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

Hi Prarthana, how do you think about risk?

Risk taking sounds like a negative word but really it is just stepping out of your comfort zone and trying to create. And any creation is uncertain until you see it through so, as a creative person risk is a part of your daily life and to be welcomed.
And if you are not taking risks then you are not growing as an artist because you are staying in your comfort zone and might become stagnant.

Thankful, I have lived a very organic life with my career meandering in different sectors. This can also become scary sometimes. There are moments where you are desperately trying to hold on to something that is extremely familiar so that it feels like you have come home. That comfort with certain aspects of you work is also necessary and really helps you be rooted. Trick is to maintain that balance. Where you can go venture out and have a risky creative adventure and yet be able to return home to a familiar practice that you have been cultivating for years.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
When I first came to US in 2010, it was as a Masters student studying film-making. I had grown up watching bollywood movies and grew up in a bubble of sorts. Very isolated and with limited world view. When I came to LA, I met people from different parts of the world and watched world cinema. My bubble burst. That was the first start of real growth as an artist. Seeing the world that you didn’t grow up in, really made me think differently. I had to also learn a lot. For first five years of my stay in LA I was constantly playing catch-up. Reading history, listening to audio books and podcasts, watching old shows and movies and staying current just so that I could have a decent conversation with someone.

All of that really made me question, If I had anything to say. Especially because there was so much to learn. The filmmaker and story teller part of me just took a step backwards and I became a student and then a collaborator. I worked as a production manager and as an AD, hoping one day I will get back the strength to speak my voice. After working for years in the industry, and constantly learning, listening and observing, I finally began to rediscover my own voice.

When I was younger, I would ask other filmmakers about the entertainment field and everyone would say that it takes a decade of dedicated work to get somewhere. I would always think that was an exaggeration. But now having gone through it, I have realized it to be true. The entertainment field is so vast and has so many things to learn, different avenues to navigate and this time is very much necessary.

What I have learned is that your education never ends. You constantly learn, adopt, re-ca liberate and grow. That is what I had signed up for when I decided to be a filmmaker and that is the path I have chosen. Initially I used to really think about the outcome as the most important thing but really it is the process and the journey that is the most interesting of all. The end result is the cherry on the cake.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
Los Angeles is so much about international cuisine, beaches, museums, art and of course movies.

On the itinerary would be Malibu beach and lunch at Malibu farms.
A Down town visit to the museums and a walk to see the amazing architecture and Ethiopian meal.
And most certainly, the Huntington garden visit.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
I want to shout out to my architecture professors in India who talk me to think out of the box and for the first time I felt like I was good at something. Their encouragement and inspiration is something I will never forget and keeps me motivated to be creative and honest with my work. Poorva Keskar, Sunil Kulkarni, Sudhanva Kolhatkar and Mayuresh Shirolkar always grateful!

Website: prarthanajoshi.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/prarthanajoshi/

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/prarthanajoshi/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/prarthanajoshi

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/JoshiPrarthana/

Other: https://www.etsy.com/shop/OpenSquareStudio

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