Lia Chang: DOGS LIE, Starring Samrat Chakrabarti, Frank Boyd and Ewa Da Cruz, Nabs ”Best Film (USA)” and ”Feature Film Audience Award” at 2011 ITN Distribution Film and New Media Festival

Samrat Chakrabarti © Lia Chang

Dogs Lie, Richard Atkinson’s latest indie feature starring Samrat Chakrabarti (Elle Magazine Top 100 Talents to watch), Frank Boyd and Ewa Da Cruz, scored two awards, for “Best Film” (USA) and the “Feature Film Audience Award,” at the 2011 ITN Distribution Film and New Media Festival in New York.

“It was a great thrill for all involved to receive recognition,” said director Richard Atkinson. “The movie will be released in 2012 and will highlight a cast of rapidly rising acting talent……I’m sure we will be seeing a lot more of Samrat Chakrabarti, Frank Boyd and Ewa Da Cruz… they have all been involved in multiple movie and TV projects since we shot Dogs Lie….they are exceptional …TNA World Wrestling Champion, Ken Anderson, has a feature role as Yuri a Russian mobster. It all makes for great entertainment with unexpected twists and turns.”

Dogs Lie won “Honorable Mention” at the Los Angeles Movie Awards 2011 and was an “Official Selection” at The Big Apple Film Festival (BAFF) in NY, the La Femme International Film Festival in LA, and the Filmi SE Asian Film Festival in Toronto, where it was the “showcase feature.”

Samrat Chakrabarti plays Iqbal Khani, a likeable, conscientious clinician and romantic opportunist, alongside Frank Boyd as Josh Logan, a clinician who is a compulsive jokester with a competitive streak. The two are thrown together with eight patients at a luxury NY sleep clinic for a night of monitoring and observation. As the night progresses dark secrets are revealed. The beautiful Lucia ( Ewa Da Cruz), a patient, finds herself the center of attention as her life seemingly spins out of control. Nothing is quite as it seems. romance, blackmail and murder ensue as humor and irreverence give way to devious self interest.

Shiv on the drums, Samrat Chakrabarti, Bakwas Bumbug co-creator, co-director and composer in rehearsal at DANY Studios in New York on 6/16/11. © 2011 Lia Chang

I caught up with the award-winning actor and internationally acclaimed musician at The Wild Project in New York in June, after the opening night performance of Desipina and Co.’s 70 minute workshop production of Bakwas Bumbug, an electrifying musical reinvention of A Christmas Carol, told thru the looking glass of NYC Immigrants and Hyphenated America, for which Chakrabarti composed the score, co-directed and co-wrote the book and lyrics with Sanjiv Jhaveri.

Opening night for the cast and creative team of Bakwas Bumbug at The Wild Project in the East Village on June 22, 2011. (L-R) front row- Rehana Lew Mirza, Rohi Mirza Pandya, Lipica Shah, J. Kaitlin Becker, Roopa Mahadevan; back row Shiv, Nick Choksi, Kiarri D. Andrews, Sanjiv Jhaveri, Ryan Kim, Christian Carter, Andrew Guilarte and Samrat Chakrabarti. Photo by Lia Chang

The rehearsal photographs of Bakwas Bumbug were featured in my display of photographs at the Library of Congress in July entitled, “In Rehearsal,” and are now part of the Lia Chang Theater Photography Portfolio in the Asian American Pacific Islander Collection of the Asian Division at the Library of Congress.

Samrat Chakrabarti Photo by Lia Chang

Chakrabarti is best known for his film roles in The Waiting City (as Krishna), Kissing Cousins (as Amir) and The Wedding Weekend (as Will). On TV he has appeared in “30 Rock” (as Ramesh), “In Treatment” (as Arun Sanyal) opposite Irrfan Khan (HBO), “Damages” (as Manu Singh), “Outsourced” (HBO), “The Horrible Terrible Misadventures of David Atkins,” “Bored to Death,” and recently shot an episode of “A Gifted Man.”

