Pan Nalin

Some Lesser Known Facts About Pan Nalin

• Pan Nalin is an Indian-born French filmmaker who has produced several Indian and international documentaries, short films, and feature films. Pan Nalin came to the limelight after his 2021 Gujarati film Chello Show (The Last Film Show) got nominated for the 2023 Oscars in September 2022.

• Pan Nalin’s filmmaking career began when he shifted to Mumbai from Gujarat after completing his formal education.

• In 1988, Pan Nalin worked with the famous Indian cartoonist R. K. Laxman in the Doordarshan comedy TV show Wagle Ki Duniya.

• Pan Nalin made a debut as a director with the 1991 short film The Khajuraho after which he was hired by the Mumbai-based production company Durga Khote Productions, where he made several films which were a commercial success.

• In 1992, after leaving Durga Khote Productions, Pan Nalin moved abroad and began making documentaries for channels like BBC, Discovery, Canal+, and many more. While working with the French Canal+ TV channel, Pan Nalin made documentaries on Shah Rukh Khan and Sridevi, who are well-known Bollywood actors.

• In 1992, along with the French producer Yolande Zauberman, Pan Nalin produced a docudrama film titled Born Criminal (Caste Criminelle), which got nominated at the Cannes Film Festival.

• From 1993 to 1999, Pan Nalin directed and produced many documentaries and films such as The Tulkus, The Nagas, The Doubt, Kaal, The Devadasi, and Amazing World India.

• In 2000, Pan Nalin returned to India and founded his film production company Monsoon Films. Initially, Nalin had established the company in New Delhi, but he shifted the company to Mumbai later on.

• In 2001, Pan Nalin directed Samsara, which was not only released in India but also in France, Germany, Italy, and Switzerland. The film became his first feature film, and it was awarded several awards at events like Durban International Film Festival, Galway Film Fleadh, Melbourne International Film Festival, São Paulo International Film Festival, and many more.

• Later, in the same year, Pan Nalin directed Ayurveda: Art of Being, a documentary film that won the Audience Award at the Indian Film Festival of Los Angeles, held in 2003.

• In 2004, Pan Nalin directed Speaking Tree as a director, which was a documentary film.

• Pan Nalin worked with Milind Soman, a Bollywood actor, in the 2006 independent film titled Valley of Flowers. In 2007, at the Indian Film Festival of Los Angeles, the film won the Jury Award.

  

• In 2013, Pan Nalin produced Faith Connections, a documentary, which was awarded the Audience Choice Award in 2014 at the Indian Film Festival of Los Angeles.

  

• In 2015, Pan Nalin’s Bollywood film Angry Indian Goddesses won the BNL People’s Choice Award at the Rome Film Fest.

  

• The 2016 film 2183 DAYS, which was co-produced by Pan Nalin, was showcased at the Euro Film Festival.

• Pan Nalin worked as a director in the 2017 film titled Beyond The Known World (The Disappearance of Eva Hansen).

• Pan Nalin directed and co-produced the 2021 Gujarati film Chhello Show (The Last Film Show) with Bollywood producer Siddharth Roy Kapur. The film won several accolades at Valladolid International Film Festival, Milwaukee Film Festival, and Mill Valley Film Festival. During an interview, Pan Nalin said that the movie is based on his life during childhood and narrates how he fell in love with cinema. Talking about it, he said,
  

  I wanted to tell a story about the kids who grow up in the countryside and how they start innovating to create their own kind of cinema, and storytelling. Nothing can stop these kids. When you have nothing to lose, nothing should stop you. It is a story of inspiration, hope, valuing family, friends, cinema, storytellers, innocence and innovation. It has reconnected me back with my roots.”

  

  

• In September 2022, the Chello Film became India’s official entry into the 2023 Oscars after getting nominated by the jury of the Film Federation of India (FFI). ^[7]The Times of India

• While talking about his college days, Pan Nalin, during an interview, claimed that he had to take a job as a refiller at a petrol station in Gujarat to pay for his college fees.

• According to an interview given by Pan Nalin, since he was born into a family which was not financially stable, his family could not afford to buy toys for him because of which he used to make shadow play with his friends with the help of a flashlight and the white sari of his mother. While talking about it, Pan Nalin said,
  

  I came from a poor family, so we did not have any toys. So, we would put up my mother’s white saree and use the torch to create shadow plays. Somewhere unconsciously, the light was a fascinating part of my childhood. The torchlight in the night, and the sunlight in the day time it became an integral part of my storytelling.”

• On 29 June 2022, Pan Nalin became the first Gujarati to become a member of the Oscars Committee. ^[8]Indian Express Talking about his selection, he said,
  

  Today, I feel very honored and empowered. Somehow many years ago I chose a path that was very difficult and unwalkable. Today is a glory day. What I did in my solitude finally echoes in multitudes. Thank you, Academy, for believing in my cinema and encouraging me to go on. I am super excited about this new beginning. A new journey commences for me today.”

• In September 2022, after Chello Show got nominated to represent India at the 2023 Oscars, Amul, a food processing company, published a cartoon in several national newspapers congratulating him on his achievement.

  

• In January 2023, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences released a list of 301 feature films eligible for Oscars including Pan Nalin’s Chello Show. ^[9]NDTV