”Film is not all about the fancy gear or camera movement, but about the story, you want to tell.” - Mario So Gao

This 28-year old man from Hyderabad is a Change Agent striving for the development of the society and the country through his documentary films. In 5 years, he won 102 National and International Awards for his films with 22 International Nominations and what drives him throughout the journey is the impact his films were creating and the responsibility he has in reducing poverty as a citizen of India.





The Documentary Filmmaker





The Documentaries are the best way to create awareness among people about the unknown facts of the society. A documentary film is a nonfictional motion picture which is used to portray the realities involved in the community, education, tribal areas, mysteries and so on. We might have seen several filmmakers, but this guy from Hyderabad do films to help the people of the society, and he is non-other than Anshul Sinha.





In 2011, when he was in college, Anshul used to collect a Rupee from every person in his class every day. He then donated them for some social cause money at the end of every month.One day, when he visited a visually impaired school, Anshul was much concerned about the primary computer facilities for computer science education at the school.





His First Documentary





Anshul then decided to take this issue to the public and made his 1st documentary film on this point in 2012. To his surprise, he got an overwhelming response, and the Lions Club of Hyderabad donated 12 computers for the school. The impact his documentary created gave him the motivation to continue the filmmaking, and he started building an effect on the society with the untold stories of the society.













In his second, he interviewed an old man, who was sent to the nursing home by his son. His 4-minute video was able to change the old man’s life who was taken back by his son from the nursing home. Anshul then thought that if he could create such tremendous changes in just one year by making the documentaries, what could be the impact if this initiative was spread to all the colleges of Hyderabad? So, decided to spread the concept and visited around 50 colleges in Hyderabad.





“Alone we can do so little; together we can do so much.” - Helen Keller

His Biggest Threats and Struggles





Anshul, as like every other individual has the bitter half of the story too. While making a documentary named, The Unseen Disaster, which exposes the illegal ways in which some hospitals handle the bio-medical wastes and the involvement of mafia in the issue. He received death threats from some mafia people while making this film. But, still, he risked his life and completed the film.





In his next documentary Gateway to Heaven, which was based on the life of RajeshwarRao, the man who conducted the last rites of 12,000 unclaimed dead bodies in the last 20 years he ran out of funds and producers. Though, he worked as a night shift employee in a company even after rejected by the distributors and managed to complete the film working in the mornings and screened the film in various film festivals.





”Challenges make you more responsible. Always remember that life without struggle is a life without success.”









His Greatest Achievements





Anshul’s documentary, The Unseen Disaster won 4 international nominations and 14 awards at different film festivals. His documentary on Kites, Lapetearned him the 1st International Award at the My Hero International Film Festival in Los Angeles. At the Jaipur International Film Festival in 2015, his documentary, Gateway to Heaven stood 10th among the 3000 films from 110 countries which opened him a wide range of opportunities. Anshul won 102 Awards and 22 International Nominations for all the 41 Films he made till date.





“Strength is the product of struggle; you must do what others don’t to achieve what others won’t.” - Henry Rollins

His recent documentaries include the Agragain crisis that led to the suicide of several farmers in the country. Anshul’s main aim behind all his documentaries is to build a better India by reducing poverty by exposing some of the most significant issues with his films. Let’s hope his goal is achieved, and his efforts don’t go in vain in building the Better India.





Conclusion





“The depth of your struggle will determine the height of your success and the struggle you’re in today will develop the strength you need for tomorrow.”

So, work for a cause, not for applause and live life to express, not to impress. Don’t strive to make your presence noticed, just make your absence felt and make the world a better place.