Rajshree Ojha (born 1976) is an Indian film maker who directed ''Aisha'' (2010) and '' Chaurahen'' (2007).

Early life

Born in 1976, Rajshree is from

Kolkata Kolkata, also known as Calcutta ( its official name until 2001), is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of West Bengal. It lies on the eastern bank of the Hooghly River, west of the border with Bangladesh. It is the primary ...

. She grew up in

Bangalore Bengaluru, also known as Bangalore (List of renamed places in India#Karnataka, its official name until 1 November 2014), is the Capital city, capital and largest city of the southern States and union territories of India, Indian state of Kar ...

and left to

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

for her graduation in computer science. After completing her graduation, she went to learn film-making from

New York University New York University (NYU) is a private university, private research university in New York City, New York, United States. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded in 1832 by Albert Gallatin as a Nondenominational ...

. She had her masters in film-making from

American Film Institute The American Film Institute (AFI) is an American nonprofit film organization that educates filmmakers and honors the heritage of the History of cinema in the United States, motion picture arts in the United States. AFI is supported by private fu ...

in 2002. Her short film named Badger, which was done as a part of her diploma, won American Film Institute's Spirit of Excellence Award for Outstanding Direction. She was also honored as ''Asian Voice'' by

Directors Guild of America The Directors Guild of America (DGA) is an entertainment guild that represents the interests of Film director, film and Television director, television directors in the United States motion picture industry and abroad. Founded as the Screen Dir ...

She returned to India in 2005.

Film career

Rajshree's first film is Chaurahen which was based on four short stories of prominent

Hindi Modern Standard Hindi (, ), commonly referred to as Hindi, is the Standard language, standardised variety of the Hindustani language written in the Devanagari script. It is an official language of India, official language of the Government ...

novelist A novelist is an author or writer of novels, though often novelists also write in other genres of both fiction and non-fiction. Some novelists are professional novelists, thus make a living wage, living writing novels and other fiction, while other ...

Nirmal Verma Nirmal Verma (3 April 192925 October 2005) was a Hindi writer, novelist, activist and translator. He is credited as being one of the pioneers of the ''Nai Kahani'' (New Story) literary movement of Hindi literature, wherein his first collection ...

. The works of this movie started in early 2002. The film had an ensemble cast which includes

Soha Ali Khan Soha Ali Khan Pataudi (born 4 October 1978) is an Indian actress who has worked in Hindi, Bengali, and English films. She is the younger daughter of veteran actress Sharmila Tagore and former India cricket captain Mansoor Ali Khan, of Bhopal, ...

Zeenat Aman Zeenat Amanullah Khan (born 19 November 1951), known professionally as Zeenat Aman, is an Indian actress and model who mainly works in Hindi films. One of the leading actresses of Hindi cinema, she established herself as one of the highest paid ...

Kiera Chaplin Kiera Chaplin (born 1 July 1982) is a Northern Irish model, businesswoman and actress. She is the granddaughter of actor Charlie Chaplin and the great-granddaughter of playwright Eugene O'Neill. Biography Chaplin was born in Belfast, the elde ...

Nedumudi Venu Kesavan Venugopal (22 May 1948 – 11 October 2021), better known by his stage name Nedumudi Venu, was an Indian actor and screenwriter from Kerala, who predominantly worked in Malayalam cinema. He acted in more than 500 films, primarily in M ...

etc. However the producer left the project in the final minute and Rajshree decided to produce the film by herself. The film went finally on floors in 2005 and was finally completed in 2007 in a budget of 1.80 crores. The project was shelved many times due to financial issues and it finally had a theatrical release in 2012 through Director's Rare, an initiative by PVR Pictures. Meanwhile, the movie was showcased in many film festivals and received critical appreciation. Even though Chaurahen is the first film of Rajshree, Aisha is widely considered as her debut. Works for the movie started in 2009. The movie that had

Sonam Kapoor Sonam Kapoor Ahuja (; born 9 June 1985) is an Indian actress who works in Hindi films. She has received List of awards and nominations received by Sonam Kapoor, several awards, including a National Film Awards, National Film Award and a Filmf ...

and

Abhay Deol Abhay Deol (born 15 March 1976) is an Indian actor who is known for his work in Hindi films. Born in the Deol family, he made his on-screen debut in 2005 with Imtiaz Ali's romantic comedy '' Socha Na Tha''. Deol was praised for his performance ...

in the lead and it was produced by

Anil Kapoor Anil Kapoor (born 24 December 1956) is an Indian actor and producer who works primarily in Hindi cinema, Hindi films, in addition to Indian television and international films. In a career spanning over 40 years as an actor and since 2005 as a ...

. The movie was based on

Jane Austen Jane Austen ( ; 16 December 1775 – 18 July 1817) was an English novelist known primarily for #List of works, her six novels, which implicitly interpret, critique, and comment on the English landed gentry at the end of the 18th century ...

Emma (novel) ''Emma'' is a novel written by English author Jane Austen. It is set in the fictional country village of Highbury and the surrounding estates of Hartfield, Randalls, and Donwell Abbey, and involves the relationships among people from a small nu ...

and screenplay was done by Devika Bhagat. The movie was released on 2010 and received mixed responses. Later Rajshree said that she had no control over the final cut and it was fully shaped by the producer Anil Kapoor. What was seen on screen was not even closer to her envisions. Rajshree's next venture was the movie X: Past Is Present which was an anthology movie comprising 8 directors. She did the segment named ''Biriyani'' which had

Radhika Apte Radhika Apte () (born 7 September 1985) is an Indian film and television actress. She began acting in theatre and made her film debut with a brief role in the fantasy drama ''Vaah! Life Ho Toh Aisi!'' (2005). Her first lead role was in the 2009 ...

and

Rajat Kapoor Rajat Kapoor is an Indian actor, filmmaker and playwright who works in Hindi cinema. Early life and early career Rajat Kapoor was born in Delhi, India and grew up in Old Delhi. In 1983 he joined the theatre group Chingari in Delhi. In 1985 he ...

in the lead. It was about a couple who split on their anniversary.

Filmography

*'' Chaurahen'' (2007) (Director & Writer) *''

Aisha Aisha bint Abi Bakr () was a seventh century Arab commander, politician, Muhaddith, muhadditha and the third and youngest wife of the Prophets and messengers in Islam, Islamic prophet Muhammad. Aisha had an important role in early Islamic h ...

'' (2010) (Director) *'' X: Past Is Present'' (2015) (Director and Writer of the segment ''Biriyani)'' *'' Bin Kuch Kahe (2017) (Writer, Producer)'' *

Potluck (Indian web series) ''Potluck'' is a 2021 Indian comedy-drama web television series that premiered on SonyLIV on 10 September 2021. It is directed by Rajshree Ojha and the series has an ensemble cast including Kitu Gidwani, Jatin Sial, Cyrus Sahukar, Ira Dubey, ...

(2021) (Director) * Potluck Season 2 (2023) (Director)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ojha, Rajshree 1976 births Living people 21st-century Indian people Film directors from Kolkata Hindi-language film directors Indian television directors Hindi film producers Indian television producers Film producers from Kolkata Indian television writers Hindi-language screenwriters Screenwriters from Kolkata Indian women screenwriters Indian women film directors Indian women television directors 21st-century Indian women artists Women artists from West Bengal Indian women television producers Indian women television writers