Film projects in the can include A.J. Carter’s Extinction, Dagen Merrill’s Murder in the Dark, Salim Khassa’s Desperate Endeavors and Michael Walker’s Price Check, starring Indie Queen Parker Posey, which premieres at the Sundance Film Festival 2012 in January. Chakrabarti recently worked on Blemished Light with Victor Banerjee; Kamal Hassan’s Viswaroopam, with Pooja Kumar, Andrea Jeremiah, Rahul Bose, Amy Jackson, Shekar Kapur and Jaideep Ahlawat; and can soon be seen as Wee Willie Winkie in Deepa Mehta’s Midnight’s Children, based on the novel by Salman Rushdie.

Chakrabarti was dubbed the “independent film king of New York” when three short films he was starring in – Rehana Mirza’s Zameer & Preeti: A Love Story, Shiva Shankar Bajpai’s Raju and Soham Mehta’s Fatakra – screened at the New York Indian Film Festival in May. He also composed the score for Fatakra, which has garnered accolades at Film Festivals across the country including a Student Academy Award, the Linda Mabalot New Directors/New Visions award from the 2011 LOS ANGELES ASIAN PACIFIC FILM FESTIVAL and the Audience Award for Best Short at the 2011 Sarasota Film Festival.

Samrat Chakrabarti Photo by Lia Chang

Chakrabarti’s film credits include Italo Spinelli’s Gangor, Shilpa Sunthankar’s Seeta’s Demon, Joseph Mathew’s Bombay Summer, Kabir Khan’s New York, Shailja Gupta’s Walkaway, Bruce Leddy’s Sing Now, Sai Selvarajan’s Joy Lies, and Manish Acharya’s Loins of Punjab of Presents alongside Shabana Azmi. He has also had roles in Spike Lee’s She Hate Me, Leonardo Ricagni’s Indocumentados, Jonathan Betzler’s Homecoming, Manan Katahora’s Arya, Ajay Naidu’s Ashes and Joseph Castelo’s The War Within which was nominated for an Indie Spirit Award. In addition, he has appeared in Gareeb Nawaz’s Taxi, Robert Harte’s Finding Graceland, Anjaan Dutt’s The Bong Connection with Victor Banerjee, Sarba Das’s Karma Calling, Randall Krongard’s Override, Manan Katahora’s Arya and When Kiran Met Karen, Joseph Matthews’ Days of Love and Loss with Tanishtha Chatterjee, Raj Basu’s Piyalir Password and and Suman Ghosh’s Dwando.

Chakrabarti is the recipient of a U.S. CARA for Best Original Pop/Rock Song for his composition “What’s It all About” and the 2010 TMG Award for Global Achievers in the category of Film, TV and Drama, for his outstanding body of work as an actor. Samrat Chakrabarti Website

Vanguard Cinema LA, who specialize in the indie genre, will distribute the film in the USA. Dogs Lie is a Top Movie llc production. Contact info@dogslie.com Website http://www.dogslie.com

