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Mitu Bhowmick Lange

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Mitu Bhowmick Lange
AM
Mitu Bhowmick Lange with actor Shahid Kapoor at a press conference for the Indian Film Festival of Melbourne in 2012.
Born
Delhi, India
NationalityIndian
Occupation(s)Film producer, Film maker, Director at Mind Blowing Films
Organization(s)Mind Blowing Films
Indian Film Festival of Melbourne
SpouseRoy Lange
Children1 daughter
FamilyDavid Lange (father-in-law)
AwardsJill Robb Screen Leadership Award (2017)
Order of Australia (2023)

Mitu Bhowmick Lange AM is an Indian-Australian filmmaker, film producer[1][2] and founder-director of Mind Blowing Films, a film distribution company that focusses on distribution of local content to Australia, New Zealand and Fiji.[3][4][5] She is the founder and director of Indian Film Festival of Melbourne,[6] a Victorian government funded annual film festival that started in 2010 and the Victorian Government came on board in 2012.[7] She has also provided line production services for the Hindi films Salaam Namaste (2005), Koi Aap Sa (2005), Chak De India (2007), Bachna Ae Haseeno (2008), Main Aurr Mrs Khanna (2009) and Love Aaj Kal (2009).[8][9] Lange was awarded Jill Robb Screen Leadership Award for 2017 from Film Victoria.[10] Mitu Bhowmik was appointed as a board of member at WIFT Australia in February 2022.[11] Mitu is also a board member at Film Vic Australia[12] and the part of the committee for Natalie Miller Fellowship (NMF).[13] In 2023, Lange received the award of Member of the Order of Australia (AM) for service to performing arts through film.[14]

Career

Lange spent six years in Mumbai directing TV shows for the news, fashion and entertainment industries. She produced a daily breakfast show that ran across the networks BBC World, Sony TV, Star Plus and Zee TV.[15] Since moving to Australia, Mitu has brought a number of Indian productions there and produced them, including 13 episodes of Kahani Ghar Ghar Kii, India's top daily television series (similar to Neighbours), Bollywood blockbusters, and a number of high-profile television commercials featuring international cricketers for the Indian market.[16]

She is also popular for making series of four short films based on the four foundations of diversity: race, disability, sexuality, and gender. All of these films were headed by an Indian lead. She was part of a team of 4 Indians who collaborated with Victorian filmmakers for this series which was titled "My Melbourne".[17]

She has produced several Hindi films, including Salaam Namaste (2005), Koi Aap Sa (2005), Chak De India (2007), Bachna Ae Haseeno (2008), Main Aurr Mrs Khanna (2009) and Love Aaj Kal (2009).[8]

She founded Mind Blowing Films in 2009, which releases and distributes Indian films in Australia, New Zealand, and Fiji.[15]

In 2010, she launched the Indian Film Festival of Melbourne, a film festival showcasing Indian cinema to Australian audiences.[8] Since then she has also been the film curator for Kolkata International Film Festival.[18]

Lange produced Spice Girls of India (2013), which was screened at the London Feminist Film Festival.[19] The goal of Mind Blowing World, founded in 2015 by the filmmakers John Molloy and Mitu Bhowmick Lange, was to establish a distribution platform for regional indie film.[20] The Australian film Pawno was released by Mind Blowing World in 2015.[21][22] In 2016, she co-produced Raising the Bar, an Indo-Australian documentary film about six youths with Down syndrome with Australian non-profit e.motion21.[23][24]

In order to provide teachers with the knowledge and abilities necessary to meet the educational needs of students with special needs, Mitu and La Trobe University collaborated to develop Educate the Educators (ETE) in 2017. The goal of this programme was to bring together Australian and Indian educators to discuss the variety of teaching methods needed to encourage healthy learning in children with special needs.[25] For World Down Syndrome Day in 2019, Mitu created a music video called "Ode to love" to honour the love shared by 20 different fathers and their children living on two different continents. Over 57 million people have since watched the video.[26] Mitu also worked with e.motion21, an Australian non-profit, with which she co-produced a film on disability called "Raising the Bar".[23]

She also curates Australian and NZ films for various festivals in India. In November 2019, Lange designed and curated the Australia Focus at the 24th edition of the Kolkata International Film Festival.[27][28]

In January 2023, Mitu was among the three speakers invited to speak at the 17th Pravasi Bharatiya Divas in Australia, discussing the potential of diaspora entrepreneurs, particularly women, towards nation-building, under the chair of Indian Minister of Finance Nirmala Sitharaman.[29][30]

