07. 
  17. ↑ Suanshu Khurana (2012-06-20). "A Note of Appreciation". The Financial Express (The Indian Express, Ltd.). Retrieved 2013-11-07. 
  18. ↑ "Paens to the 7 notes". The New Indian Express (Kochi: The New Indian Express). 2012-06-14. Retrieved 2013-11-08. 
  19. ↑ IANS (2012-06-09). Home: Entertainment: Music. "Here Comes '7 Notes to Infinity'". ZeeNews (Thiruvananthapuram: Zee Media Corporation Ltd.). Retrieved 2013-11-08. 
  20. ↑ Entertainment: Movies: Malayalam. "Here comes '7 Notes to Infinity', film on Indian classical music". Mathrubhumi (Mathrubhumi). 2012-06-09. Retrieved 2013-11-08. 
  21. ↑ "The Monsoon Oracle - Movie Screening". MIT Sangam. Retrieved January 2014. 
  22. ↑ "Film Screening Monsoon Oracle". Committee on South Asian Studies. Retrieved January 2014. 

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