Manish Jha
| Manish Jha | |
|---|---|
| Born |
3 May 1978 West Champaran, Bihar |
| Nationality | Indian |
| Occupation | film director, screenwriter |
Manish Jha (born 3 May 1978) is an Indian film director and screenwriter, most known for his films, A Very Very Silent Film (2001) and Matrubhoomi-A Nation Without Women (2003) which won him critical acclaim.
Born in Narkatiaganj, in West Champaran district of Bihar, Jha grew up in Delhi where he had moved at an early age. He did his graduation in English from Ramjas College, Delhi University, where he also joined its theatre group aiming to become an actor.
After completing his studies, Jha moved to Mumbai and began working as an assistant director in television serials hoping to get a break. When the break never came, he made a five-minute documentary on the homeless putting in Rs 30,000, A Very Very Silent Film, which won the Jury Prize for the Best Short Film at the 2002 Cannes Film Festival. Thereafter he made his feature debut with Matrubhoomi (2003) about effects of female infanticide, which won a series of awards and critical acclaim. At the 2003 Venice Film Festival, it was presented in the Critic's Week (Parallel section) and later awarded the FIPRESCI Award "For it's important theme on women's issues and female infanticide handled with sensitivity by a first-time director".
His next was Anwar (2007), a film set in Lucknow, about stereotyping of Muslims in the post 9/11 era, the film was inspired his own experience in New York when according to him, two-day after the 9/11 while walking on the road, he was detained by the police and interrogated for five hours, since he was unshaven and had long hairs and looked like a Muslim man. In 2008, he directed the segment title, "And it Rained" in anthology film, with 11 directors, Mumbai Cutting, which became the closing film of 10th Osian's Cinefan Festival in Delhi.
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