Other Articles by Lia Chang:
Click here for more articles on Samrat Chakrabarti.
Sudhish Kamath’s Good Night | Good Morning Starring Manu Narayan and Seema Rahmani in Theaters on January 20, 2012
Cindy Cheung Debuts SPEAK UP CONNIE…Her Solo Show at Stage Left Studio, January 17-25, 2012
Mu Daiko 15th Anniversary Concert and Minnesota Tour, February 9-19, 2012
Aaron Lazar, Kate Baldwin, P.J. Griffith, Raul Aranas Set for the Dallas Theater Center/Public Theater Co-Production of Giant at the Wyly Theatre, January 18 – February 19, 2012
CHINGLISH Celebrates 100th Performance on January 5, 2012 – Meet David Henry Hwang & his Cast at the Lin Sing Association in NY Chinatown
Photos: Yellow Fever Playwright Rick Shiomi Explores New Territory with An All-Female Cast
Oscar L. Tang, David Liu, Dominic Ng, Pichet Ong to Receive 2011 MOCA Legacy Awards at Cipriani Wall Street on 12/12; Performances by Chinglish’s Jennifer Lim and Gary Wilmes
Photos: Kathie Lee Gifford at the 2011 Lord & Taylor Fifth Avenue Christmas Windows Unveiling in New York
Photos: Fall Foliage at Devil’s Lake State Park
Photos: David Henry Hwang, Jennifer Lim, Leigh Silverman, Samuel L. Jackson, Kenny Leon, David Ives, Douglas Carter Beane and More at The Drama Desk & Fordham University Theatre Program’s “Anatomy of a Breakout” Panel
Photos: Backstage with the Cast of Chinglish and David Henry Hwang at the Longacre Theatre
Coming to America through The Angel Island Immigration Station
Broadwayworld.com Photo Flash: Library of Congress’ IN REHEARSAL Exhibit
Lia Chang Theater Portfolio at Library of Congress Features Photos of Thom Sesma’s Makeup Transformation as Scar in Disney’s The Lion King Las Vegas, Robert Lee and Leon Ko’s Heading East Starring BD Wong, David Henry Hwang’s Chinglish, and Samrat Chakrabarti and Sanjiv Jhaveri’s Bakwas Bumbug! on View Through August 2
Photos: “How To Succeed” stars Daniel Radcliffe, Rose Hemingway and John Larroquette at Lord & Taylor for Windows Unveiling
Click here for the Lia Chang Articles Archive and here for the Lia Chang Photography Website.

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Lia Chang Photo by Brianne Michelle Photography

Lia Chang is an actor, performance and fine art botanical photographer, and an award-winning multimedia journalist.

Lia made her stage debut as Liat in the National Tour of South Pacific, with Robert Goulet and Barbara Eden, and has since documented her colleagues and contemporaries in the arts, fashion and journalism as a photographer and videographer, collaborating with other artists, organizations and companies to establish their documentary photo archive and social media presence. Lia was featured as Joy in the Signature Theater Company’s revival of Sam Shepard’s 1965 Obie award winning play, Chicago directed by Joseph Chaikin at the Public Theater. She has appeared in Wolf, New Jack City, Kiss Before Dying, King of New York, Big Trouble in Little China, The Last Dragon, Taxman, “As the World Turns,” “Another World,” and “New York Undercover”. Lia currently plays Nurse Lia on “One Life to Live”.

Selections of Lia’s archive of Asian Pacific Americans in the arts, fashion, journalism, politics and space are now in the newly created LIA CHANG THEATER PHOTOGRAPHY PORTFOLIO in the ASIAN PACIFIC AMERICAN PERFORMING ARTS COLLECTION housed in the Library of Congress Asian Division’s Asian American Pacific Islander Collection.

Lia’s portraits and performance photos have appeared in Vanity Fair, Gourmet, German Elle, Women’s Wear Daily, The Paris Review, TV Guide, Daily Variety, Interior Design, American Theatre, Broadwayworld.com, Life & Style, OUT, New York Magazine, InStyle, Timeout.com, Villagevoice.com, Playbill.com, Theatermania.com, thelmagazine.com, The Wall Street Journal, Financial Times, USA Today, The Boston Globe, New York Times and Washington Post. A former syndicated arts and entertainment columnist for KYODO News, Lia is the New York Bureau Chief for AsianConnections.com. She writes about culture, style and Asian American issues for a variety of publications and this Backstage Pass with Lia Chang blog.

All text, graphics, articles & photographs: © 2000-2011 Lia Chang Multimedia. All rights reserved. All materials contained on this site are protected by United States copyright law and may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, displayed, published or broadcast without the prior written permission of Lia Chang. You may not alter or remove any trademark, copyright or other notice from copies of the content. For permission, please contact Lia at liachangpr@gmail.com.

