Meet Nath Purandare | Director, Actor and Producer.

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

Hi Nath, how do you think about risk?
“Smooth roads never make good drivers”. For a person coming from an adventure sports background, ‘RISK’ is a very common word yet holds utmost importance. Risks are everywhere, I feel. May it be in starting your own business to literally trying new food items for the first time. I strongly feel that risks should be taken in a calculated manner. Jumping into the films business as an actor/director/producer was itself a big risk which I desperately had to take. One might call it a leap of faith but for me it was just a calling, a calling that had multiple risks of failure. I feel we relate risk directly with failure. But the way I have been brought up, I was taught that not attempting, not jumping in, not knowing and feeling incapable are itself the biggest risks in life. Hence, dealing with risks by taking risks is what i strongly believe in. They have taught me and made me into the human I am today. I don’t think anything big or unique is achievable without risks. Writing and producing a film involving Bollywood actors, planning everything from 10000 miles away and eventually just jumping into it taking everyone with you as well as learning from them at every step was an extremely risky journey. But eventually if you believe in it all, it definitely pays off. I have had this very approach since I started acting and making films, which I would say has been working out decently for me. Calculating the risks plus faith in yourself equals happiness and success. Simple equation I live by.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
I started doing theatre as an actor in college in India. One thing led to another and I started feeling that I need to tell the stories first hand, I need to direct. The journey so far, whatsoever it may be has not been a cake walk for sure. Leaving the country of my origin and settling in another country hoping to make films and tell the world stories is not as easy as it sounds. It all came with immense hurdles which were, I must say, hectic and frustrating at that time but now that I think of it, I sense a smile on my face. I have always wanted to make meaningful stories come to life, giving the audience a different perspective, something to think about as well as entertainment. Entertainment is something that has been with me since childhood. Singing and dancing in family functions, mimicking actors and personalities ,why? Just so that I could see the awe, the happiness, the fear, the confusion on the faces in front of me. This is all I wanted and this is all I would want up ahead as well. I would want to be the reason behind people’s escape into another world. I work towards being a storyteller of consequence as well as someone who would unknowingly, subtly end up inspiring people into taking their respecting leaps of faiths.
My most recent film, ZAMEER starring Mr. Jackie Shroff was a humble attempt at achieving all this. I still think about the whole process with my team and talent, I am still left a little surprised as well as proud of everyone looking back at how we all made it happen through all the problems and issues. As a director, I met a different side of me for the first time who is a good problem solver as well as a scary person (only if the time and situation demand it, of course!) Something that I got to learn through all these years working as an actor/director in theatre and films is that whatever you do, you do for the people, so there no ignoring the popular belief. But if you want to break the stream and go against it, then you need immense power of belief in yourself and your people regarding what you want to create.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
Firstly, I would want that person to spend enough time with me so that he would understand what I do and love as well as I would understand the same about him/her. I would definitely love to take that person out on a ‘Let’s try new food’ spree, enjoying Korean, Japanese, Vietnamese, Italian etc. foods. I would love to take that person to Jinya Ramen bar as it is one of my favorite places to eat in Burbank.
I would love to introduce that person to all my friends from the industry. Writers, actors, producers coming from different backgrounds with a variety of stories. Hollywood Walk of Fame would be a place to hang out for an evening, sipping on Ghirardelli’s hot chocolate.
I love some spots like the Mullholand drive from where you see the whole city. It makes one feel so tiny and I love it! I would love to take the person out to such spots every night of his/her stay. L.A has a lot of interesting places to see but most interestingly, the people here have so much to offer. I would love to just take that person out to meet new people for the both of us. And then of course, a gossip session between just us followed by that. I would love to take the person for some amazing hikes like ‘A bridge to nowhere’ that are so scenic and exciting.

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?
I would be honored to mention my father, Prasad Purandare for being everything for me right from my horse riding instructor to my mentor and guide through the industry. He is someone I genuinely look up to keeping an idea of what kind of a person I would want to be ahead. I would want to mention Jackie Shroff, a very talented and veteran Bollywood star who believed in me and trusted me with himself for our recent film together. With these people, all my friends and team whom I have worked with for so many years now both in India as well as Los Angeles have played an important role in making me what I am today and are still onto the task.

Instagram: @nathpurandare. https://www.instagram.com/nathpurandare?igsh=YTQwZjQ0NmI0OA%3D%3D&utm_source=qr

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nath-purandare-2639832a1/

Other: 7 Marbles Studios.
My own production studio.

Instagram link: https://www.instagram.com/7marblesstudios?igsh=MXd1amtuOWE5M2d4dA%3D%3D&utm_source=qr

Image Credits
Self owned images.