UPCOMING EVENTS

THE TRIDENT now online for free via Indieflix and Hulu:

IT'S A MISMATCH - A story about two different families clashing culturally in a modern Romeo & Juliet take. Anup is the co-writer on this film starring Indian film legends Anupam Kher & Boman Irani. For trailer, pictures, and more info visit the official movie site. Shot on 35mm. Released internationally summer '09. Coming to the states soon.

  Anup was the host on E! Channel's The Style Network show "Hot Guys Who Cook". This show just released internationally in Summer '09.

Vampire Masquerade, a theatre play which has Anup playing a Vampire rockstar among other roles recently ran for ten weeks in Hollywood. Check out the pictures on the website. Join the facebook group

Wedding is the dramatic directorial debut for Anup . It stars Mark Berry (Blade: Trinity) and Katia Bokor (The Shield). It is written and produced by Donn Swaby (Passions, G.I. Jane) and also produced by Roopashree Jeevaji. This film is currently in postproduction. Check back for updates.

The feature L.A. HIT (fka L.A. Takedown), in which Anup is the lead just got picked up for DVD distribution - released Summer '09.

2009 NEWS

2009.05.12 - Rebecca Jupiter's All Dressed Up film will screen at the Dances With Film Festival in West Hollywood, June 8 at 5pm. Anup is edited the trailer and is doing the marketing collateral for the film via his company - DesignAnu.com.

2009.04.24 - Vampire Masquerade had its 10th and final performance tonight. The theatre play had many sold-out and standing room shows. View gallery.

2009.04.10 - Royal Kill opened at 5 AMC Theatres in the Los Angeles, Washington D.C., and Chicago areas and ranked #14 on Boxofficemojo based on per-theater-average beating films opening that same weekend: Seth Rogen's Observe and Report and Dragonball. It also beat blockbusters Watchmen, Benjamin Button, and more.

2009.02.20 - Vampire Masquerade, a theatre play which has Anup playing a Vampire rockstar among other roles opened today.

2008 NEWS

2008.12.09 - Aparna Kothary of the Washington D.C.-based radio show "Naan Sense" interviewed Anup about his filmmaking and acting ventures. Listen to the interview.

2008.12.02 - "CHASE" the hot new show on the Sci-Fi channel featured Anup as one of the runners against their hunters. View it online at SciFi.com/Chase.

2008.11.19 - The Trident screened at Sony Studios in all its glory in 4K.

2008.11.17 - Matt Harrison (dir. "Sex and the City") recommended Anup for several of his students' film projects at UCLA.

2008.10.10 - The Trident screened at the 9th Annual San Diego Asian Film Festival. The film had three screenings - all projected from a 35mm print. This was a homecoming of sorts for Anup as he used to work at this festival when American Chai was the opening feature. Anup interviewed Anurag and Aalok Mehta back then and longed to work with them. These screenings made that wish a reality.

2008.07.31 - E! Channel's subsidiary The Style Network aired the episode with Anup on their show "Hot Guys Who Cook."

2008.04.24 - The Trident screened at the Newport Beach Film Festival.

2008.05.25 - L.A. HIT (fka LATD) screened three times this week at the Wilshire Screening Room in Beverly Hills, CA. The cast and crew were present for a Q&A session. Two of the three screenings were standing room only.

27,000 Days screened at the following festivals:

Cleveland International Film Festival
March 6 - 16, 2008

East Lansing Film Festival
March 12 - 20, 2008

Denmark Aarhus Festival of Independent Arts (AFIA)
March 12 - 17, 2008

The 26th San Francisco International Asian American Film Festival
March 13 - 23, 2008

Rwanda Film Festival
March 16 - 30, 2008

USC First Look Screening
Sunday, March 30, 2008 at 5:45PM

The Chlotrudis Society for Independent Film Short Film Festival
March 30, 2008

The 6th Festival Signes de Nuit in Paris
March 31 - April 5, 2008

24th Los Angeles Visual Communication Film Festival
May 1 - 8, 2008

2008.05.01 - The Trident screened on 35mm at the Director's Guild of America (DGA) on Sunset Blvd at the Los Angeles VC Film Festival.

2008.04.24 - The Trident screened at the Newport Beach Film Festival.

2008.01.24 - Sunny Virmani of the radio show "All Things Entertainment" conducted a live interview with Anup on FunAsiA.

