Entry fee: 100 Rupees
Riding on a Sunbeam: Journeys through Space, Time, Life and Love … is a special and exciting travel film that follows Mauktik Kulkarni (an Engineer turned Neuroscience student turned Zen traveler) and Sammy Jo (a Berkeley undergrad taking a gap semester) … in an unconventional touristy way.
Playfully, abundantly and on occasions, acutely, they explore the contradictions of our Indian society with interesting perspectives … exploring economically developed places alongside backward regions, staunchly nationalistic mind sets side by side with the insurgency prone pockets and the socially conservative elements that co-exist with countless liberal lifestyles … All within the same India.
Through smaller stories experienced throughout with the eyes of the two protagonists … Mauktik, who now turns to his own country and Sammy, who has never seen India before. The film creates a mosaic of India that is at once exhilarating, reflective, enchanting and laughable … in a way that has rarely been seen before.
Director: Brahmanand S Siingh is an award-winning filmmaker (producer-director) and writer based out of Mumbai. His latest film, Kaagaz Ki Kashti (Paperboat … 126 mins), a biopic on legendary ghazal maestro Jagjit Singh, just ready for take-off, is already sailing on appreciative waves. His National-Award winning (among many other awards and accolades) feature-length documentary on RD Burman, Pancham Unmixed: Mujhe Chalte Jaana Hai, (113 mins) continues to enjoy an amazing, sweeping cult, critical and popular acclaim across viewing platforms.
Other recent feature documentaries like Riding on a Sunbeam: Journeys through Space, Time, Life & Love (108 mins), a fascinating travel documentary on the way non-touristy India presents itself to us; Through Our Eyes (85 mins), a group of batch-mates from a premiere Institute looking back at their elliptical journey of 25 years while continuing to dream ahead are also being extremely well-received. Even his earlier, somewhat shorter works like Ragpickers; Uncaging the Body (Apsara Award for Best Short Film, 2003-2004); A Burden of Love (on Alzheimer’s disease); Ashgari Bai (on an octogenarian legendary dhrupad singer) and a whole lot of other short, corporate and documentary films have drawn great response, highly recognized for its sensitivity, authenticity and engaging quality.
Siingh often brings out an insightful, exploring and reflective quality in the subjects that excite him, bringing out its core essence in a soulful and captivating manner. Many of his films have been screened at various International film festivals as well as on national and international television channels, and have been nominated for and won, national and international awards. He has also been invited to be on the Jury on International Film Festivals and is a consultant on selection of films in many film festivals and award platforms.
Currently, Singh is producing and directing another feature documentary, Quawwali: A Soulful Flight and developing a feature project, Jhalki … Ek Aur Bachpan (A Different Childhood) … the International buzz for which is already considered very high. He has also initiated a path-breaking venture — a series of well-researched, grippingly-told, tastefully-presented and thoroughly-distributed Biopics under Mobius Biopics Pvt Ltd.
Male protagonist: Mauktik Kulkarni, Executive Producer and co-anchor of Riding on a Sunbeam, is an engineer-turned-neuroscientist and is an entrepreneur at heart. He has been a part of two successful startups and is currently co-founder of a third startup named Wazzat Labs. He is an author, film maker, public speaker and traveler who has backpacked through more than 50 countries. His first book ‘A Ghost of Che,’ a memoir based on his solo, 8000km motorcycle trip in South America, was published in 2009 and he is working on his second book based on his one-year, round-the-world trip. He has delivered invited lectures on neuroscience, entrepreneurship, traveling, film-making and anything else that strikes his fancy. He has been a guest columnist for travel/sports and, over the past few years, gotten into film-making. ‘Riding on a Sunbeam,’ his first film project, is a backpacking film about India directed by National-award winner Brahmanand Singh. He is currently working on his second film project, which is a feature film adaptation of his book.
Female protagonist: Samantha Jo Fitzsimons is the female protagonist of the film, Samantha (Sammy) has backpacked through more than 10 countries even at a young age of 22 years. She has recently completed her degree in Premed and Anthropology at UC Berkeley. She also did a minor in music. Before joining this film, she has tried her hand at acting, modeling and has studied film-making as well.