She has been appointed by the Australian Government to the Advisory Board of the Centre for Australia-India Relations, a national platform established in 2023 to promote collaboration and engagement with India.[31]

Filmography

Year Title Position
2005 Salaam Namaste Line Producer
2005 Koi Aap Sa Line Producer
2007 Chak De! India Line Producer
2008 Thoda Pyaar Thoda Magic Line Producer
2008 Bachna Ae Haseeno Line Producer
2009 Love Aaj Kal Line Producer
2009 Main Aurr Mrs Khanna Line Producer
2013 The Spice Girls of India Producer
2016 Raising The Bar Producer
2013 The Spice Girls of India Director
Watch without Prejudice Director
2018 The Second Executive producer
2019 Amar Executive producer
Undertow Executive producer
2020 Kahaani Ghar Ghar Kii Line Producer[32]
221 My Melbourne Producer[33]

Personal life

She was born and brought up in Delhi, India. She moved to Melbourne in 2002[34] after her marriage[15] to Roy Lange, son of former Prime Minister of New Zealand, David Lange,[35] and has a daughter.[36]

Awards

Mitu has won the title of the highest grossing foreign film at AIMC 4 times between 2013 and 2018 for the films Dhoom 3 (2013), PK (2014), Dangal (2016) and Sanju (2018) respectively.[37] Dangal additionally also won the award for the best Asian Film at the AACTA.[38] In December 2017, she received the Jill Robb Screen Leadership Award from Film Victoria for outstanding leadership, mentorship and service to the Screen Industry in Australia.[39]

In 2018, Mitu was appointed to be on the Board of Film Victoria, being the first Indian in Australia to be in this prestigious role.[40] She was also awarded Indywood Carnival's Most Popular Indian Film Festival Abroad in 2017.[41] Mitu was listed as one of the 10 Indian Origin Women Making a Difference in Australia by The Australia Today in 2022.[42]

In the 2023 Australia Day Honours list, Mitu Bhowmick was appointed an Honorary Member (AM) in the General Division of the Order of Australia for significant service to the performing arts, specifically through film.[43][44][14]