2008.01.24 - "Hot Guys Who Cook" (Episode 108), a show on the Style Network ("The Biggest Loser", "Extreme Makeover"), featured Anup showing off his culinary skills as well as some other talents. Check site details and to vote for his dish.

2007 NEWS

2007.11.17 - 27,000 Days' acceptance into the Rotterdam International Film Festival is announced.

2007.11.10 - The Trident screened at the Indo-American Arts Council Film Festival near Times Square at the AMC Loews on 19th Street & Broadway in
New York, NY as well as in New Jersey on the 10th.

2007.11.08 - 27,000 Days screened at the Indo-American Arts Council Film Festival.

2007.10.22 - Anup was the cinematograher and director for the second music video for Gippy Grewal and speedrecords.

2007.10.15 - The music video for Gippy Grewal and Yudhvir Manak "Gabroo" which Anup shot was released and is doing very well on the charts in India. Edited by J.Cee.

2007.10.13. - Rapper Krumb Snatcha shot a music video directed by Cory Reeder, produced by Gregory B. & Amy Bloom and featuring Anup playing the keyboards. Check back for updates.

2007.09.28 - 27,000 Days screened at the San Diego Film Festival to a sell out show at the Pacific Gaslamp 15 Theatre in the super-happenin' downtown.

2007.09.16 - Mathrubhumi, one of the leading newspapers in India, had a featured article in Malayalam on Anup along with Naveen Andrews (Lost), Sendhil Ramamurthy (Heroes), Archie Panjabi (Bend It Like Beckham) and more.

2007.09.13 - Anup just taped a show for the Style Network which included his playing the guitar and showing off some culinary skills. Check back for more info.

2007.09.12 - 27,000 Days screened at the LA Shorts Fest.

2007.09.06 - The Trident screened at the Los Angeles Shorts Fest. Some members of the cast and crew were at the fest for the Q&A session afterwards including Anup.

2007.08.13 - Another win for 27,000 Days: First Place Experimental Award at the NextFrame Film Festival. That brings the total wins up to 4.

2007.08.12 - Wedding,a short drama directed by Anup just wrapped August 12. It stars Mark Berry (Blade: Trinity) and Katia Bokor (The Shield). It is written and produced by Donn Swaby (Passions, G.I. Jane) and also produced by Roopashree Jeevaji. Check back for updates.

2007.07.29 - The Trident screened at the Action on Film Festival in Long Beach. It was also nominated for Best Action Sequence.

2007.06.23 - CineGear Expo screened The Trident during its panel of cinematographers including David Stump.

2007.06.09 - 27,000 Days screened at Waterfront Film Festival in Sagatuck, MI.

2007.06.03 - Adam Thomson (dir. A Girl and a Gun) directed a video for the song Don't Hold Back by the up and coming band The Sleeping. Anup played a bad guy this time around.

2007.05.22 - Punjabi (Bollywood) recording artists Gippy Grewal and Yudhvir Manak label's Dinesh Productions hired Anup to shoot and direct their music video in and around Hollywood.

2007.05.03 - Anup worked as a production coordinator on this exciting film featuring Pat Morita (Mr. Miyagi from Karate Kid) which had a special screening sponsored by New York Film Academy and "Dude, Seriously!" clothing at Cinespace on Hollywood Blvd.

2007.04.29 - 27,000 Days Wins Best Experimental Film at the Firstlook Film Festival.

2007.04.16 - The short film The Trident screened a two-minute clip at the National Association of Broadcasters in Las Vegas.

2007.03.13 - 27,000 Days - written and directed by Naveen Singh starring Subash Kundanmal with Anup in a supporting role as his son - was not only accepted and screened twice at the South by Southwest (SXSW) Film Festival, it won the coveted Special Jury Award for Best Experimental Short Film. Check out the articles from yahoo movie news as well as Austin 360 on 27,000 Days.

2007.02.10 - The short film The Trident which Anup was training for wrapped. It was shot on the brand new 4K Dolsa camera with David Stump as the DP. Anurag Mehta (American Chai) is the writer/director with brother Aalok Mehta facing off against Anup. The film also stars screen legend David Carradine (Kill Bill, Kung Fu). Check back for updates.

2007.01.17 - Prolific writer/director Kapil Raj casted Anup as the lead in the feature film L.A. Takedown - principle photography set to begin in March 2007. Check back for updates.

2006 NEWS

2006.12.10 - Anup just landed a role in a martial art film and is training with Master Zi at Shakti's Elements in Santa Monica, CA.