Lia Chang Photos: Experience Christmas in June with Samrat Chakrabarti and Sanjiv Jhaveri’s “Bakwas Bumbug” at The Wild Project in NY through June 26

Opening night for the cast and creative team of Bakwas Bumbug at The Wild Project in the East Village on June 22, 2011. (L-R) front row- Rehana Lew Mirza, Rohi Mirza Pandya, Lipica Shah, J. Kaitlin Becker, Roopa Mahadevan; back row Shiv, Nick Choksi, Kiarri D. Andrews, Sanjiv Jhaveri, Ryan Kim, Christian Carter, Andrew Guilarte and Samrat Chakrabarti. Photo by Lia Chang

Last night, I got a taste of Christmas in June, Desi style, at The Wild Project in the East Village, where Bakwas Bumbug, an electrifying musical reinvention of A Christmas Carol, told thru the looking glass of NYC Immigrants and Hyphenated America, composed by Samrat Chakrabarti and featuring a book and lyrics by Sanjiv Jhaveri and Samrat Chakrabarti, is being presented as a 70 minute workshop production through June 26, 2011.

Sanjiv Jhaveri and Samrat Chakrabarti, co-creators and co-directors of Bakwas Bumbug at The Wild Project in the East Village after the opening night performance on June 22, 2011. Photo by Lia Chang

Presented by Desipina and Co. (Rehana Lew Mirza, Artistic Director & Rohi Mirza Pandya, Producing Director), Samrat Chakrabarti and Sanjiv Jhaveri’s Bakwas Bumbug is a delicious treat, poignant, touching, and laugh out loud funny. I highly recommend you see one of the remaining four performances which are Thursday – Saturday at 8pm, and a matinee on Sunday at 2pm. The Wild Project is located at 195 East 3rd Street, between Ave A & B in New York,Tickets are $10 and can be purchased online at http://www.desiclub.com/bakwas or https://www.ovationtix.com/trs/pr/842695.

Bakwas Bumbug cast with co-creator and co-director Sanjiv Jhaveri in rehearsal at DANY Studios in New York on 6/16/11. © 2011 Lia Chang

Bakwas Bumbug , the first Indian American full length musical written, composed & performed by the Diaspora, has a raw in-your-face energy that combines the angst of shows like RENT and AMERICAN IDIOT with an Eastern melodic flair. The very talented cast of this Popera (pop opera) includes Kiarri D. Andrews, J. Kaitlin Becker, Christian Carter, Nick Choksi, Andrew Guilarte, Ryan Kim, Roopa Mahadevan and Lipica Shah. Equally interesting to watch is Samrat Chakrabarti who co-wrote the book and lyrics and composed the score, playing the keys without sheet music and orchestrating the show.

Shiv on the drums, Samrat Chakrabarti, Bakwas Bumbug co-creator, co-director and composer in rehearsal at DANY Studios in New York on 6/16/11. © 2011 Lia Chang

Bakwas Bumbug also features Shiv on the drums and Tony in the booth. The creative team includes lighting design by Jeff McCrum, costume design by Jenny Fisher and set design by Shehab Hossain.

The cast of Bakwas Bumbug in rehearsal at DANY Studios in New York on 6/16/11. © 2011 Lia Chang

Thanks also to Chakrabarti and Jhaveri who allowed me to come photodocument their rehearsal of Bakwas Bumbug for my collection at The Library of Congress, The Lia Chang Asian Pacific American Theater Photography and Other Works Portfolio. Some of the photos from rehearsal will be on display at The Library of Congress from July 23-30, 2011 in Washington D.C.

The cast of Bakwas Bumbug in rehearsal at DANY Studios in New York on 6/16/11. © 2011 Lia Chang

Sakina Jaffrey congratulates Samrat Chakrabarti after the opening night performance of Bakwas Bumbug at The Wild Project in the East Village on June 22, 2011. © 2011 Lia Chang

Bakwas Bumbug
June 23-26, 2011
The Wild Project
195 E. 3rd St., btwn Ave A & B
New York

Thursday -Saturday at 8pm
Sunday 2pm
Desipina & Co. Website

Other Articles by Lia Chang:
Photos: Rick Shiomi Checks out Performing Arts Playwrights Series in the Asian American Pacific Islander Collection of Library of Congress; Attends “Asian American Plays for a New Generation” Book Signing in NY
Lia Chang Theater Portfolio at Library of Congress Features Photos of Thom Sesma’s Makeup Transformation as Scar in Disney’s The Lion King Las Vegas, Robert Lee and Leon Ko’s Heading East Starring BD Wong, David Henry Hwang’s Chinglish, and Samrat Chakrabarti and Sanjiv Jhaveri’s Bakwas Bumbug!
Photos: Desipina & Co presents Samrat Chakrabarti & Sanjiv Jhaveri’s “Bakwas Bumbug” at The Wild Project, 6/22-26
Photos: Samrat Chakrabarti, Soham Mehta and Shiva Shankar Bajpai at the New York Indian Film Festival
Click here for other articles on Samrat Chakrabarti.
Multimedia: The River Crosses Rivers Opening Night Photos

