Swaroop Kanchi is a renowned Bangalore-based international independent filmmaker, creating feature-length English films for the global market. Despite being a design student, he taught himself filmmaking, starting at the age of 16, and made a name for himself through his short films with low or no budgets, showcasing his creativity and storytelling skills.
As he continued to grow, Kanchi made a film for Peace Child International to raise AIDS awareness, titled "Something Taboo," which tackled misconceptions about sexually transmitted diseases and myths about HIV. This was his first attempt at socially relevant and issue-based filmmaking.
Kanchi's next project, "Black Sugar," was an English film set in Bangalore, which took over two years to complete and premiered at the New York Film Festival. He then moved to Los Angeles, working on independent projects with talent from the Hollywood industry, including films like "Sleeping with the Enemy's Son" and "Acid."
After working in Hollywood, Kanchi returned to India, setting up his base in Mumbai, and worked on films promoting education for street children with Akanksha and collaborated on a film with a Hollywood-based Dreamworks executive to explore the similarities and differences between Bollywood and Hollywood. The film featured many successful personalities from the Indian film industry.
Kanchi then made a documentary on Kumbha Mela, the largest spiritual congregation in the world, which was a huge success both personally and professionally. He followed it with non-fiction film projects based on Indian spirituality and cultural heritage in India, Cambodia, Thailand, and the Himalayas.
In 2007, Kanchi's English feature film "Hong Kong Dreaming" was released, shot in Hong Kong with Hong Kong-based actors of different nationalities. The film premiered at the UK International Film Festival and later at the Bengalooru Film Festival, where it was showcased alongside the best films from around the world.
In 2008, Kanchi collaborated on "Supraman & the School of Necessity" with UK-based filmmakers, featuring a young talented child from an orphanage and cast members from real slums in Bangalore. The film won international acclaim and was praised by film makers such as Danny Boyle, Stephen Beaufoy, and Shekhar Kapur, raising awareness about every child's right to basic education.
Kanchi is known for handling cinematography and writing his scripts himself. He is recognized for his successful experimentation and is known to cast unknown actors and fresh talent every time, often creating complex characters in simple stories.
Currently, Kanchi is developing a big-budget film on The Buddha, set to be shot mostly in India and Southeast Asia, and is working on an independent Indian English film in Bangalore titled "Bengaloored."
