Ajita Suchitra Veera is an Indian film director, writer, illustrator,
photographer, and film producer. Veera is best known for a highly
visual, grand, epic, cinematic style, with unconventional narrative
structures breaking form, blending reality and imagination, fantasy,
dreams, scientific, philosophical, metaphysical and humanistic ideas.
Her upcoming feature film "Ballad of Rustom" was in Oscar contention
for Best Picture 86th Academy Awards 2014. Her earlier short film
"Notes on Her" was an official entry to the Oscars in 2003. Her First
Feature Film "Ballad of Rustom" which she wrote, directed and produced
and also did production design, collaborated on film editing, sound
design and music, was described as a "powerful cinematographic poem,
epic, and faustian" by The 61st International Film Festival Mannheim,
Heidelberg, Germany.Veera was born in Hyderabad, Southern India. Her
father Anjan Babu, is an illustrator, cartoonist, graphic designer and
photo-journalist. Her mother Usha Rani, is a journalist turned banker.
At the age of three Veera started learning to sketch from her father,
who was an illustrator. She did her schooling from Nasr School,
Hyderabad, and was the only child to parents who were both working and
much of her early childhood was spent sketching, reading, watching
movies and printing photographs with her father in their small private
photo studio. Veera's father introduced her to a range of cameras in
their studio and she dabbled in making pinhole cameras and other
scientific devices, which fascinated her as a child. This would later
on influence her distinct visual style. An introvert, shy kid in her
childhood, she was raised as a very special and individualistic child
by her parents. Both parents loved watching World Cinema, Hollywood
classics and Indian Art House. Veera was often taken to watch movies
by her father in the local cinemas playing Hollywood films, this was a
significant influence in her childhood. David Lean's Doctor Zhivago
and the grand epic narratives and adventure films like "Butch Cassidy
and Sundance kid" coupled with detective stories and science fiction,
which she read avidly, fascinated her immensely. In high school Veera
was introduced to the Indian master Satyajit Ray â€" his films and
short stories, which would affect her strongly in her cinematic
development. She started watching lot of the World Cinema directors
specially French New Wave directors â€" François Truffaut, Jean-Luc
Godard, Robert Bresson and Hollywood directors â€" Alfred Hitchcock,
Sidney Pollack, by renting videos and going to small theatres and film
clubs in Hyderabad while graduating from college, and was enamored by
directors like Hitchcock, Kurosawa, Tarkovsky and Luis Buñuel. She
graduated in Science (St. Ann's College Hyderabad) and was a bright
student, however, she decided to discontinue her education in science
and pursue her ultimate passion for cinema. After a brief stint in M.A
Theatre Arts, Central University Hyderabad (1999) and acting in plays
she joined the Film and Television Institute of India, Pune, the
prestigious national film institute in India. She graduated in Film
Direction.The short film "Notes on Her" 2003 which she directed was an
Oscar entry and critically acclaimed for its unconventional style, it
marks the beginning of her cinematic journey. Her graduate film "The
Solitary Sandpiper" (short film), blending dream and reality and
fantastic visual landscapes, where she worked innovatively to create a
distinct color palette with special processing techniques on negative,
such as "Bleach bypass" to create desaturated, high contrast images,
would be the hallmark of her feature film "Ballad of Rustom" again in
2013 and define her keen interest in image making in cinema.
Documentary "CHAOS" which explores the interrelationship of science
and art juxtaposing mathematics and music was also a significant step
in her filmmaking which mark her distinct craftsmanship. Veera free
lanced as a director working on corporate videos and small
promotionals (2005â€"2009) before starting her own film company called
Imaginem Cinema in 2009 which she started to create the necessary
space for imaginative and interesting new cinema from India.
photographer, and film producer. Veera is best known for a highly
visual, grand, epic, cinematic style, with unconventional narrative
structures breaking form, blending reality and imagination, fantasy,
dreams, scientific, philosophical, metaphysical and humanistic ideas.
Her upcoming feature film "Ballad of Rustom" was in Oscar contention
for Best Picture 86th Academy Awards 2014. Her earlier short film
"Notes on Her" was an official entry to the Oscars in 2003. Her First
Feature Film "Ballad of Rustom" which she wrote, directed and produced
and also did production design, collaborated on film editing, sound
design and music, was described as a "powerful cinematographic poem,
epic, and faustian" by The 61st International Film Festival Mannheim,
Heidelberg, Germany.Veera was born in Hyderabad, Southern India. Her
father Anjan Babu, is an illustrator, cartoonist, graphic designer and
photo-journalist. Her mother Usha Rani, is a journalist turned banker.
At the age of three Veera started learning to sketch from her father,
who was an illustrator. She did her schooling from Nasr School,
Hyderabad, and was the only child to parents who were both working and
much of her early childhood was spent sketching, reading, watching
movies and printing photographs with her father in their small private
photo studio. Veera's father introduced her to a range of cameras in
their studio and she dabbled in making pinhole cameras and other
scientific devices, which fascinated her as a child. This would later
on influence her distinct visual style. An introvert, shy kid in her
childhood, she was raised as a very special and individualistic child
by her parents. Both parents loved watching World Cinema, Hollywood
classics and Indian Art House. Veera was often taken to watch movies
by her father in the local cinemas playing Hollywood films, this was a
significant influence in her childhood. David Lean's Doctor Zhivago
and the grand epic narratives and adventure films like "Butch Cassidy
and Sundance kid" coupled with detective stories and science fiction,
which she read avidly, fascinated her immensely. In high school Veera
was introduced to the Indian master Satyajit Ray â€" his films and
short stories, which would affect her strongly in her cinematic
development. She started watching lot of the World Cinema directors
specially French New Wave directors â€" François Truffaut, Jean-Luc
Godard, Robert Bresson and Hollywood directors â€" Alfred Hitchcock,
Sidney Pollack, by renting videos and going to small theatres and film
clubs in Hyderabad while graduating from college, and was enamored by
directors like Hitchcock, Kurosawa, Tarkovsky and Luis Buñuel. She
graduated in Science (St. Ann's College Hyderabad) and was a bright
student, however, she decided to discontinue her education in science
and pursue her ultimate passion for cinema. After a brief stint in M.A
Theatre Arts, Central University Hyderabad (1999) and acting in plays
she joined the Film and Television Institute of India, Pune, the
prestigious national film institute in India. She graduated in Film
Direction.The short film "Notes on Her" 2003 which she directed was an
Oscar entry and critically acclaimed for its unconventional style, it
marks the beginning of her cinematic journey. Her graduate film "The
Solitary Sandpiper" (short film), blending dream and reality and
fantastic visual landscapes, where she worked innovatively to create a
distinct color palette with special processing techniques on negative,
such as "Bleach bypass" to create desaturated, high contrast images,
would be the hallmark of her feature film "Ballad of Rustom" again in
2013 and define her keen interest in image making in cinema.
Documentary "CHAOS" which explores the interrelationship of science
and art juxtaposing mathematics and music was also a significant step
in her filmmaking which mark her distinct craftsmanship. Veera free
lanced as a director working on corporate videos and small
promotionals (2005â€"2009) before starting her own film company called
Imaginem Cinema in 2009 which she started to create the necessary
space for imaginative and interesting new cinema from India.
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