Lia Chang Photos: Desipina & Co. presents Samrat Chakrabarti and Sanjiv Jhaveri’s “Bakwas Bumbug” at The Wild Project in NY, June 22-26

(L-R) Samrat Chakrabarti, Bakwas Bumbug co-creator, co-director and composer, Shiv on the drums, Lipica Shaw and Nick Choksi in rehearsal,at DANY Studios in New York on 6/16/11. © 2011 Lia Chang

From June 22-26, 2011, Desipina and Co. (Rehana Lew Mirza, Artistic Director & Rohi Mirza Pandya, Producing Director) is presenting Bakwas Bumbug, an electrifying musical reinvention of A Christmas Carol, told thru the looking glass of NYC Immigrants and Hyphenated America, composed by Samrat Chakrabarti and featuring a book and lyrics by Sanjiv Jhaveri and Samrat Chakrabarti, at The Wild Project, 195 East 3rd Street, between Ave A & B in New York.

Bakwas Bumbug cast with co-creator and co-director Sanjiv Jhaveri in rehearsal at DANY Studios in New York on 6/16/11. © 2011 Lia Chang

The five workshop performances for Bakwas Bumbug are Wednesday – Saturday at 8pm, and a Sunday matinee at 2pm. Tickets are $10 and can be purchased online at http://www.desiclub.com/bakwas or https://www.ovationtix.com/trs/pr/842695.

The cast of Bakwas Bumbug in rehearsal at DANY Studios in New York on 6/16/11. © 2011 Lia Chang

Bakwas Bumbug has a raw in-your-face energy that combines the angst of shows like RENT and AMERICAN IDIOT with an Eastern melodic flair. Kiarri D. Andrews, J. Kaitlin Becker, Christian Carter, Nick Choksi, Andrew Guilarte, Ryan Kim, Roopa Mahadevan and Lipica Shah are featured in the workshop production of this Popera (pop opera) that shares catchy, soulful and haunting melodies.

The cast of Bakwas Bumbug with co-creator and co-director Sanjiv Jhaveri in rehearsal at DANY Studios in New York on 6/16/11. © 2011 Lia Chang

Bakwas Bumbug, the first Indian American full length musical written, composed & performed by the Diaspora, features Samrat on the keys, Shiv on the drums and Tony in the booth. The creative team includes lighting design by Jeff McCrum, costume design by Jenny Fisher and set design by Shehab Hossain.

Bakwas Bumbug
June 22-26, 2011
The Wild Project
195 E. 3rd St., btwn Ave A & B
New York
Wednesday-Saturday at 8pm
Sunday 2pm
Desipina & Co. Website

Sanjiv Jhaveri has been a professional actor for the last 14 years with credits in theatre, TV, film, voice-overs, and audiobooks. He has a long history of working with Desipina and Samrat Chakrabarti.

Sanjiv Jhaveri, co-creator and co-director of Bakwas Bumbug in rehearsal at DANY Studios in New York on June 16, 2011. Photo by Lia Chang

With Desipina, he has served as a writer, director, associate producer, and dialect coach. With Samrat Chakrabarti, in addition to Bakwas Bumbug, he has co written three 11-minute musicals for Desipina’s highly successful “7-11 Convenience Theatre”: A Very Desi Christmas, Soonderella, and Who Killed Mr. Naidu First?. He is very proud of his long collaboration and friendship with Samrat Chakrabarti, as this synergy always shines through all of their work.

