Devashish Makhija is a multi-talented artist, having made a significant impact in the film industry as a writer and director. His feature-length films, including 'Joram', 'Bhonsle', and 'Ajji', have premiered at prestigious international film festivals such as IFFR Rotterdam and BIFF Busan, and have received numerous awards and accolades.
Makhija's short films, 'Cycle', 'Cheepatakadumpa', 'Taandav', 'El'ayichi', 'Agli Baar', 'Rahim Murge pe mat ro', 'Absent', and 'Happy', have also been widely recognized and have won multiple awards at various film festivals.
'Bhonsle' is currently streaming on SonyLiv, while 'Joram', 'Ajji', and 'Cheepatakadumpa' are available on Amazon Prime Video. Makhija's film 'Joram' won two Filmfare Awards this year for Best Film (Critics) and Best Story, as well as two Film Critics Guild awards for Best Writing and Best Editing. 'Bhonsle' won a National Award and a Film Critics Guild award in 2021.
Makhija's journey in the film industry began as a researcher and assistant on the iconic film 'Black Friday', directed by Anurag Kashyap. His films have competed and won awards at numerous international film festivals, including Rotterdam, Busan, Sydney, Chicago, Goteborg, Beaune, Black Nights, Mooov, Glasgow, Edinburgh, Durban, Tampere, MOMA, APSA, Barcelona, Singapore, Kerala, Mumbai, and Dharamsala.
In addition to his work in film, Makhija is also a multi-practice artist. He has had a solo art show titled 'Occupying Silence' and is a prolific writer. His children's books, including 'When Ali became Bajrangbali', 'Why Paploo was perplexed', and 'We are the dancing forest', have been bestsellers. He has also written a collection of short stories, 'Forgetting' (now republished as 'Joram'),the multiple-award-winning YA novel 'Oonga', and the anthology of poetry 'Bewilderness'. His work has been widely published by various publishing houses, including Sahitya Akademi, Harper-Collins, Penguin, Akashic, Red River, Tulika, Scholastic, and many others.
