Kanu Behl

Early life and education

Kanu Behl spent his early years in Patiala, Punjab before moving to Delhi in 1990. Both his parents, Navnindra Behl and Lalit Behl are writer-actor-directors and also directed telefilms for the state-run Doordarshan channel.

He studied at Apeejay School, Noida and sought a bachelor's degree in business from Shaheed Sukhdev College of Business Studies, Delhi University. In 2003, he joined the Satyajit Ray Film and Television Institute and pursued a PG Diploma in Cinema. While at the institute, he attended the Berlinale Talent Campus 2007 and made his documentary 'An Actor Prepares', about a struggling actor, who after seven years decides to give himself 15 days to make it in the film industry or return home. The documentary entered competitively at Cinéma du Réel 2007, a documentary film festival in France.

In January 2019 Behl married music composer Sneha Khanwalkar.

Career

After graduating from SRFTI, he produced and directed documentaries for the international channels NHK, Japan and ZDF/Arte. He worked with Dibakar Banerjee on the feature film Oye Lucky! Lucky Oye! as an Assistant director. In 2010, he co-wrote the critically acclaimed Love Sex aur Dhokha with Banerjee and was chief assistant director on the project.

In 2012, the script of his first independent feature film Titli, was selected by NFDC for the Screenwriters' Lab 2012, which later won the 'Post-Production Award' at Film Bazaar's Work-In-Progress Lab in 2013. Titli, appeared at several international film festivals, including the 2014 Cannes Film Festival, Melbourne International Film Festival, Rio de Janeiro International, Zurich Film Festival, Filmfest Hamburg, BFI London Film Festival and the Chicago International Film Festival. Written and directed by Behl and co-produced by Dibakar Banerjee Productions and Yash Raj Films, Titli was selected to take part in the Un Certain Regard section of the 2014 Cannes Film Festival.

Filmography

Awards and nominations

• Nominated for 56th Filmfare Awards in Best Screenplay Category for film Love, Sex Aur Dhoka.
• Nominated for Apsara Awards in Best Screenplay Category for film Love, Sex Aur Dhoka.
• Nominated for Caméra d'Or at 2014 Cannes Film Festival
• Critics Prize at Fifib, Bordeaux
• Best Film at Seattle South Asian Film Festival
• NETPAC Award at Hawaii International Film Festival
• Best Film at SAIFF, New York
• Best International Film at Malatya International, Turkey
• Best Actress and Best Film, Gijón International Film Festival, Spain
• Best Foreign First Film (Critics Award) at French Syndicate of Cinema Critics 2016
• Special Jury Prize at Jio MAMI Mumbai Film Festival 2023

References

References

1. Khan, Taran. (2015-10-05). "Kanu Behl & Sharat Katariya: 'We weren't interested in a top-down gaze on the world'".
2. Dipti Nagpaul. (4 May 2014). "Ties That Bind". The Indian Express.
3. "Distressing portrait of Indian family life in Cannes".
4. Coutinho, Natasha. (January 24, 2019). "Kanu Behl and Sneha Khanwalkar tie the knot".
5. "Music composer Sneha Khanwalkar ties the knot with director Kanu Bahl". India Today.
6. Frater, Patrick. (2014-05-20). "India's Kanu Behl and Dibakar Banerjee Explain 'Titli' Challenges".
7. (18 April 2014). "YRF's Titli to compete at Cannes Film Festival". India Today.
8. (2014-06-21). "India's Indie Film 'Titli' Shines at Cannes". The Wall Street Journal.
9. (2014-08-04). "11 Indian films at Melbourne International Film Festival". DearCinema.
10. (2014-10-31). "Indian new-age cinema a hit at Zurich fest". The Indian Express.
11. "Titli".
12. Heskins, Andrew. (2014-09-03). "Picks from the upcoming 58th London Film Festival 2014".
13. (2014-10-15). "Kanu Behl's TITLI at 50th Chicago International Film Festival by Chicago International Film Festival in Chicago". Chicago Indian.
14. (22 April 2014). "After 'Titli', 'True Love Story' at Cannes film fest". Livemint.
15. "2014 Official Selection". Festival de Cannes 2014 (International Film Festival).
16. Lohana, Avinash. (January 8, 2019). "Kanu Bahl, Sneha Khanwalkar to get married on January 22–23 in Indore".
17. (2015-08-31). "Kanu Behl".
18. Kumar, P. K. Ajith. (2019-02-09). "I am in no hurry". The Hindu.
19. (2015-10-18). "'Titli' about patriarchy and violence in family: Kanu Behl".
20. Venkatesa, Nikhil. (2019-01-25). "Kanu Behl takes his short film to the Clermont-Ferrand International Short Film Festival". The Hindu.
21. (18 April 2023). "Kanu Behl's Agra to have world premiere at Directors' Fortnight of Cannes Film Festival". The Indian Express.
22. (September 5, 2023). "The 28th Busan International Film Festival: Selection List".
23. (7 February 2021). "Manoj Bajpayee begins filming Despatch". The Indian Express.
24. Deb, Deepshikha. (2024-09-30). "MAMI Mumbai Film Festival Unveils 2024 Official Lineup".
25. (21 May 2014). "First-time director from India in the running for Camera d'Or at Cannes". The National.
26. "Titli, Teenkahon winners at SSAFF 2014". Dear Cinema.
27. "Titli, Killa winners at SAIFF 2014". Dear Cinema.
28. "Turkish film festival awards Indian 'Titli'". wn.com.
29. "Titli takes top prize at Gijón". wn.com.
30. Shackleton, Liz. (2023-11-04). "'Against The Tide', 'Bahadur' & 'Agra' Take Top Awards At Jio MAMI Mumbai Film Festival".