Manish G. Acharya (14 June 1967 – 4 December 2010) was an Indian

film director A film director controls a film's artistic and dramatic aspects and visualizes the screenplay (or script) while guiding the film crew and actors in the fulfilment of that vision. The director has a key role in choosing the cast members, ...

and

actor An actor or actress is a person who portrays a character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. The analogous Greek term is (), l ...

. Acharya was best known for ''

Loins of Punjab Presents ''Loins of Punjab Presents'' is a 2007 Indian film directed by Manish Acharya. It stars Shabana Azmi, Ayesha Dharker and Ajay Naidu. The film marked Acharya's feature directorial debut. Plot A New Jersey town catches Bollywood fever when five ...

'', the film he co-wrote with Anuwab Pal, directed, acted in, and co-produced. Released theatrically to great critical acclaim in 2007 in India and the US, the film ''s''tarred

Shabana Azmi Shabana Azmi (born 18 September 1950) is an Indian actress of Hindi film, television and theatre. One of India's most acclaimed actresses, Azmi is known for her portrayals of distinctive, often unconventional female characters across several ge ...

, Ayesha Dharkar and

Ajay Naidu Ajay Kalahastri Naidu (born February 12, 1972) is an American actor best known for playing Samir in ''Office Space''. Naidu was nominated for the Independent Spirit Award for Best Supporting Male for his performance in the film ''SubUrbia''. Ear ...

among others. Manish Acharya's other film credits include a cameo in the 2009

Zoya Akhtar Zoya Akhtar (born 14 October 1972) is an Indian film director and screenwriter who works in Hindi cinema. After completing a diploma in filmmaking from NYU, she assisted directors such as Mira Nair, Tony Gerber and Dev Benegal, before becom ...

film '' Luck by Chance'' and narration in Nina Paley's animation feature film ''

Sita Sings the Blues ''Sita Sings the Blues'' is a 2008 American animated musical romantic comedy-drama film written, directed, produced and animated by American artist Nina Paley. It intersperses events from the ''Ramayana'', light-hearted but knowledgeable discu ...

''. Acharya completed his Undergraduate Studies from

Grinnell College Grinnell College is a Private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Grinnell, Iowa, United States. It was founded in 1846 when a group of New England Congregationalism in the United States, Congrega ...

in Iowa, USA, with a major in

Physics Physics is the natural science that studies matter, its fundamental constituents, its motion and behavior through space and time, and the related entities of energy and force. "Physical science is that department of knowledge which rel ...

. He then received a

Master's degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is an academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice.

from

Iowa State University Iowa State University of Science and Technology (Iowa State University, Iowa State, or ISU) is a public land-grant research university in Ames, Iowa. Founded in 1858 as the Iowa Agricultural College and Model Farm, Iowa State became one of the ...

Industrial Relations Industrial relations or employment relations is the multidisciplinary academic field that studies the employment relationship; that is, the complex interrelations between employers and employees, labor/trade unions, employer organizations, a ...

. Acharya worked in the US corporate world as Head of Marketing at Microsyrategy, and was featured on the cover of

Marketing Magazine ''Strategy'' is a Canadian business magazine about marketing, advertising and media. The magazine is published by Brunico Communications, and was launched in 1989. It was merged in 2016 with ''Marketing'', a formerly competing title which Brunico ...

at the age of 27. At the age of 30, Manish left corporate America to study

film directing A film director controls a film's artistic and dramatic aspects and visualizes the screenplay (or script) while guiding the film crew and actors in the fulfilment of that vision. The director has a key role in choosing the cast members, pr ...

, and received his

Master of Fine Arts A Master of Fine Arts (MFA or M.F.A.) is a terminal degree in fine arts, including visual arts, creative writing, graphic design, photography, filmmaking, dance, theatre, other performing arts and in some cases, theatre management or arts a ...

degree from New York University (NYU)'s prestigious

Tisch School of the Arts The New York University Tisch School of the Arts (commonly referred to as Tisch) is the performing, cinematic and media arts school of New York University. Founded on August 17, 1965, Tisch is a training ground for artists, scholars of the a ...

. Loins Of Punjab Presents was his first feature film as well as his thesis film, and it became the highest grossing English language comedy in India. It won several awards, including the

IFFLA The Indian Film Festival of Los Angeles (IFFLA) is an annual film festival held in Los Angeles, California. Established by Christina Marouda in 2003, as a nonprofit organization devoted to paving the way for a greater appreciation of Indian cine ...

's 2008 Audience Choice Award for Best Feature and Sapporo Asian Film Festival of Dallas's 2008 Best Narrative Feature Award. Acharya was critically injured in a horse riding accident on 4 December 2010, in

Matheran Matheran is an automobile-free hill station and a municipal council in the Karjat, Karjat taluka of the Raigad district located in the Indian States and territories of India, state of Maharashtra. Matheran is part of the Mumbai Metropolitan Re ...

, India. He is survived by his wife, artist

Dhruvi Acharya Dhruvi Acharya (born in 1971) is an Indian artist known for her psychologically complex and visually layered paintings. She is based in Mumbai, India. Early life and education Dhruvi Acharya was born in 1971 in India and she was raised in Mumb ...

and their two children Malhar and Aman.

References

External links

*
Loins of Punjab Presents in New York Times
{{DEFAULTSORT:Acharya, Manish 1967 births 2010 deaths Deaths by horse-riding accident in India Film directors from Mumbai Male actors from Mumbai Tisch School of the Arts alumni Grinnell College alumni Iowa State University alumni Indian expatriates in the United States