Prashant Bhargava (January 12, 1973 – May 15, 2015) was an Indian-American filmmaker and designer. He died of a heart attack from a history of heart trouble. Bhargava's short film ''Sangam'', described by Greg Tate of the Village Voice as "an elegant and poetic evocation of immigrant angst, memory and haunted spirituality", premiered at the Sundance Film Festival, and PBS. His other directorial efforts include the documentary portrait of his grandmother ''Ammaji'', experimental Super 8 short ''Backwaters'' and the poignant and meditative ''Kashmir'', an audiovisual performance with band Dawn of Midi Bhargava's feature-length directorial debut, '' Patang : The Kite'' (2012) was premiered at the

Berlin International Film Festival The Berlin International Film Festival (), usually called the Berlinale (), is an annual film festival held in Berlin, Germany. Founded in 1951 and originally run in June, the festival has been held every February since 1978 and is one of Europ ...

and

Tribeca Film Festival The Tribeca Festival is an annual film festival organized by Tribeca Enterprises. It takes place each spring in New York City, showcasing a diverse selection of film, episodic, talks, music, games, art, and immersive programming. The festival ...

. The film was subsequently released in the U.S. and Canada, garnered much attention with rave reviews from the New York Times, and Los Angeles Times. Movie critic Roger Ebert gave the film 4 out of 4 stars, inviting Prashant to present the film at Ebertfest. His film "Radhe Radhe" (2014) has been dealing with springtime rituals in India. So he asked

Vijay Iyer Vijay Iyer (; born Vijay Raghunathan, October 26, 1971) is a composer, pianist, bandleader, producer, writer, and professor based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' has called him a "social conscience, multimedia collaborator, system builde ...

to contribute the sound track based on the coincidence of the 100th anniversary of Stravinsky's " heRite Of Spring". And the jazz musician and 2014 appointed Rosenblatt Professor of the Arts at Harvard University said okay and contributed as film composer and created a live score to it working with the International Contemporary Ensemble. Bhargava died at the age of 42 in 2015. In memory of him Vijay Iyer as the music director of the 2017

Ojai Music Festival The Ojai Music Festival is an annual classical music festival in the United States. Held in Ojai, California (75 miles northwest of Los Angeles), for four days every June, the festival presents music, symposia, and educational programs emphasizi ...

has staged the film score in 2017 as a live act with members of the Oberlin Ensemble and the

International Contemporary Ensemble The International Contemporary Ensemble (ICE) is a contemporary classical music ensemble, based in New York City. ICE performs a diverse and extensive array of chamber, electro-acoustic, improvisatory, and multimedia works. History The Internati ...

conducted by UC San Diego music professor

Steven Schick Steven Schick (born May 8th, 1954) is a percussionist and conductor from the United States, specializing in contemporary classical music. He teaches at the University of California, San Diego and was the Music Director and Conductor of the La Jolla ...

while the film was shown on a large screen above the heads of the musicians.

Background

Bhargava was born and raised on the south side of Chicago, a graduate of Kenwood Academy. His interest in the arts began in his youth, when he was a graffiti artist. Bhargava studied computer science at

Cornell University Cornell University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university based in Ithaca, New York, United States. The university was co-founded by American philanthropist Ezra Cornell and historian and educator Andrew Dickson W ...

and theatrical directing at the Barrow Group and at

the Actors Studio The Actors Studio is a membership organization for professional actors, theatre directors and playwrights located on West 44th Street in Hell's Kitchen, Manhattan, Hell's Kitchen in New York City. The studio is best known for its work refining ...

MFA program.The Kite: Prashant Bhargava
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Filmography

*''Radhe Radhe'' (2014) *'' Patang : The Kite'' (2012) *''Kashmir'' (2011) *''Ammaji'' (2014) *''Backwaters'' (2005) *''Sangam'' (2004)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Bhargava, Prashant Cornell University alumni Artists from Chicago 1973 births 2015 deaths American film directors of Indian descent Film directors from Illinois Kenwood Academy alumni