Samrat Chakrabarti, Bakwas Bumbug co-creator, co-director and composer in rehearsal at DANY Studios in New York on 6/16/11. © 2011 Lia Chang

Samrat Chakrabarti, co-creator, co-writer and composer of Bakwas Bumbug, is an award-winning actor and internationally acclaimed musician. His musical collaborators include: Robert Brustein (founder of Yale Repertory Theatre & American Repertory Theatre), Sabir Khan (son of musical maestro Ustad Sultan Khan), Jared Stein (from the Broadway show American Idiot), Deborah S. Craig (from the Broadway show The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee), Roo (from the band, House Jacks), Meetu Chilana (from Cirque Du Soleil), Manu Narayan (from the Broadway show Bombay Dreams), John Clark, Ajay Naidu and others. Chakrabarti has also composed music for over a dozen films, including, Rehana Mirza’s Hiding Divya, Ted Wallach’s Oil: A Love Story, Sundaram Tagore’s Natvar Bhavsar: Poetics of Color,and Manish Acharya’s Loins of Punjab Presents. He is the recipient of a U.S. CARA for Best Original Pop/Rock Song for his composition “What’s It all About” and the 2010 TMG Award for Global Achievers in the category of Film, TV and Drama, for his outstanding body of work as an actor.

Samrat Chakrabarti Photo by Lia Chang

Chakrabarti recently starred in three short films- Rehana Mirza’s Zameer & Preeti: A Love Story, Shiva Shankar Bajpai’s Raju and Soham Mehta’s Fatakra – that screened at the New York Indian Film Festival in May. Chakrabarti also composed the score for Fatakra, which has garnered accolades at Film Festivals across the country including a Student Academy Award, the Linda Mabalot New Directors/New Visions award from the 2011 LOS ANGELES ASIAN PACIFIC FILM FESTIVAL and the Audience Award for Best Short at the 2011 Sarasota Film Festival.

Film projects in the can include A.J. Carter’s Extinction, Deepa Mehta’s Winds of Change, Dagen Merrill’s Murder in the Dark, Michael Walker’s Price Check, Salim Khassa’s Desperate Endeavors and Richard Atkinson’s Dogs Lie, which received an “Honorable Mention” in the Narrative Feature Category at the 2011 Los Angeles Movie Awards. His recent guest starring appearances on TV include “Outsourced” (HBO), “In Treatment” opposite Irrfan Khan (HBO), “30 ROCK” (NBC) “The Horrible Terrible Misadventures of David Atkins,” and “Bored to Death.”
Samrat Chakrabarti Website

The cast of Bakwas Bumbug with co-creator, co-director and composer Samrat Chakrabarti in rehearsal at DANY Studios in New York on 6/16/11. © 2011 Lia Chang

The cast of Bakwas Bumbug in rehearsal at DANY Studios in New York on 6/16/11. © 2011 Lia Chang

Other Articles by Lia Chang:
Photos: Christmas in June w/ Samrat Chakrabarti and Sanjiv Jhaveri’s “Bakwas Bumbug” at The Wild Project in NY-6/26
Photos: Samrat Chakrabarti, Soham Mehta and Shiva Shankar Bajpai at the New York Indian Film Festival
Click here for other articles on Samrat Chakrabarti.
Multimedia: The River Crosses Rivers Opening Night Photos

Lia Chang Video: Aroon Shivdasani interviews The Waiting City’s Samrat Chakrabarti at the 10th Annual Mahindra Indo-American Arts Council (MIAAC) Film Festival

Indo-American Arts Council founder and executive director Aroon Shivdasani and Samrat Chakrabarti at the 10th annual Mahindra Indo-American Arts Council (MIAAC) Film Festival at the SVA Theater in New York on November 12, 2010. © Lia Chang

Claire McCarthy’s cross-cultural drama The Waiting City, starring Radha Mitchell, Joel Edgerton and Samrat Chakrabarti, will be released on DVD on May 31, 2011, by Entertainment One.

