March 21: “Raised in a small town in Maharashtra where everything around feels like, but is not perceived as art, has put an effect on me in a quite rebellious way— noticing the unnoticed and choosing the path not taken.”
Srushti Kalse has been working in the media Industry for 7 years and has been operating as a Director of Photography for 4 years; started in Mumbai, India and is currently based in Los Angeles in the United States. She started off as a Behind-The-Scenes videographer for the bollywood movie “THE ZOYA FACTOR” with A-list actors– Sonam Kapoor and Anil Kapoor.
During her early days she also shot a few social awareness documentaries on subjects like the MeToo movement and hidden gems from Dharavi slums. Taking a leap of faith, she decided to move across countries to study Cinematography from New York Film Academy in California, where she produced over 5 short films during her course in the peak of the global pandemic.
Having shot various genres in narratives, music videos, documentaries and commercials, Srushti has gained expertise in understanding the requirements of her projects and the creative visionaries. In March 2021, she landed her first feature film “LOST IN THE MOMENT” directed by Rasheed Stephans which got signed with platforms like Amazon Prime, Hulu, Tubi etc. and this has opened various doors of opportunities for her. She then embarked on a journey to New Mexico to work on another feature film, Eddie Vigil V’s “CHAMA DAYS” which is still under post-production. Some of her work in music videos include artists like Matthew James’ “SHOW ME YOUR LOVE” which is grossing on top 20 in UK MTV’s rock/club music charts and one of her own produced “DOOM’S NIGHT”, a passion project. One of the films PALM TREES AND POWER LINES that she crewed on ended up winning the Sundance award in 2022.
As much as a hustler that she is, she hasn’t left one stone unturned when looking for opportunities. Grabbing on to a diverse variation of projects that comes along, she shot for events like Variety Magazine top 10 upcoming actors of 2021 and a profound social impact event with an esteemed intellectual artistic panel on “Awareness & Accountability – Building blocks of sustainable peace” for Vivek Agnihotri’s film “THE KASHMIR FILES” hosted by the inspirational team of HOPE B-LIT under their social awareness wing ” A Voices unheard Films”. Her most thrilling experience was working on a Marvel docu-style interview called “SUPER POWER WOMEN” based on women filmmakers in Marvel. This brought her an insight into the big world of the film business. Her latest work behind the camera on a short film “UNCUT”, directed by an Emmy award winner, Mark Hensley, is currently taking rounds of film festivals.
“This play of light and shadows and how you can mold your story with every tweak of light (metaphorically and literally), has become a big part of my life. I have merely begun my journey as a storyteller and there’s a long road to walk.” shares Srushti Kalse.
Vijay Singh