2006.11.05 - INDEPENDENCE DAY starring Roopashree Jeevaji screened at the festival. Anup edited this version of the film for USC director Nabila Lester and producer/DP Brad Crowe. The haunting music is by Chris Murphy. This film screened at the recent 6th Annual Indo-American Arts Council Film Festival in NYC along with Varun Khanna's American Blend.

2006.11.02 - NECESSARY ILLUSIONS screened at the Indo-American Arts Council Film Festival in NYC with Sundance Selection Punching at the Sun. Director Fayeque Rahman and lead actor Anup Sugunan were both present for a Q&A session after the film.

One the coolest festival posters - made up of all the films that were screened. INTERMINAL is located just below the left laurel. One of the locations of the festival screening. Cindy Baer, Anup, and Janice hanging out at the fest. All photos courtesy of Cindy Baer. Check out her excellent film Purgatory House.   Top: Sandeep, Tony Gutierrez (Festival Director), Anup Bottom: Jesse Johnson, Janice, Cindy Baer, MJaq. Filmmakers staying up til the wee-hours of the morning night after night.

2006.10.27 - Independent Film Festival of North Texas (IFFYNTX) gave Anup, the former hometown boy, a Texas-sized homecoming by screening nearly a dozen of his short films over Halloween weekend in Wichita Falls, TX. 16 filmmakers came out to the event and got some press from it. Anup grew up in WF and went to school at McGaha, Barwise, and Rider. He and Sandeep started a documentary on Anup's life in WF.

2006.09.26 - TTV is released on youtube.com, motion.tv, video.yahoo.com, video.google.com, liveclip.com and more.

2006.09.10 - DADA JI (Starring Kumar Pallana from The Terminal, Royal Tenenbaums, Bottle Rocket)- screened in Program #68 Theater #9 Los Angeles Film Festival at the ArcLight Cinemas on Sunset & Vine in Hollywood, CA. Anup edited this film for Sabina Shamdasani and Karma Theory Films.

2006.09.09 - KAL: YESTERDAY AND TODAY - 7:30pm Saturday, September 9th, 2006 in Program #57 Theater#13 Los Angeles Film Festival at the ArcLight Cinemas on Sunset & Vine in Hollywood, CA. You can see Anup in this excellent USC film directed by Freya Parekh.

2006.08.14 - Anup taped a game show which will air on NBC. Check back for more detailed info.

2006.06.27 - Anup shot a political satire which he wrote, directed and acted in with the help of Chad Zuber operating the camera and composer Rob Girondo. It will be available on the net soon. Check back for details.

2006.05.21 - DADA JI gained NOMINATION FOR BEST SHORT FILM at the Danville International Children's Film Festival in Danville, CA.

2006.05.19 - DADA JI screened as an Official Selection at the Damah Film Festival at Culver Studios in Culver City, CA. Anup edited this film along with writer/director Sabina Shamdasani.

2006.05.13 - Fayque M. Rahman's What the Shadows Hide screened to a stunned audience in Orange County. Anup played the lead in this disturbing film.

2006.04.30 - Anup again worked with commercial director Chris Hwang on a spec - view here.

2006.04.09 - LMU director Chris Solis shot a short with Anup as the lead called Booth #12.

2006.04.08 - Anup worked on a spec commercial for Chris Hwang - view here.

2006.03.20 - "NORTH MISSION ROAD" aired on Court TV (website). Anup worked as a principle in the episode with the two motel owner disagreement which ended in a horrific tragedy.

2006.03.04 - It's A Mismatch had it's World Premiere at the Cinequest International Film Festival. Anup was a co-writer on this 35mm feature film.

2006.03.19 - Freya Parekh's film which worked on back in Feb screened at USC and was the most polished and applauded film of the bunch.

2006.02.17 - Director Darren Doane featured Anup in the in the music video for the band The Number Twelve Looks Like You - Like a Cat.

2006.02.03 - Anup started shooting on a USC film as the lead antagonist. Anup stated, "It's very interesting playing the not-so-good guy!"

2006.01.27 - PASSIONS (website) with Anup as one of Ethan Winthrop (Eric Martsolf)'s groomsmen in a Bollywood wedding aired on NBC.

2006.01.25 - Bar Moments: Episode 12: Hail 2 The Underdog had a unique screening in the bar in which it was shot.

