About this Event
Book Description
When Jagat Murari, a young film student in post-war America, found himself at the feet of one of cinema’s true giants—Orson Welles—during the making of Macbeth in 1947, the lessons he absorbed on that set shaped not only his future but the future of Indian cinema. Returning to a newly independent India, Jagat went on to build the Film and Television Institute of India (FTII) from the ground up.
In The Maker of Filmmakers, Radha Chadha offers an intimate and meticulously researched portrait of her father—a celebrated documentary filmmaker—and the iconic film school he built. With uncanny consistency, FTII turned out top talent—Jaya Bachchan and Shabana Azmi, Adoor Gopalakrishnan and Subhash Ghai, Shatrughan Sinha and Mani Kaul, and other cinema legends. His alumni became the leading names of Bollywood and beyond. They spearheaded the Indian New Wave, kick-started regional language cinema and helped usher television into the country.
How did Jagat go about ‘making’ such extraordinary filmmakers? What was his secret formula? With unprecedented access to Jagat’s personal papers and over a hundred interviews with alumni and colleagues, Radha leads us behind the scenes—into the mind of a visionary who reshaped Indian cinema, even as he grappled with its many challenges.
A gripping story of ambition, adversity and artistic brilliance—richly illustrated with rare photographs—The Maker of Filmmakers paints a vivid picture of how one man’s vision and determination helped turn Indian cinema into the global powerhouse it is today.
Radha Chadha is an author, columnist and one of Asia’s foremost experts on marketing and consumer insights. Her book The Cult of the Luxury Brand: Inside Asia’s Love Affair with Luxury was a bestseller, and is the go-to book for understanding luxury in Asia. After two decades at top advertising agencies—Ogilvy, JWT, Grey and Bates Asia—she founded her own brand consultancy in Hong Kong. For over a decade, Radha also wrote a widely read column for Mint, one of India’s leading business newspapers. She holds an MBA from the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad, and a BA from St Stephen’s College, Delhi. She now lives in Dubai.
Radha grew up on the campus of the Film and Television Institute of India, where her father, Jagat Murari, shaped a generation of filmmakers. Her latest book, The Maker of Filmmakers: How Jagat Murari and FTII Changed Indian Cinema Forever, is a portrait of that pivotal time, when India’s cinematic legacy was transformed.
Event Venue & Nearby Stays
Theatre 2, Village East by Angelika, 181-189 2nd Avenue, New York, United States
USD 0.00
