Gitanjali Rao (born 1972) is an Indian theatre actress, animator and film maker.

Gitanjali Rao
Born1972 (age 51–52)
Mumbai, India
NationalityIndian
Occupation(s)Film director, animator, actor
Known forPrinted Rainbow
True Love Story
October

Biography and career

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Gitanjali graduated as an applied artist from Sir. J. J. Institute of Applied Art, Mumbai, in 1994. Two animated short films independently produced and directed by her, Orange and 'Printed Rainbow'. Her debut animation short Printed Rainbow (2006) had won the Kodak Short Film Award, Small Golden Rail and the Young Critics Award at Critics Week section at Cannes in 2006. The film has also won the Golden Conch for Best Animation Film in the 2006 Mumbai International Film Festival.[1][2]

She has served in the judge's panel at various festivals including the 2011 Cannes Critic's Week short films jury.[3] In 2013, she directed a segment in Shorts, a compilation of five short films, along with Neeraj Ghaywan, Vasan Bala, Anubhuti Kashyap and Shlok Sharma, and produced by Anurag Kashyap.[4]

At the 2014 Cannes Film Festival, her animated short, True Love Story was one of 10 selected short films at Critics' Week.[5][6]

In 2018, she made her Hindi film debut alongside Varun Dhawan and debutante Banita Sandhu in the coming-of-age drama October directed by Shoojit Sircar. The film, and her performance as Prof. Vidya Iyer, a professor at IIT Delhi and the mother of Sandhu's character, received widespread critical acclaim, and earned her a nomination for the Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actress.

Her latest animated feature Bombay Rose (2019) was one of the International Critics Choice screenings at Poff film festival in Tallinn[7] and was also screened at the Venice International Film Critics Week 2019.[8]

Filmography

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Accolades

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Locarno Film Festival

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As jury

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References

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  1. ^ "Cannes Winners -Cannes Animations on FILMS short". filmsshort.com. Retrieved 21 August 2014.
  2. ^ "People : Matchbox journeys". The Hindu. 10 September 2006. Archived from the original on 13 October 2007. Retrieved 21 August 2014.
  3. ^ "Cannes: Animator Gitanjali Rao's Latest Film Is a Reaction to Bollywood". www.hollywoodreporter.com. 18 May 2014. Retrieved 22 August 2014.
  4. ^ "Shorts hasn't been made for box office: Huma Qureshi". India Today. 25 June 2013. Retrieved 23 August 2014.
  5. ^ "After 'Titli', 'True Love Story' at Cannes film fest". Livemint. 22 April 2014. Retrieved 14 May 2014.
  6. ^ "Cannes falls in love". The Indian Express. 2 May 2014. Retrieved 14 May 2014.
  7. ^ "Bombay Rose - PÖFF - Pimedate Ööde filmifestival". Archived from the original on 28 April 2020. Retrieved 13 November 2019.
  8. ^ "Venice Critics Week". 4 September 2019.
  9. ^ Ramachandran, Naman (31 May 2022). "India's Gitanjali Rao to be Honored With Locarno Kids Award". Variety. Retrieved 11 August 2022.
  10. ^ "Concorso Cineasti del presente: Jury Members". Locarno Festival. Archived from the original on 31 December 2022. Retrieved 11 August 2022.
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