2006.01.17 - Trade Offs is finally available on Netflix. "It's been a long, but rewarding haul for this film - my first", stated Anup who starred and produced it.

2006.01.15 - Sunday Morning Shootout on AMC (website) with hosts Peter Guber and Peter Bart aired the Golden Globes edition with Maria Bello (A History of Violence), Paul Haggis (director Crash) and Matt Dillon in which Anup worked as background. The next airing will be Feb 19, 2006 on AMC.

2006.01.13 - Sunday Morning Shootout on AMC (website) with hosts Peter Guber and Peter Bart had a taping with Matt Dillon, Maria Bello, Paul Haggis, Mario Van Peeples as well as Jerry Bruckheimer via satellite for a few upcoming shows. Anup worked as background just chillin' in a coffee shop and listening to the knowledge passed on by these industry veterns. "I don't really do background work anymore, but this is one of my favorite shows, so it was great to hear all the incredible information without anything edited out", Anup stated.

2006.01.04 - Court TV's program North Mission Road was shot with Anup in a principle role for a re-enactment of a horrific murder between two motel owners in Los Angeles. Check back or site for airing date.

2005 NEWS

2005.12.22 - Starting Over, the first reality show to win 'Best Series' Daytime Emmy Award (produced by Bunim-Murry - MTV's Real World), gave Anup an opportunity to strut his dance moves in an upcoming episode. Check back for a 2006 airing date.

2005.12 - DADA JI was an Official Selection at South Asian International Film Festival New York City, New York.

2005.12.16 - Hootie and the Blowfish music-video director Frank Sacramento shot a trailer for Midnight Shoppers with Anup helping out in a supporting role.

2005.12.12. - Anup worked on Passions as a featured actor as one of Ethan's groomsmen in the "Bollywood" dream sequence. This episode will air Jan 27, 2006.

2005.11 - Albert Brooks' Looking For Comedy In The Muslim World trailer is out in theaters. The film will be released by Warner Bros Independent on January 20, 2006 in New York and Los Angeles.

2005.11.03 - Anup performed as a director and cinematographer for the second unit shoot of Yeh Kahan Aa Gaye Hum in Mammoth Mountains. The film stars Roopa Jeevaji and Kapil Srivastava, who is also writer and director.

2005.09.26 - Anup flew to Glacier in Mt. Baker, a few hours outside Seattle, WA for a seven day shoot for David Nordmark's Chapman Grad Thesis film currently titled, 'The Cabin'. Anup had a lead role in it.

2005.09.23 - Bar Moments screened very successfully at the San Diego Film Festival in "Celluloid San Diego I", a program of shorts to a sell-out crowd. A third screening was added for Sunday. At least a dozen members from the cast and crew were present for a Q&A session afterwards including Anup. Photographer Zackary Woodruff snapped a lot of pix from the festival like the one on the left with Anup and fellow Bar Moments thesp, Greta Valenti.

Rose & Liz from the set. FYI: No, this is not porn.

BAR MOMENTS: EPISODE 12: HAIL 2 THE UNDERDOG

Synopsis: In a world where one man, uh no, make that three, try to pick up the hottest women in a club, only one attempts to do the impossible. Anup has a supporting role in this short comedy.

2005.09.23 - Divided Nation, had a screening at the Universal Studio Lot in Burbank. The story: Three people toil with the problems faced in Kashmir and how it's affecting their lives here in the U.S.

2005.08.14 - The Bullshits!, a film about a rock band was filmed in various locations in Los Angeles with Anup playing a supporting role as a bass player. "I finally got to play in a band in a movie!" Anup stated.

2005.07.25 - The New York Film Academy student, Rushab Panchal directed Anup in a dramatic short film, Divided Nation.

2005.06.22 - Anup landed a print ad in an international recruiting campaign for a Forbes 500 tech company.

2005.06.10 - Anup had the lead opposite main lead, Preeti Vissi (Mitr, My Friend) in Madhumita's comedic film Will You Marry Me?

2005.06.09 - USC Graduate student Naveen Singh's 27,000 Days gave Anup the opportunity to play opposite Subash Kundanmal in a powerful thesis film.

2005.05 - Anup had six films screening in one week throughout SoCal.

2005.05.17 - Sabina Shamdasani's Dada Ji, starring the ever-effervescent Kumar Pallana (The Terminal, Bottle Rocket, Royal Tenenbaums) was edited by Anup and had a screening with Kumar present. "His enthusiasm for acting is inspiring," Anup stated.