After the film was screened at the Toronto International Film Festival in September, 2009, Chakrabarti was named one of the Fresh Faces at TIFF by thestar.com, for his role as Krishna. Linda Barnard of thestar.com wrote, “The high point of The Waiting City, about an Australian couple in Calcutta to adopt a child, is the lively and hilarious performance of Samrat Chakrabarti as Krishna, a meddlesome worker at the hotel where the Aussies stay. Befriending them and inserting himself into their lives, he digs out their secrets and gives unsolicited advice, in what seems like a typical Bollywood comic turn by an Indian actor.”

Samrat Chakrabarti, author Jhumpa Lahiri and Glee’s Iqbal Theba at the 10th annual Mahindra Indo-American Arts Council (MIAAC) Film Festival at the SVA Theater in New York on November 12, 2010. © 2010 Lia Chang

Last November, I attended the sold-out screening of The Waiting City at the 10th annual Mahindra Indo-American Arts Council (MIAAC) Film Festival at the SVA Theater in New York. After the screening, Indo-American Arts Council founder and executive director Aroon Shivdasani interviewed Chakrabarti about his experience working on The Waiting City. Watch the video below.

It was a big night for Chakrabarti, who had three films at the festival, appearing as an actor in Claire McCarthy’s The Waiting City and Ajay Naidu’s Ashes, and creating the score for Sundaram Tagor’s documentary The Poetics of Color: Natvar Bhavsar, which screened the night before. Chakrabarti, who is also an award-winning musician, is the recipient of the 2010 TMG Award for Global Achievers in the category of Film, TV and Drama, for his outstanding body of work as an actor. Click here for Samrat’s reel.

Bonus features on the DVD include commentary by director Claire McCarthy and actors Radha Mitchell and Joel Edgerton, a featurette and cast and crew interviews.

Other Articles by Lia Chang:
Samrat Chakrabarti stars in Soham Mehta’s Fatakra, Shiva Bajpal’s Raju, and Rehana Mirza’s Zameer & Preeti at NYIFF
Nan Melville’s Documentary ‘Nrityagram: For the Love of Dance’ screens at the Newport Beach Film Festival on May 3
11th Annual New York Indian Film Festival (NYIFF), May 4-8, 2011
Vikas Khanna’s Holy Kitchens Karma to Nirvana premieres at New York Indian Film Festival on 5/7 at Tribeca Cinemas
MIAAC Screens Ashes & The Waiting City, two films featuring Samrat Chakrabarti at SVA Theater on 11/12/10

Vikas Khanna’s documentary Holy Kitchens – Karma to Nirvana, premieres at the New York Indian Film Festival on May 7 at Tribeca Cinemas

Chef Vikas Khanna Photo by Lia Chang

Celebrity Chef Vikas Khanna’s documentary Holy Kitchens – Karma to Nirvana, the second installment in the series which focuses specifically on Hinduism, Lord Krishna’s spiritual practices, and the principles of KARMA and NIRVANA as set forth in the Bhagavad-Gita, will premiere at the New York Indian Film Festival on Saturday, May 7, 2011, at 12:30 p.m. in Tribeca Cinemas’ Theater TWO (54 Varick Street). Click here to purchase tickets.

“God comes to the hungry in the form of food,” said the ‘Father of India’ Mahatma Gandhi. It is this philosophy which has compelled Chef Vikas Khanna to explore the symbiotic intersection of food and religion in his documentary series Holy Kitchens. “At any given time somewhere on Earth, people are gathering to share food in the name of God. This is spiritual sustenance, meant to bring us closer together and closer to the Creator,” says Khanna. “This is the story of Holy Kitchens.”

The film features interviews with Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, Arun Gandhi, Mata Amritanandamayi Devi, Shaunaka Rishi Das, Aroon Shivdasani, Lynn McGuire, Scott Carney and Anju Bhargava. It is written and narrated by Andrew Blackmore-Dobbyn, directed by Anubhav Bhardwaj, and co-directed by Francisco Aguila. Karma to Nirvana is a Junoon Hospitality presentation.

Vikas Khanna’s journey in the documentary takes us right into the soup kitchens of Amma, Mata Amritanandamayi Devi’s ashram in Kerala, where Amma blesses thousands of people daily with motherly hugs and serves them meals with her own hands. “We have to help the hungry as best we can,” says Amma. “We have to see that feeding the hungry is no less than the worship of God.”

