Pan Nalin is an International filmmaker; as a writer and director he is one of the first Indian filmmaker to produce and direct Indian independent movies.
Nalin, a self-taught filmmaker, was born in a remote village in Gujarat, India. Nalin, until the age of 12, helped his father sell tea on a railway platform. The richest thing his parents gave him was his spiritual upbringing. As a child, Nalin disliked schools; instead he used to paint and draw. He also actively staged mythological dramas and folk plays. Nalin saw his first movie at age of eight - since that day he always wanted to make movies.
Later, as a teenager, he left his family and village in pursuit of cinema. He studied Fine Arts at the M.S. University of Baroda. Nalin made some fifty odd wedding videos to finance his education. It is also in Baroda that Nalin discovered Hollywood movies and World Cinema. A year later Nalin went to study Design at the prestigious NID (National Institute of Design, Ahmedabad). While at NID, he wrote about movies and managed the Film Club by programming films from around the world. After all those colleges, after making four animations and twenty short silent films -Nalin concluded that the best film school is life itself.
He traveled widely all over India. And finally moved to Bombay where he worked as production runner. In no time the producers recognized Nalin's talent and offered him a chance to direct commercials and corporate films.
Nalin conceived an unique comedy TV series in collaboration with famous cartoonist R. K. Laxman; the series was later sold and became a major hit under the title of Wagle Ki Duniya.
Nalin lived in USA and UK for a short period and then set out for six-month long nomadic existence in Europe. On returning to India, he roamed the Himalayas deep and wide -in search of his voice. After a long process of unlearning, he developed ideas for several feature films -and started writing. What followed was an amazing journey through India and Asia where Nalin constantly tried to seek original and deeply moving stories.
With passion for cinema and travel what naturally followed was documentaries. Nalin made several of them with BBC, Discovery, Canal Plus and other leading international networks. His multiple award winning feature documentary Ayurveda: Art of Being was theatrically released worldwide with major success. It celebrated a yearlong theatrical run in Spain and record-breaking three-year long run in France. The film met with similar success in USA, Canada, Germany, Holland. It remains the highest grossing Indian documentary film.
But the real challenge is yet to come: Nalin went around the globe to seek fund for his first feature film Samsara. After seven years of struggle, which made him nearly bankrupt and homeless, the film was finally made. Pan Nalin came into global limelight; it became a massive commercial and critical success worldwide and won him some thirty plus international awards. Many critics and spectators considered it a groundbreaking film. It grossed US$ 26 million plus (without USA, UK & Japan) till this date. Miramax/Disney acquired it for the USA. It remains the highest grossing Indian Independent film.
Nalin's romantic epic Valley of Flowers was pre-sold to nearly 35 countries and considered a major underground hit. It still continues to enjoy multiple-platform release with cult, critical and commercial success worldwide. It was filmed in remote, high altitude Himalayas and in Japan. It won Best Picture at IFFLA Los Angles, also won four nominations at IAAC New York, including The Best Picture and The Best Director.
For the UN's Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen 2009, United Nation's project Visual Telegrams invited 30 popular filmmakers from 30 countries to make a short film on our environment. Pan Nalin was among the invitees and only Indian to join leagues of well known directors like Stephen Frears, Paul Haggis, Emir Kusturica.
In 2006 Pan Nalin was awarded Spain's highly prestigious award Vida Sana for his contribution to the ecology, thus an earth keeper. Also in 2007, TMG (David Flint's Triangle Media Group UK) awarded Pan Nalin as one of the Top 50 Achievers in Global Mainstream Media in the field of Film, Theatre & Drama.
Nalin has also served as Jury member at many prestigious International Film Festivals along with international celebrities like; Roman Polanski, Maria Medeiros, Jamel Debouze, Ludivine Sagnier, David Wenham, Paz Vega, Sandrine Bonnaire & Teddy Chan.
Nalin is probably the only Indian screenwriter to be twice invited to a prestigious Screenwriter's lab Equinoxe along with top Hollywood screenwriters like; Ron Bass (Rainman..), David and Janet People (Unforgiven, Blade Runner...) Jim Hart (Dracula, Contact, Lara Croft..), and Shane Black, (Lethal Weapon, Kiss Kiss Bang Bang...) among others. Legendary Diva of French Cinema Jeanne Moreau headed the writer's lab.
On many occasions Pan Nalin has also been invited to be on panels at many prestigious literature, arts or media conclaves. The recent one being at the Jaipur Literature Festival where Nalin was invited for « Art of Adaptation for Screen » conclave with Oscar winner Christopher Hampton. Nalin was also invited, along with the delegation headed by Mr. Amitabh Bachchan; to be on the panel for France-India Coproduction forum at Salon du Cinema in Paris.
Since last ten years, Nalin has been working on an epic Buddha: The Inner Warrior. Other English language pictures in the line-up includes a supernatural thriller titled H2O and a mega action-adventure epic Satori developed in association with renowned producer Fred Fuchs (Godfather, Rainman, Dracula...) Nalin also created Greeks, a multi-season drama TV series in association with Fred Fuchs whose credit also includes TV series like Tudors, Camelot, Transporter...
Nalin's latest tragicomedy screenplay Slightly Sane recently won the CJ Entertainment's Award for The Best International Project at Asia Film Market of Busan International Film Festival, South Korea.