2005.04 - Chapman film professor, Lynn Hamrick (director, Family Ties TV show), supervised her students' directed studies program in which selected scenes were shot in class. Anup had the opportunity to work with Lynn in scenes from Carlito's Way, Do The Right Thing, She's The One, and The Crying Game.

2005.04.06 - Anup just completed shooting the lead role in Adam Thomson's film, A Girl And A Gun (view trailer).

2005.04.05 - Anup just completed shooting the lead role in Alex Lavin's film, Birth Control.

2005 - Necessary Illusions, (view trailer) in which Anup has the lead role won the Visionary Award at the Washington D.C. Independent Film Festival and was also an Official Selection at the top-tier Lorcarno International Film Festival.

2005.03.25 - Anup had a role in Ben Lioe's hilarious film, Futility.

2005.03.22 - Anup just completed shooting the lead role in USC film student, David Valdez's Larry Pibbsbottom.

2005.03.15 - Anup worked on Chris Coulter's The Package, an action/drama set behind enemy lines on a war-front.

2005.01.14 - The Untitled Albert Brooks Project gave Anup and opportunity to work with Albert Brooks (Defending Your Life, Finding Nemo) in a featured role driving. This movie also gave Anup SAG eligiblity.

2005.01.13 - Anup just completed shooting Adam Rudder's comedy film, Bar Moments.

2004 NEWS

2004.12.15 - Anup completed shooting Nausheen Dadabhoy's short film, The 12th Man. Check back for screening info.

2004.11.01 - Kings: From Babylon To Bagdad aired on the History Channel.

2004.10.17 - Slaves and Ensigns: The Far Side of the Border had a screening at the 4th Annual SMMASH Film Festival on Sunday and Tuesday the 19th. Anup unfortunately could not make it to the festival, but according to festival director, John Swon, it was received very well.

2004.09.15 - Slaves and Ensigns: The Far Side of the Border is now on regular iFilm for everyone to view.

2004.09.11 - Slaves and Ensigns: The Far Side of the Border had it's first festival screening at the 2nd Annual Imperial Beach Film Festival in San Diego, CA. There some members who were interviewed from the documentary were present for the screening. Anup was also interviewed by Nina McDonald during the festival and received a frontpage spread in the local paper, Eagle & Times.

2004.08.13 - Slaves and Ensigns: The Far Side of the Border, became available for viewing on IFILMPlus+. Read more here. How IFILM chooses which ones go to the 'Plus' version: "Of our new short films and video clips, we make the most compelling content exclusive to IFILM Plus+ with RealOne SuperPass subscribers for about a month. "

2004.08.06 - David Helping, original score composer for Trade Offs, releases the beautiful soundtrack to this film through his label, Spotted Peccary.

2004.08 - Necessary Illusions screened at the Locarno Film Festival.

2004.07.01 - Interminal teaser-trailer now online.

2004.06.28 - Chapman University Graduate student David Nordmark casted Anup as the lead in his powerful yet subtle short film about a man coming to terms with mortality. Check back for screening updates.

2004.06.24 - Kings of Babylon (aka The History of Iraq) was shot in and around LA from the 15th through the 24th. Anup had several featured roles in this documentary which is tentatively scheduled to air on the History Channel November 1, 2004.

2004.06.01 - Interminal, the first short-script written by Anup - who also served as producer, finished its 4-day production in San Diego, CA. It was shot on 16mm with David C. Smith as the DP. Ivan Gozali directed the venture and also came up with the story idea. Interminal is in post-production and should hit the festival circuit later this year. Check back soon for the trailer.

2004.05.12 - Necessary Illusions (Dir. Fayque Rahman), the Chapman University graduate shortfilm in which Anup is the lead was screened for cast & crew. "I couldn't believe how well it turned out. The audience was silent til the end of credits!" Anup continues, "The whole team did an incredible job especially the sound design by Kyle." In the same screening was Black and White Wedding (Dir. Amanda Pasquilleni) in which Anup was one of the ensemble leads.

2004.05.04 - The Times Record News published an article on Anup. See the Press page for all articles.

2004.04.25 - Trade Offs released in Denmark on DVD.

2004.04.20 - Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World is released on DVD.

2004.04.09 - Trade Offs is released on DVD at select video stores in US, Canada and online.

