Tanya Maniktala, Palomi Ghosh And Others Join BAFTA Breakthrough India Talent

BAFTA Breakthrough India Talent: The British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) revealed the 10 Indian participants chosen for its first Breakthrough initiative for Indian talents. The members of the jury included filmmaker Mira Nair, Netflix India head Monika Shergill, actor Anupam Kher and producer Siddharth Roy Kapur.

The 10 chosen participants fall into different categories of cinema art from cinematographers, writers to actors. Music composer Karthikeya Murthy, Gully Boy Cinematographer Jay Pinak Oza, The Suitable Boy actor Tanya Maniktala, Nachom-ia Kumpasar actor Palomi Ghosh and art director/game developer Shruti Ghosh made it to the list. Others include director Vikram Singh, writer/producer Akshay Singh, director Renu Savant, writer/director Sumit Purohit and Arun Karthick.

BAFTA Breakthrough India Talent: Inaugural Program

All the selected participants will be given one-on-one mentoring sessions along with perks of global networking, BAFTA membership and free access to the BAFTA events for a year. According to BAFTA Breakthrough Ambassador for India, A R Rehman, there were 10 participants selected instead of the pre-decided number five. He said," his itself serves as a huge testament to the level of creative talent India has to offer."

Outlining the state of India in the wake of the COVID-19 second wave, Rehman said that the team hopes launch another Breakthrough India talent list soon. He said that the BAFTA program for newcomers offers an "opportunity of a lifetime for Indian talent".

The British Academy's chief executive Amanda Berry congratulated the participants and said, "I am absolutely thrilled that Breakthrough has now been extended to India."

"We have an ongoing commitment to support future Breakthrough talent but we are also mindful of the current situation in India due to the pandemic, so whilst we will fully support the Breakthrough participants announced today we have decided to delay the opening of the next round of applications," she added.

Netflix India's Monika Shergill said that it is incredible to see the talent emerging during the tough times faced by the country. " It served as a reminder of the tremendous opportunities for new talent, fresh voices, and untold stories that can travel nationwide and around the world," she said.