New Delhi: The man behind India’s first International Emmy, Richie Mehta, is a Canadian filmmaker of Indian origin. The award for the web series, ‘Delhi Crime‘ is all the more special because it marked his debut on the digital platform.
Mehta, who has tried his hand at short and feature filmmaking, as well as the documentary format, says the win comes in sync with his plan to narrate stories that have a global outlook, reported The New Indian Express (TNIE) quoting IANS.
For ‘Delhi Crime’, Mehta started research on the case in 2012, when the tragic crime took place, digging deep into police files. The series is based on the 2012 Delhi bus gangrape and follows police investigation. The cast also includes Adil Hussain, Denzil Smith, Rasika Dugal, Rajesh Tailang, and Yashaswini Dayama.
“I never anticipated getting here. It is the culmination of years of work by hundreds of people, sometimes in total isolation and defiance. ‘Delhi Crime’ is a complete labour of love, born out of sadness, anger, frustration, and, ultimately, compassion. The entire team from start to finish should take a bow for giving their all to this vision,” he was quoted as saying by IANS after the win.
The International Emmy for Drama Series goes to “Delhi Crime” produced by @GoldenKaravan / @skglobalent / @NetflixIndia, #India!#iemmys #iemmyWIN pic.twitter.com/kA5pHCuTC4
— International Emmy Awards (@iemmys) November 23, 2020
On his works reflecting a global outlook, Mehta told IANS earlier that it is an outcome of the fact that he “grew up in Canada” and keeps “working in India”. “I suppose I have always had a more global outlook, and avoid looking at this geographic industry versus that one,” he had added.
His biggest challenge has been “living up to the standards of excellence that I demand, both in arriving at the reasons I do a project and the execution of that project”.
“It’s my own personal barometer for success, and the only professional issue that keeps me up at night,” Mehta was quoted as saying.
His first feature film ‘Amal’ was released in 2007. The film, starring Naseeruddin Shah, Roshan Seth, and Seema Biswas had won over 30 international awards and was nominated for six Genie Awards including Best Picture, Director, and Adapted Screenplay. It was also named one of the top 10 Canadian films of the decade by Playback Magazine.
Mehta’s next was a sci-fi release in 2013 titled, ‘I’ll Follow You Down’. It had ‘The Crown’ actress Gillian Anderson. He then directed ‘Siddharth’, which was shortlisted at the Golden Globes in the Best Foreign Language category. He also directed a crowdsourced documentary, ‘India In A Day’, whose co-producers included Ridley Scott, the report added.
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