2004.04.02 - Anup finished shooting the short film Necessary Illusions for writer/director Fayeque Rahman. "This has been the most challenging role for me. The script is somewhat controversial and Fay had six producers pass on the project due to its nature," states Anup. The film is inspired by Noam Chomsky's book of the same title. Anup plays Sharia, the lead character caught in what initially appears to be a routine travel plan. Check back for release/screening dates.

2004.04.02 - Trade Offs screened in San Jose, CA.

2004.03.09 - Mantram published an article on the Indo-American genre of filmmaking in which Anup is mentioned. Register for free and read the article titled: The Desi Movie Factory - in the Entertainment section in the March 2004 issue.

2004.02.29 - Master and Commander won two Academy Awards (out of ten nominations!) for CINEMATOGRAPHY - Russell Boyd & SOUND EDITING - Richard King.

2004.02.17 - Filmmaker Interviews posted article with Award Winner, Sharat Raju.

2004.02.08 - Anup finished shooting on Chapman University graduate short film Black & White Wedding. He was one of the leads in an ensemble piece. "This was so much fun to work on - we jammed to 80's songs all night between takes," states Anup. The short is in post-production under the helm of Amanda Pasquilleni and is hoping for a festival run. Check back for updates.

2004.01.27 - Master and Commander: The Far Side Of The World was nominated for 10 Oscars for the upcoming 76th Annual Academy Awards on Sunday, February 29, 2004: Best Picture, Best Direction, Art Direction, Cinematography, Film Editing, Costume Design, Makeup, Sound Editing, Sound Mixing, Visual Effects.

2004.01.01 - Filmmaker Interviews announced its first annual The List Awards for best pictures in the feature, short, and documentary categories.

2003 NEWS

2003.12.03 - New articles posted on Filmmaker Interviews with Douglas Horn (part 2) and Rob Moniot & Taz Goldstein.

2003.11.15 - Trade Offs had a Special Engagement Screening in Carlsbad by Independent Film Society at the Schulman Auditorium in Carlsbad, California. The venue was near capacity even on this rainy night.

2003.11.14 - Trade Offs had its TEXAS PREMIERE Screening at the 2nd Annual Dallas South Asian Film Festival (dsaff.org)

2003.11.14 - Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World (official site) opened nationwide. The movie set in the Napoleonic Wars of 1800 stars Russell Crowe (Gladiator, A Beautiful Mind) and directed by Peter Weir (The Truman Show, Dead Poets Society) will open in theaters everywhere in the US. Anup was in Mexico for five weeks working on the set as a special ability extra in the final battle sequences. Read more here.

2003.11.13 - Anup and Trade Offs co-star Deypika Singh were in the feature article of the UCSD Guardian newspaper.

2003.11.08 - Trade Offs NEW YORK PREMIERE Screening at the 3rd Annual Indo-American Arts Council Film Festival (iaac.us) held at the Anthology Film Archives in lower east side. The Tuesday before the festival, Mira Nair (Monsoon Wedding, Mississippi Masala, Kamasutra) invited all the filmmakers for a 'Welcome Chai'. "It was a very nice gesture on her part considering that she is super busy in post-prod on her new movie with Reese Witherspoon," stated Anup. When Trade Offs writer-director Vikram Yashpal, actress Rita Rani, and actor Anup attended the evening event, they took with them the soundtrack to Trade Offs and presented it to Ms. Nair as a gift. She immediately put it on and started tapping her feet to it. "I really like it," she exclaimed.

Filmmakers (l to r) Monica, Anup, Rita Rani, Vikram Yashpal, Raj Vasudeva enjoy the IAAC opening night gala at the Lincoln Center in NYC. More pix from the event.

Fellow San Diego artist, musician-turned-actress Anoushka Shankar, daughter of sitar legend Ravi Shankar, was also there to support her debut film, Dance Like a Man. Anup stated, "I saw Anouska back in '95 in San Diego performing with her dad. It's so cool to see her as a fellow filmmaker now."

Trade Offs had another prime time slot: Saturday 9pm and had one of the better turnouts at the festival. "I was really happy with the attendance even though we weren't on our home turf," enthused Anup.

The closing ceremony awards was presented by author-extraordinaire, Salman Rushdie. Babar Ahmed, director of one of the winning films, Genius, offered, "Trade Offs is a better movie than mine and it deserved to win." "I couldn't believe that he said that considering that the ending of his movie is very reflective of the title," Anup humbly stated.

2003.11.08 - ITV (International TV) aired interview from the opening ceremony of IAAC film festival with Anup and co-star Rita Rani.