Subsequently, the documentary highlights the magnanimous charity work of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON) in Delhi and other parts of the world. Their “Food for All” programs feed hundreds of thousands of hungry children and adults, and Khanna personally cooks in the ISKCON kitchens in London, as a way for him to give back.

ISKCON’s mid-day meal program in India provides free meals to children in schools, thereby helping them get an education and ensuring a brighter future for them, as well as for India. According to the Bhagavad-Gita, “sharing food is the highest form of Karma.” It is this selfless service to others that eventually leads Hindus to the path to higher spirituality and, thus, to Nirvana.

True Business, the first film in the Holy Kitchens series focused on the Sikh religion and how its temples provide free food through its kitchens, known as “langars,” to everyone who comes, regardless of their beliefs. With commentary by Dr. Deepak Chopra, the film played to a sold-out audience at New York’s Sikh International Film Festival in fall 2010. Next year’s film is titled The Moon of Eïd and will explore Ramadan in the Islamic faith from the Middle East to Europe and across the world.

“Our aim is to make people aware of this commonality of the world’s religious traditions and to illuminate the differences in a way that will engender mutual tolerance and respect,” says Khanna. “Taken together, these films are our offering to the dialog that is meant to create more peace and harmony in the world.”

For more information about the Holy Kitchens series, upcoming films, and screening schedules, visit http://www.holykitchens.com. Click here to purchase tickets.

About Vikas Khanna: Vikas Khanna was raised in Amritsar, India, where he grew up surrounded by large family feasts, the seasonal produce fresh from the fields of Punjab, and of course, his grandmother’s traditional home cooking. It was at his grandmother’s side that he began to learn the intricacies of Indian cuisine. He started his own catering business, Lawrence Gardens, at the age of 17. His current restaurant work includes Junoon Restaurant, the Café at the Rubin Museum of Art, and Flavors and Feasts Catering. Upon his graduation from the Welcomgroup Graduate School of Hotel Administration, Vikas went on to train under renowned chefs of Taj Group of Hotels, Oberoi, Leela Group, and many more. He has authored several books including “The Spice Story of India” and “Modern Indian Cooking.” His next book, “Flavors First,” will be published in 2011 by Lake Isle Press. His following book is titled “Return to the Rivers: A Culinary Pilgrimage Through the Himalayas,” with a foreword by His Holiness, The Dalai Lama. Vikas has also been a guest judge and chef on Gordon Ramsay’s television shows for Fox, Hell’s Kitchen and Kitchen Nightmares, Food Network and the Martha Stewart Show among others. He is the recipient of numerous national and international awards and is also an honorary member of many foundations, including the World Peace Society. www.vkhanna.com.

Other Articles by Lia Chang:
Samrat Chakrabarti stars in Soham Mehta’s Fatakra, Shiva Shankar Bajpai’s Raju, and Rehana Mirza’s Zameer & Preeti at NYIFF
11th Annual New York Indian Film Festival (NYIFF), May 4-8, 2011
Nan Melville’s Documentary ‘Nrityagram: For the Love of Dance’ screens at the Newport Beach Film Festival on May 3
The Dish on Susur Lee and Shang
Up Close and Personal with Darren Pettie, Star of The Milk Train Doesn’t Stop Here Anymore
House of Payne’s Denise Burse on the 2011 NAACP Image Awards & Season 7; “Shout Out” Episode airs April 20
André De Shields stars in Chicago Premiere of Charles Smith’s The Gospel According to James at Victory Gardens 5/14-6/12
32nd Annual Asian American & Pacific Islander Heritage Festival at Union Square Park in NYC on May 8, 2011
Join Minami Tamaki LLP & Inspirational Opportunities for Youth and Seniors (IOYS) in Helping Victims of Japan Earthquake
Ruby Dee, Alicia Keys, Sidney Poitier among honorees at Woodie King, Jr.’s New Federal Theatre’s 40th Anniversary Gala at Edison Ballroom on May 22
MIAAC Screens Ashes & The Waiting City, two films featuring Samrat Chakrabarti at SVA Theater on 11/12/10