References

  1. ^ Wijekumar, Vyshnavee (1 February 2023). "The Melbourne woman who helped Indian cinema conquer Australia". The Age.
  2. ^ Ganguly, Aakriti (20 July 2018). "5 Powerful Women Filmmakers Who Are Raising The Bar of Indian Cinema Internationally". India.com.
  3. ^ "VicScreen — Board & Management". VicScreen. Retrieved 1 May 2022.
  4. ^ "Mitu Bhowmick Lange". Media Diversity Australia. Retrieved 2 April 2022.
  5. ^ Wijekumar, Vyshnavee (1 February 2023). "The Melbourne woman who helped Indian cinema conquer Australia". The Age.
  6. ^ "Film festival a bridge between India and Australia". The Sydney Morning Herald. Archived from the original on 12 March 2010.
  7. ^ "Meet the woman behind Indian Film Festival of Melbourne, Mitu Bhowmick". SBS Your Language. Retrieved 31 March 2022.
  8. ^ a b c Acharya, Mosiqi (9 August 2017). "Meet the woman behind Indian Film Festival of Melbourne, Mitu Bhowmick". sbs.com.au.
  9. ^ "Mitu Bhowmick Lange". film.vic.gov.au. 2019.
  10. ^ Grinellj (11 December 2017). "Mitu Bhowmick Lange Becomes The First Indian To Receive The Jill Robb Screen Leadership Award By The Victorian Government In Australia". UrbanAsian.
  11. ^ Staff Writer (16 February 2022). "WIFT Australia appoints five new board members, including chair Liz Tomkins". IF Magazine. Retrieved 5 March 2022.
  12. ^ "VicScreen — Board & Management". VicScreen. Retrieved 2 April 2022.
  13. ^ "Who Are We? | Natalie Miller Fellowship | Patrons, Ambassadors, Committee Members". nataliemillerfellowship.com. Retrieved 2 April 2022.
  14. ^ a b Slatter, Sean (25 January 2023). "Phillip Noyce, Bruna Papandrea, Mitu Bhowmick Lange receive Australia Day honours". IF Magazine.
  15. ^ a b c Pohon, Karen (23 February 2011). "Indian Film Festival 2011: Bollywood and its discontents, special feature". Meld Magazine.
  16. ^ "Mitu Bhowmick Lange". MPavilion. Retrieved 30 November 2022.
  17. ^ Hungama, Bollywood (6 July 2020). "Kabir Khan, Imtiaz Ali, Rima Das, Onir to showcase diversity at the Indian Film festival of Melbourne : Bollywood News - Bollywood Hungama". Bollywood Hungama. Retrieved 2 December 2022.
  18. ^ Kahlon, Sukhpreet. "Australian films are not well represented in India: Film curator Mitu Bhowmick Lange at KIFF". Cinestaan. Archived from the original on 18 October 2019. Retrieved 2 December 2022.
  19. ^ "The Spice Girls of India + Shorts". Londonfeministfilmfestival.com. Retrieved 23 August 2019.
  20. ^ Team, The IF (5 May 2016). "Pawno writer and director team for Lars and the Real Girl-esque feature Allergy". IF Magazine. Retrieved 30 November 2022.
  21. ^ "New Australian Feature Film Pawno Hits Theatres April 21!". FilmInk. Retrieved 30 November 2022.
  22. ^ "Pawno goes from strength to strength". Cinema Australia. 27 April 2016. Retrieved 30 November 2022.
  23. ^ a b Raman, Sruthi Ganapathy. "Stories of love and dance in 'Raising the Bar', Onir's documentary about children with Down syndrome". Scroll.in. Retrieved 2 December 2022.
  24. ^ "Watch: Trailer of Onir's documentary 'Raising The Bar' will melt your heart". DNA India. 17 February 2018.
  25. ^ "Mitu Bhowmick Lange: Expert Distributor Of Indian Cinema Across The Globe". Retrieved 30 November 2022.
  26. ^ ""Ode To Love": IFFM releases beautiful video of fathers and daughters on World Down Syndrome Week". The Indian Wire. 26 March 2019. Retrieved 30 November 2022.
  27. ^ "Australia Fest brings biggest ever showcase of Australian films to Kolkata". India.embassy.gov.au. 8 November 2018.
  28. ^ "Australian films are not well represented in India: Film curator Mitu Bhowmick Lange at KIFF". Cinestaan. 19 November 2018. Archived from the original on 18 October 2019.
  29. ^ "India's economy developing very rapidly: Sitharaman". Central Chronicle. 11 January 2023.
  30. ^ Bharadwaj, Jai (13 January 2023). "Zaneta Mascarenhas, Sheba Nandkeolyar and Mitu Bhowmick Lange three women leaders from Australia rocked Pravasi Bhartiya Diwas". The Australia Today.
  31. ^ "Inaugural Advisory Board for Centre for Australia-India Relations". Prime Minister, Minister for Foreign Affairs. 23 May 2023.
  32. ^ "Mitu Bhowmick Lange". MPavilion. Retrieved 31 March 2022.
  33. ^ Hungama, Bollywood (6 July 2020). "Kabir Khan, Imtiaz Ali, Rima Das, Onir to showcase diversity at the Indian Film festival of Melbourne : Bollywood News - Bollywood Hungama". Bollywood Hungama. Retrieved 31 March 2022.
  34. ^ O'Brien, Mary (26 September 2014). "Indian Film Festival director Mitu Bhowmick Lange on her favourite Melbourne places". Smh.com.au.
  35. ^ "It is time to shut out child shoppers". Indiannewslink.co.nz. 31 January 2011.
  36. ^ "Flipping the script". Herald Sun. 11 May 2019. p. 2.
  37. ^ "Woman-run Melbourne Company Dominates Australian Independent Film Industry". www.qubecinema.com. Retrieved 2 December 2022.
  38. ^ "Aamir Khan's 'Dangal' awarded as the 'Best Asian Film' – Newsfolo". Retrieved 2 December 2022.
  39. ^ "Australia: IFFM festival director wins award in Melbourne". International Business Times. Singapore. 8 December 2017.
  40. ^ "Mitu Bhowmick Lange". Media Diversity Australia. Retrieved 30 November 2022.
  41. ^ Gupta, Shilpi (6 December 2017). "Aamir Khan's 'Dangal' awarded as the 'Best Asian Film'". Newsfolo.com.
  42. ^ Bharadwaj, Jai (8 March 2022). "10 Indian Origin Women Making a Difference in Australia". Australia Today. Retrieved 16 June 2022.
  43. ^ Australian Honours
  44. ^ "Mitu Bhowmick Lange receives an Order of Australia". ABC News. 26 January 2023.
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