2003.11.01 - V Desi aired segment covering the IAAC film festival. The trailer for Trade Offs as well as the interview with Anup was shown.

2003.10.30 - Indo-American Arts Council Film Festival held a press conference at the Indian Consulate in Manhattan. Vinod Khana was a guest speaker. V-Desi TV, WNYC, BBC and more interviewed Anup. See press page for articles.

The historic Cinema Paradiso Theater - a remodeled stadium seating theater from a church.

2003.10.25 - Trade Offs EAST COAST PREMIERE Screening at the 18th Annual Ft. Lauderdale International Film Festival held at the historic Cinema Paradiso Theater. The Asian Pacific Film Festival of Florida is a subfestival within. The screening was the best time slot any film could ever have (Saturday evening at 7pm) as long as it's not in Florida when the Florida Marlins are playing game 6 of the World Series. Nevertheless, the turn out was very good, because of the support of the festival director, Beryl Williams. She showed the trailer during every movie before Trade Offs.

The official poster of the FLIFF. Yes, that bikini is made out of filmstrips.

"This is the view I had while sitting on the porch at the hotel. It was tough", sobs Anup. "I wish San Diego had palm trees growing on the beach."

2003.10.19 - Special Engagement Screening of Trade Offs shown at the University of San Diego in a unique presentation with dual screens. About 75% of the audience were non-Indians and showed true potential to become a crossover hit such as Bend It Like Beckham and Monsoon Wedding. "This was the most exciting and entertaining Q&A session we've had thus far", quips Anup.

2003.10.05 - US PREMIERE of Trade Offs screened to a sold-out audience at the 4th Annual San Diego Asian Film Festival. Almost 50 people were turned away, but more importantly, those in attendance really enjoyed the film. There was electricity in the air and when it was over, a majority of the audience remained for a question and answer period in which the feedback was overwhelmingly positive. It was a great confidence booster as the film had not really had any local exposure prior to this screening. An additional screening date was added due to overwhelming demand.

Also at the festival, Pyramid of Women, an inspirational short documentary directed by Cheryl Kanekar, screened to a receptive audience. Anup contributed to this interesting project as a voice-over talent.

2003.09.22 - Back Up, Please (official site) an HD short-film by writer/director Douglas Horn was screened at the Woodstock Film Festival in Woodstock, NY. This is Anup's first screen credit as he helped out Douglas Horn behind the scenes in this dramatic short film.

2003.08.14 - Anup shoots a documentary during the Great Power Outage of '03 in the streets of Downtown Toronto. Check back for release update.

2003.08.10 - Actress Rita Rani received a Filmi Images Award from the South Asian Film Festival for her role in Trade Offs, of which Anup was a producer.

2003.08.09 - 4th Annual South Asian Film Festival

Trade Offs, the film in which Anup acted and produced had its World Premiere Screening in Toronto's 4th Annual South Asian Film Festival. Anup was in attendance along with fellow actors Rahul Malhotra and Rita Rani.

Anup and Rita were interviewed for Canada's nationwide broadcast Bollywood Blvd on the Omni Channel by host and festival director, Mohit Rajans. They were also interviewed for Asia Television Network (ATN) as well as India Abroad newspaper and Anokhi Vibe magazine. Check back for air and print dates. See other press articles.

2003.08.02 - The first by-invitation-only Press, Cast, & Crew screening by of Trade Offs was a success. Nearly 200 people were in attendance followed by a entertaining Q&A session with most of the cast and crew that lasted close to an hour.

The Trade Offs soundtrack composed by David Helpling was also sold at the event.

2003.07 - The new website and trailer for Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World was launched. The release date has been changed to November 14, 2003. View the trailer at the official site.

2003.05.23 - Anup worked as script supervisor on Douglas Horn (Trailer: The Movie!)'s shortfilm/promotional shoot. It stars actor/stuntman Dan Southworth (Power Rangers, Shakira's Objection music video) was shot on the Panasonic 24p miniDV camera. The shoot involved martial arts and exciting wire-work by Southworth's stunt team.

2003.04 - 20th Century Fox released Demo Disc #3 which features some behind the scenes footage of Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World and you can catch a glimpse of Anup in the rugby match he played against Russell Crowe.

2003.04 - For five weeks, Anup attended San Pasqual Academy for foster children as a guest artist and assisted the students in filmmaking and screenwriting techniques.

