Artist and promoter of art Tushar Unadkat to take Gujarati films to Ontario
Artist and promoter Tushar Unadkat, 40, who has made Toronto, Canada his home, is on a mission to promote Indian artists in the West. A graduate of M S University (MSU), and alumni of National Institute of Design (NID) he has bagged 15 international awards for his artwork on Indian D i a s p o r a . The most recent – Trail Blazer award – is being conferred on him in April this year by the Canadian government.
Unadkat has also been awarded for his philanthropic art work of creating a platform for Indian artists. And as his creativeinteresthas now grown toincludefilms,thelatesttarget is to take Gujarati films to Ontario. “We are in talks with two Gujarati filmmakers, Goswami Brothers for Jay Surya and Darshan Trivedi for the film Maya. We plan to host special shows for the one-lakh strong Gujarati population in Ontario and help these films reach a wider Gujarati audience abroad,” he says.
Unadkat, founder and executive director of Nouveau Idea – an art group in Canada which has over 7,000 members and75,000online readers from the art and entertainment industry around the world, says, “Ahmedabad and Vadodara is the future of art. Iconic artinstitutionslikeMSU, NID, CEPT, MICA, IIM-A and platforms like Natarani and Saptak are in these cities. And besides these, young artists on these campuses have immense potentials. These two cities highlight Gujarat on the international map for its artistic and cultural milieu.”
“I annually visitAhmedabad and Baroda to renew my art skills and am indebted to these hubs for offering me the right platform for artistic pursuits. I come here annually to build intimatecontactswith artistswho need to connect with audiences abroad,” says Tushar.
Nouveau Idea exists to promote artists of various cultures and to bring the arts and entertainment community together under a multicultural umbrella that celebrates our differences, encourages communication and continues to allow a diverse cross section of artists to flourish.
Connecting through films
Unadkat has pursued a commercial photography course in UK and has done Master’s in design from Scotland where he did extensive research work on Indian Diaspora which got BBC Asia award in 1999. Tushar Unadkat says, “After this recognition, I extended research work on Indian Diaspora and did research projects in Germany, France and Netherlands. After studying multiple Indian Diaspora chapters, my work was displayed at Indira Gandhi Open University which was visited by dignitaries like I K Gujral, Sarod maestro Amjad Ali Khan and many.” From photography and art work, Unadkat has recently transitioned into making films. At present he is based in Mumbai for a brief time as the debut feature film Surkhab opens in a small village of Punjab. The woman-oriented film in which the lead role played by Bhootstar Barkha Madan is on the life of a Punjabi girl who has to suddenly leave a small village and go to Canada with the help of false documents.
