Meet Rajendra Thakurathi | Filmmaker

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

Hi Rajendra, what’s one piece of conventional advice that you disagree with?
That hard work necessarily leads to success. While it may be partially true, I think there are a lot of other important factors that lead to success. Perseverance, for instance, is highly important, and so is luck. Then there’s the physical, mental, emotional and social well-being. If you are doing only hard work and neglecting the others, you’ll wear out quickly and the effect is going to seep into your work.  –

Please tell us more about your art. We’d love to hear what sets you apart from others, what you are most proud of or excited about. How did you get to where you are today professionally. Was it easy? If not, how did you overcome the challenges? What are the lessons you’ve learned along the way. What do you want the world to know about you or your brand and story?
I’m primarily a filmmaker who specialize in writing, directing and editing. I have worked in over 200 film, tv and online projects in various capacities. Some of the favorite projects that I have been part of include 20th Century Fox’s Barbarian, Disney Pixar’s Onward, Warner Brothers’ Young Sheldon, youtube hit show Good Mythical Morning, among others.

The love of the medium and the potential it carries to entertain and captivate audiences across cultures, regions and languages is what I love about this medium. I got where I’m today with the love for this medium. From a young age, I used to love taking pictures of anything I could find. Then when I got introduced to handycams, my days were spent daydreaming and following insects and birds, imagining myself as a national Geographic photographer. Slowly, these turned into narrative work and I started sharing with people and getting responses from them. This ultimately turned into a career and I love every part of it. Ok, not every part. There are a lot of challenges in this field. It’s like climbing a mountain. You think you know you’re going somewhere, but in honesty, no one does. Maybe that’s why it’s not something that’s easily encouraged or pursued. Or even if it’s pursued, after some setbacks, people careen to other paths that are much more stable and have a favorable outcome.

Working and making content of my own, the biggest lesson that I have learned is that we are all humans at the end of the day, no matter what skin color we have, what language we speak and what line of work we are in. There are more things in common between us than the differences.

About my brand, while comedy and fantasy are my go-to genres, I like to experiment with other genres and like to have fun. If I fail, I fail. I get up, dust off my knees and move on to do something next. 

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
I like to take them to the beaches. Venice is my favorite although Malibu and some quiet beaches are also nice to watch sunset in the evening. There are the regulars that you can find on any trip advisor guides, but I like to show them lesser known museums or private screenings where we have filmmakers in person. For eating, depending on the mood, I do make sure they try Korean BBQ places.

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 are so many people who deserve this credit as no artist achieves anything in vacuum. Individualistic thinking is only for the immature. I have learned something new from my parents, my family, my friends and my peers. The last time I did the Shoutout Series, I gave shout outs to the usual suspects like them, but this time I wanted to give shout outs to strangers and new people who come across my content. There is already so much content out there, yet these new audiences are gracious enough to try something new and that’s so important for us artists. Majority of the audience is made up of people like them and I appreciate that.

Website: http://www.rajendrathakurathi.com/

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

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rajendra-thakurathi-84774015/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/rthakurathi