2003.03 - Anup interviewed Academy Award Winning screenwriter (Best Adapted Screenplay - Silence of the Lambs) Ted Tally for Filmmaker Interviews.

2003.02.14 - Montgomery High School students were happy to see Anup as a guest lecturer when he spoke to nearly a hundred students about filmmaking and music.

2003.02.01 - Documentary Filmmaker Cheryl Kanekar employed Anup as a voice-over talent for her captivating doc "Pyramid of Women" which will screen at the 4th Annual San Diego Asian Film Festival.

2003.01.17 - Anup was asked to speak by moderator, Uma Da Cunha, on the Bollywood/Hollywood Panel at the 14th Annual Palm Springs International Film Festival in which other panel members included, Rahul Bose (Mr. & Mrs. Iyer, Everybody Says I’m Fine), Anwar Jamal (The Little Republic), Lisa Tsering (India West Journalist).

2003.01 - The first trailer for Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World was released in theaters with a release date of June 6, 2003.

2002 NEWS

2002.11.03 - For rest and relaxation after working on the set from 4am to 8pm Monday through Friday, Anup got a chance to play rugby with Russell Crowe.

2002.10 - No cameras were allowed on set, however, Anup shot a documentary of all the specialists while hanging out at the hotel (off-set) after the shoot and on weekends. Check back for release date.

2002.10.06 - Anup headed to Rosarito, Mexico to work on Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World (official site) as a special ability extra, aka specialist.

2002.10.04 - Anup guest lectures again to communications majors at the University of San Diego this time the topic of discussion was 'subjectivity in judging films'.

2002.09.20 - Anup's filmmaking friend Neil Kendrick's film, LOOP screened at the San Diego Film Festival. Anup helped out on the film in sundry roles.

2002.09.01 - Official wrap date of Trade Offs and after party!

2002.08.28 - Anup headed down to Fox Studios Baja for a casting call for the Russell Crowe film Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World(official site) and was accepted.

2002.07.27 - Anup helped out as production assistant on Douglas Horn's second short-film, Back Up, Please. "Douglas has this amazing eye for quality. After seeing his first film, I begged him to let me work on his next one and here I am!", comments Anup. This is Anup's first screen credit.

2002.07.04 - The production of Trade Offs begun and is set to shoot on weekends from July 4th til Sept 1.

2002.04 - Anup signed on as a producer as well as additional casting director for Trade Offs.

2002.04 - Filmmaker Interviews officially launched when Anup interviewed composer Don Davis (Matrix, Jurassic Park 3) and short-film director Douglas Horn.

2002.03 - Anup auditioned and got the part for Sunny in the San Diego based feature-length film, Trade Offs. This is Anup's debut role.

2001 NEWS

2001.11.13 - University of San Diego Communications Professor Leeva Chung, Ph.D. invited Anup as a guest lecturer to her communications class. Anup covered the topic from the 2001.09.25 panel discussion regarding controversial programming.

2001.09.27 - The 2nd Annual San Diego Asian Film Festival kicks off for a four-day event at Mann Theaters Hazard Center, San Diego, CA.

2001.09.27 - Anup was interviewed along with directors Abe Lim (Roads and Bridges) and Eric Hwang (White Rice) on NPR (KPBS: The Lounge).

2001.09.25 - Anup was moderator of a panel prominent filmmakers, critics and film business professionals discussing the role of judging in contemporary cinema. He then discussed the role of a programmer during tense situations with controversial festival programming immediately after 9/11.

2001.09.21 - Anup was the emcee for Shaadi@Barbaadi.com, a hilarious play written, directed and starring Indian film legend, Paresh Rawal. "I hardly understand a word of Hindi, but I was laughing my head off because the laughter was so contagious", quips Anup.

2001.08 - Anup co-directs the SDAFF trailer with Sam Chen and editor Charisse B. Score by David Helpling. Animation by Sam Chen. View trailer on David's site.

2001.03 - Anup was interviewed along with programming director, Arnold Marquez on the San Diego radio show, My Gupshup along with director Anurag Mehta (American Chai), actor Aalok Mehta (American Chai), and director Tariq Jalil (24/7, A Galaxy Far Far Away).

2001.01.19 - Anup screened 34 feature-length films in one week. "I felt like I was back in college running from class to class. The first one started at 9am and the last one ended around midnight. It was such a rush!" quips Anup.

2001.01 - Anup joined the 2nd Annual San Diego Asian Film Festival as a film scout/programmer.