Ashim Ahluwalia

Ashim Ahluwalia is an innovative filmmaker based in Mumbai, recognized for his groundbreaking contributions to contemporary Indian cinema. His career commenced with the film JOHN & JANE, which debuted at the Toronto and Berlin film festivals in 2006. This marked a significant milestone as it was the first Indian film to be released theatrically by HBO Films.

In 2012, he garnered international acclaim with his second feature, MISS LOVELY, which premiered in the Un Certain Regard section at the Cannes Film Festival. This film delved into India’s underground sex horror genre and played a pivotal role in resurrecting the legacy of forgotten artists, including disco sensation Rupa.

Ahluwalia continued to challenge cinematic norms with DADDY in 2017, an unconventional biopic that narrates the life of Arun Gawli, a notorious gangster currently serving a prison sentence. Critics hailed Ahluwalia as a revolutionary voice in the gangster genre, with one stating he is “the new-age godfather that Indian gangster films desperately need” (Poulomi Das, Arre).

His artistic vision extended to the short film EVENTS IN A CLOUD CHAMBER, which premiered at the Venice Film Festival and reinterpreted Akbar Padamsee’s lost experimental work. He contributed to the folk-horror anthology THE FIELD GUIDE TO EVIL (2018), showcased at SXSW and released in the U.S. by Neon.

In 2023, Ahluwalia launched his first series, CLA$$, on Netflix, which explored themes of social inequality and the struggles of working-class students against the affluent. Notably, he is the only Indian director whose films have been featured in the official selections of prestigious festivals like Cannes, Berlin, Venice, Toronto, and SXSW. Celebrated for his distinct talent, he was named one of the ten best emerging directors by Phaidon Press in their book Take 100: The Future of Film.