Meet Aashish Chanana | Award Winning Film Director

We had the good fortune of connecting with Aashish Chanana and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Aashish, is there a quote or affirmation that’s meaningful to you?
Nothing is IMPOSSIBLE because the word impossible says… I M POSSIBLE!

Being a die-hard optimist and someone who always looks at the ‘positive’, in every situation, I believe that with hard work and undeviating focus, nothing is unachievable.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
I feel I have the most interesting and gratifying job in the world.

If you leave behind the photography, the science, the sound and visual effects, and all technical jargon that we need to make a film, the bottom line is that we are just ‘story tellers’.

How can any job in the world be any more fun than that – right?

The only stimulant required, is PASSION – the one thing that is indispensable. I believe that powerful films can bring awareness in the world and contribute towards a positive change.

Where did I start?

Well, have you ever heard of driving South and ending up going North and still getting to your desired destination? Thats what I was doing… by following my heart!

I designed and invented the first electric car in India and was awarded a gold medal from the President of India. The natural next step for me was to purse Automobile engineering and maybe bring EV’s like TESLA’s to the world a long time back. Even after I was awarded scholarships from major colleges, globally I followed my heart and pursued a career to make movies!

I started my career as an actor. I was fortunate to have been offered lead roles and the opportunity to work with some amazing people in the Bollywood industry.

It’s the journey that made me realize that my true calling was to be a Director, someone who could creatively tell stories and touch people’s hearts. I was always impressed with Bollywood Directors Raj Kapoor, Mahesh Bhatt and now Raj Kumar Hirani and while I was waiting to someday work with them I enjoyed studying their films and their lives.

At that time I may not have realized, even though my friends would say it all the time, but now I do… that my passion was extreme… more like an obsession. Thats how much I wanted to make movies and tell compelling stories.

Whats interesting is, like I said above… it’s a journey… from an actor to a Director and now a Director who wants to make an impact on people’s lives. And thats why subjects like anti terrorism and now human trafficking affect me and in-turn, I want to help change those who have been victimized.

– My recent film, AFREEN on Religious Terrorism has won overwhelmingly positive responses along with more than 60 Awards and Nominations and National Awards for Best Film and Best Director from literally all over the world.

– During COVID last year, I shot a thriller, OBSESSIONS. In short the film is about the new world we live in, where Fame is just an illusion and infamy is an unstoppable obsession.

– While I am waiting for the WAR on Ukraine to get over, so that I could film my next film in Europe, Russia and parts of Asia and the Middle East – I have been hired by UNIVERSAL and am directing 2 shows for them.

– My next feature, EMILY (in pre-production) is another hard hitting and topical film about Human
Trafficking.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
Malibu for sure. I love the beaches here in California and Malibu is literally where I live.

I love to hang out at The Grove – the place has a great vibe. Specially around Christmas.

The Palms on Hollywood Blvd – one of my fav Thai food places.

And for Sushi, I love to go to The Landing Grill & Sushi Bar in Westlake Village. It’s by the lake. Food is great and being by the lake, the overall ambiance is so overwhelming.

If I have time, surely Napa Valley and Lake Tahoe. I drive a lot, so distances don’t matter to me if I could avoid traffic, that is 🙂

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
There will always be 2 people in particular, who I have always looked up at and consider them my inspiration in more ways than one.

Growing up the only person I idolized was my father and I wanted to be like him in so many ways. He was an economist, a professor, and later a Senator. His knowledge about everything was beyond measure, and that’s probably why he was nominated into the Indian Parliament and then became a Senator. Idolizing him, however, did not mean that I wanted to follow in his career footsteps, but rather emulate the person he was.
His energy, his love, his kindness, and his patience in the most difficult times. His selfless desire to help the poor and the underprivileged, just cannot be put into words. That’s the kind of person I strive to be, and I like to think that my work to make the entertainment industry more diverse is something my father is deeply proud of. At least I hope so!

As a Filmmaker focused on raising awareness of important social justice issues, I’m con!dent my father would be proud of the work I’m doing and the films I’m creating.

Sylvester Stallone – The one person, in Hollywood I have always idolized and would hope to meet someday. There’s so much I could learn from him and his impressive career. For me he is not just an actor but an institution.
His life, his journey, his failure and successes are all things I admire about him and always will.

Website: http://aashishchanana.com/

Instagram: aashish_chanana

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/aashish-chanana-7b6429177/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/Aash_0005

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=anzAVfa4_M8&t=469s

Image Credits
Image credits – Media Factory