Prakash Jha

- An Entrepreneur
- film director - producer - scriptwriter - screenplay - dialogues - actor - social worker - visionary

Prakash Jha
Prakash Jha is a film producer-director-screenwriter, who is most known for his political and socio-political films such as Damul, Mrityudand, Gangaajal, Apaharan and multistarrer hit movie Raajneeti. He is also the maker of National Film Award winning documentaries like, Faces After The Storm (1984) and Sonal (2002). He now runs a production company, Prakash Jha Productions. He decided to go to Bombay and become a painter, though while he was preparing for J.J. School of Arts, he happen to witness the shooting of the film Dharma and got hooked on to filmmaking. Soon he joined the Film and Television Institute of India (FTII), Pune in 1973, to do a course in editing, though midway through it, the institution was closed for while, due to student agitation, so he came to Bombay, and started working, and never went back to complete the course. He kept himself attached with the culture, tradition and language and dialects of Bihar. His films are mostly based on these aspects of Bihar and most popularly the politics of Bihar. His films has not only liked by Biharis but also by other people which led him to win 11 Nationals Awards. His films portray the real picture of India. He has always picked sensitive issue such as corruption in politics, bribery, sycophancy, molestation, religion , cast, reservation etc. Prakash Jha's office buzzes like a house that's always ready for the surprise guests. People move seamlessly between antique wooden furniture, cupboards filled with books or coffee tables placed more for convenience than aesthetics, and a worn, hard-leather sofa which faces Jha's desk. His workplace, like his cinema, is a meeting point for ideas. Four of his films Damul, Mrityudand, Gangaajal and Apaharan are inspired by Bihar, a state he hails from and feels passionately about. He gives expression to the intricate social and political dynamics of the state through his cinema. For the last five years Prakash Jha has been seriously involved with development initiatives in Bihar. He has been spearheading growth in infrastructure, health care and vocational training facilities in the state through the NGO Anubhooti. Prakash Jha is the chairman of Anubhooti, a registered society that has been working for cultural development , improvement of health care, disaster management and the upliftment of farmers and socio-economic backward people in Bihar since 1991. Most recently, the organization has been working for flood survivors. After the Kosi flood on 18 August 2008, Anubhooti has provided complete relief to 6000 people since September 2008. Anubhooti has created a model village, Hindolwa village, for the flood affected and is working towards their complete rehabilitation.