‘My dream is to work both in Bollywood and Hollywood’

‘My dream is to work both in Bollywood and Hollywood’

Born and raised in India, Akanksha Prabhune moved to Los Angeles in 2015 to pursue her dream of being a filmmaker. After graduating with a Master of Fine Arts (MFA) in Television, Film and Theatre in 2018, she started working as an independent producer and writer in the USA. Before relocating to the USA, she completed her graduation in engineering but did not want to pursue it further because she was not passionate about it. Taking a leap of faith, she started sending her application to film programmes in LA, and found her true calling. 

Prabhune has been very busy since last year, working as an associate producer on Howie Mandel’s Animals Doing Things season 2, which airs on National Geographic Wild, and on A Wedding and a Murder season 2, which is a true-crime show and airs on Oxygen channel. “If I had been told a few years ago, that I would get to work with people who have been nominated for and won the Emmy — which is the highest distinction for television shows — I wouldn’t have believed it,” says Prabhune adding that it was a ‘pinch-me’ moment for her to see her name on a TV screen. 

Prabhune was also one of the producers for a film titled Resolve, which won awards in different categories at film festivals. She was a part of the production team for The Infiltrators, which won awards at 2019 Sundance Film Festival, Los Angeles Latino International Film Festival 2019 and Miami Film Festival.  

While her current focus is on producing meaningful content that the audience will enjoy watching, she also wants to write and direct. Talking about the challenges of working in such a dynamic industry, she says that it works on connections. “That said, I didn’t know anyone when I started off. So you either start working from the bottom and make connections along the way or you get in through someone you know,” says Prabhune adding that she took time to understand the workings of the industry and what role each person plays in production. She tackled the situation simply by learning to network and acquiring skills that would be useful. 

Another challenge is that a job in this industry is unstable. Which is why, one needs to plan the finances well. “Filmmaking looks glamorous but it’s a lot of long, odd hours on set and competition is also fierce,” says Prabhune. People struggle for years before making it in the industry, which seems to be daunting, but that did not stop Prabhune from taking steps forward. 

Working as a producer taught her to think on her feet. There are so many things that happen on the set and if anything goes wrong, everyone looks at the producer for help. “You’re trying to put out fires. It helps if you know how to talk to people and handle different personalities. However, it can get stressful if the people you’re working with are not collaborative,” she says, adding, “I have learnt to deal with rejection and not take it personally. I think roadblocks are inevitable; you can only do so much — a lot of things are beyond your control. Maybe the audience won’t like your film, maybe you won’t find a job for a few months, maybe you won’t be getting paid enough. Obviously, failure makes you feel dejected. That’s okay. The important part is to brush it off and try again.” 

Belonging to another culture gives her a different perspective and approach. “I know what I have at stake and that prompts me to give everything the very best I have and the experiences that have stemmed from living and working in countries with vastly different cultures have influenced and shaped my thoughts. It gives me a unique perspective to tell my stories,” she says.   

As a young producer, Prabhune says that she feels happy to see more women working not just in front of the camera but behind the lens too. “The roles written for women are changing, and it’s amazing to be in the industry when this change is happening,” she says and continues, “The goal is to see women get equal pay for the same amount of work as their male counterparts. Sexism has been rampant in almost every industry and it will only change when we speak up about it and act accordingly,” Prabhune says. 

Ask her if she would be moving back to India and Prabhune says that her dream is to work both in Bollywood and Hollywood. “It’s fantastic to see Indian cinema evolve and put out great content. Besides, the audience and their tastes are also changing,” Prabhune points out. With Netflix, Amazon Prime and similar platforms acquiring international content, a lot of amazing projects are being produced. “The internet has made content global and easily accessible which makes it an amazing time to be working in this industry,” she says. 

Currently, she is working on the script for a YouTube show which will interview various Indian actors, writers, and directors in Hollywood about their journey in television and film. She will also produce it. “I am also a producer for a film titled Going Out, which is about a young girl dealing with social anxiety. We’re in post-production right now and gearing up to send it to various film festivals,” she concludes.
 

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