Meet Shreya Thosar | Artist / Filmmaker / Magician

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

Hi Shreya, what matters most to you?
To be true to my Artist. Everyone has their own struggle. Some struggle to follow their dreams because of their life circumstances. Other’s struggle to to know what their purpose is in life. I am privileged enough to say I am following my dreams, working hard to pursue my goal and I do know my purpose in life. If not for Art, I wouldn’t have a voice. What happens growing up is, struggle doesn’t just end at following your dreams. You feel like a wizard in the muggle world until you do, but once you get in the wizard world, you find some great wizards who already exist. To make your own individual voice heard amongst the rest is the real struggle. One tends to get desperate for that, compromises on their Art, focuses on the politics of getting higher known. But despite the storm, the ones that stay true to their core, their artist is the one that shines without realizing. Being true, honest as an Artist to my Art is the value I keep most closest to my heart.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
Art – Telling stories. I do that in different ways. I write, I direct, I also shoot it and edit it. All of these roles seem different to you, they are, they are all different roles on a set. But one thing that’s done in all is telling a story. With an action or dialogue In a script to my visual frame that speaks much more than the words ever did, to Directing my actors to feel for those characters, get into their shoes to then re-writing your film in the edit is all that I love doing. Because it’s always new. What story I tell to a paper, is different to how I make it personal with the actors to how I speak the emotion with lights and camera to then re-doing all of it, still remembering what you actually wanted to say in edit. I am proud of my feature, “BLEEDING HEART”. Its a film about a woman who comes to watch a play, finds her own self trapped in an anatomical bleeding heart with different chambers of her trauma that she has to pass through to let go and to get out of this entrapment. I think I will credit my parents again to how I got here. It had barely anything to do with me. I just kept creating, people supported and made me grow as an Artist. It was actually easy yet very difficult at times. I am the most creative when I surrender to Art. As easy as it sounds, surrendering is not easy. To let go of your consciousness, consciously is never easy. That requires practice. Patience, and Empathy. Empathy to the story you are creating. I credit the power of surrendering to “Art” to Shiva also. Shiva is God in Hindu Mythology. I associate him with Art. Every time I have let go, I have surrendered myself, I have gained the ability to be closer to Shiva and he created the most beautiful Art through me. What lessons I learnt, is to be patient even in the world where filmmakers are fighting tooth and nail to get a job, where everyone’s egos are bigger than the purpose of Art on set and to still maintain the same level of humbleness despite your talent. Is what I have learnt. What I want the world to know is, I exist. I – Shreya Thosar, another crazy filmmaker who exists, who wants to tell stories about universal emotions, who doesn’t believe in having a language as a barrier for telling a story, I am here. I am ready to work and show the world my stories. I want you to see me as who I am.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
If I am going on a shoot the same time, I would probably take my best friend there. To show her that people do respect me on set, something that my best friend definitely doesn’t. Rest, we would like to go to san-diego, Getty, artsy places like that but definitely would come back home for food cause I am the best cook ever.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
Aai Baba – My parents.
They were the reason I am so connected to Art. They both did theatre in their time, my father still works in the Marathi Entertainment Industry, I have seen them talk about films, stories, plays. They created a separate world for me, which was far more different than the real life. We didn’t discuss news, we discussed Shakespeare. Living in stories is all I know. I had to continue that growing up. I wouldn’t know how to dream otherwise.

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/_shreyathosarr_?utm_source=ig_web_button_share_sheet&igsh=ZDNlZDc0MzIxNw==

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/shreya-thosar-52a499309/

Image Credits
Photographers for some – Kushagra Jain