by Tasha Turner \\ Features
Mr. Nishit Gajjar, is a screenplay writer, music composer and a creative producer who is well known for his documentary Ljósop, short film Time Elapses and for his special post production work on the viral short film ’11 Minutes’. He is also the man behind the video ‘Making of 11 minutes’. Mr. Gajjar is the first producer who composed the entire background score for his short film Time Elapses on his Android Tablet! The android and apple community was surprised at his bold gesture.
Mr. Gajjar has achieved international acclaim as a producer of films and music videos. His productions have gone on to receive acclaim in the short film category at the Jio Filmfare awards-for his film 11 Minutes and Hot Shots Film Festival for the production Time Elapses. His critical role in impactful short films such as 11 Minutes was a great success and impact on the film helped spread an important message in South Asia. Mr. Gajjar and Indian Bollywood stars worked on this campaign film designed as part of a ‘No Smoking’ campaign, and it has also received great reviews in the Indian Times and has had over 6.4 million views on YouTube. ‘Ljosop’ is a short film which was shot at numerous locations in India.
Today we get to know this man personally and ask him about what makes his journey so special as a writer, music composer, editor and a creative producer.
Question: Well your documentary Ljósop was quite different from what we have seen anywhere. What was the idea behind it?
Answer: Ljósop – The documentary is close to my heart. Ljósop is actually an Icelandic word which means aperture. My idea is everyone in this world has an aperture in him or her. And based on that aperture he or she sees and interprets the world. The aperture varies from person to person based on his culture, upbringing, time and family he or she is born in.
Question: And the idea of creating music on Android platform? how did that come up?
Answer: Well using background score which was created in the android platform was done by me in my short film Time Elapses before. I wanted to continue with that but this time I thought to give another music director a chance. Thus I asked for submission from Android mobile music composers from across the globe. I received a lot of amazing sound tracks and responses. Finally, our team selected the track by Willy3k a Ukrainian music composer.
Question: How were you able to break into this industry and this profession?
Answer: I hold a Bachelors in Technology in Robotics Engineering! But I wanted to make films and do something creative since my childhood. After completing my college I started working in a recording studio learning all the basics of music composition and then I learned Film Editing and eventually understood the entire process of film making by working with a lot of directors.
As I got more understanding, I began doing bigger projects and started working with some reputed production houses in Mumbai.
Question: How do you get inspired to do this sort of work?
Answer: Well, I read a lot. A lot!! Be it fiction, non-fiction, science fiction, new age, art, biographies. Almost everything. But psychology and spirituality are close to my heart. I try to bring that knowledge and blend it into my work. One of the best medium to share ideas is Film and Music. Thus I use that medium to share my thought process in the world.
Question: You are from India where Bollywood is the main stream what do you think about that and world cinema?
Answer: I grew up watching Bollywood films but the ones which are made these days doesn’t attract me anymore. The emotional element is missing these days! Honestly, I have stopped watching them. I only watch them if they are made by few of my favorite directors. Like Mani Ratnam and Imtiaz Ali! When we talk about World Cinema then I especially admire European Films. I love them!
Question: What are your favorite artists from the Film, Music and Art world and Writers too?
Answer: I love Terrence Malick’s work. Whereas Andrei Tarkovsky is my favorite! In the music world, I love Doors, Sigur Ros, Bon Iver, Velvet Underground and a lot of more. It is a huge list, we cannot accommodate it here! Talking about art I love Dali of course. Again the writer’s list will be immense so I cannot name a favorite out of them.
Question: What next? What are the future projects you are working on?
Answer: Feature Films. There are three screenplays I am currently working on altogether. There are plans for short films and web series. Again a lot of writing and Pre-Production work is going on.
Question: Will it be similar to your past projects?
Answer: I cannot reveal much about it. But yes it will be a unique work in all the aspects.
Question: Any message you wish to give to the readers?
Answer: I don’t want to sound like a preacher. But all I can say is that Human life and human world in which we are living is a very very precious phenomenon in the universe. We should not waste it in futile pursuits. Thanks!
Question: Thank you for your time!
Answer: You are most welcome.
You can find Nishit Gajjar’s work on his YouTube Channel.
Follow him on Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/nishit-bassist
