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Akash

For most people in India, the word Akash means sky. However, for 8 year old starry eyed girl, Bargavi, it means the world...and much more.

Born and raised in Chennai, India, 8 year old Bargavi gives us an intimate and real account of her life in the slums. Her favorite letter in the English alphabet is B, she says, because all her favorite things start with B - Books, Biryani, Bharatnatyam and Batman. Her dad, however, is better than Batman because like batman he doesn't have two names. He only has one name - Kuppusamy. He is sincere, bible abiding and goes great lengths to provide for his family. He owns a tricycle loader that he uses to deliver furniture and recycle rich people's waste. This tricycle is the primary source of income, entertainment and transportation for the family. For Bargavi, it's more than a tricycle. It's a family member. It's what she dearly calls...Akash.

  • Sri Charan
    Director
  • Sri Charan
    Writer
  • Ananthi
    Writer
  • Sri Charan
    Producer
  • Project Type:
    Short
  • Genres:
    Drama, Experimental, Real-Life, Spiritual
  • Runtime:
    18 minutes
  • Completion Date:
    March 18, 2015
  • Country of Origin:
    India
  • Country of Filming:
    India
  • Language:
    Tamil
  • Shooting Format:
    Panasonic GH5S
  • Aspect Ratio:
    16:9
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    Yes
  • Student Project:
    No
Director Biography - Sri Charan

Sri Charan is an Indian American writer/director/producer and the Founder of Aadhya Arts. He moved to the United States to pursue his Masters degree in Civil Engineering, at the University of Florida. During his time at college, Sri also began to pursue his creative interests by assisting local productions. Soon after graduating, he enrolled himself in an acting studio, along with managing his day job as an engineer. He wrote several original scenes for himself and fellow students, during the process of which we discovered his love for screenwriting.

In order to hone in on his screenwriting skills, Sri went on to working closely with some of the most successful Hollywood writers, following which he moved to Los Angeles to work at Sony Pictures Entertainment. During his stint at Sony Pictures, he started an initiative called the ‘Clean Slate Project’ - a step towards promoting education among underprivileged children in India, through the art of filmmaking - and won a grant, awarded by Sony Pictures themselves. ‘Akash’, Clean Slate’s foremost project went on to winning international acclaim and awards too.

Half & Half is Sri's directorial debut feature that he also wrote and produced. He is also co-producing his first Indian feature film in association with Aliwood entertainment, which is due to release in the summer of 2021.

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Director Statement

Akash is based on the real-life story of a child I met in the slums of Chennai. It stands as a tribute to the spirit of human beings which can thrive despite adversity.