Actor, Writer, Filmmaker at Kreative Krew, Ashwin Alok shares insights about his career and “The Music of Silence”

It’s not an easy task to establish yourself in every niche, it requires effort and dedication to be a multi-talented person. But, Ashwin Alok, an actor, writer and filmmaker at Kreative Krew, is one such person who has been successful in maintaining the balance and has established himself in the industry with ease. With his years of experience in the industry, he has done many short films on various social topics. Over a cup of coffee, he talks about his experience and work as well shared some insights. 

Films & TV World: What was the moment of epiphany for stepping up as a filmmaker and then an author?
Ashwin Alok: When the film for the UP Government ‘Derwa’ was premiered in Feb 2020, it was one of the greatest moments as a filmmaker at Kreative Krew. The premiere event was attended by around 80-100 Government officials and the film received a standing ovation twice. However, I was not able to make it to the awards but the very same day I got calls and emails from many people appreciating our work. Looking at this my mom said, “Ashwin it feels like your Bollywood film is released today.” And, this statement of my mom made me feel happy and motivated me to work harder. After successfully working as a filmmaker, the next I wanted was to write a book. Penning down my thoughts in a book was not a big deal for me until recently. It took me three months to write this book for which I had so many ideas already written on my laptop. I always thought about it as work that needs to be done nicely and God willing, I could do it. But after the release, people started looking up to me as an intellectual mind, even my close ones. I realised that writing a book was a very big deal for them and for this they appreciated me a lot. Many of them read the book and even the manuscript before the book was published. With the feedback I received that said that this book actually has so many important learnings which were helpful to them and would be helpful to many people, that… that was the moment when I thought I did a tremendous job and felt happy. 

FTV:  What has been your most prized creation and why?
Ashwin: A documentary on PHC Derwa was my first government project which paid really well among all my previous projects. It was our entry into the government sector after which we started getting more such opportunities from the government officials directly. There was no looking back thence. After that, we made many films & documentaries for the government which helped us to get more projects. Not only has this film of ours has been appreciated, but another film ‘Bread Butter’ was selected to stream on OTT platform Disney+hotstar. This was a big breakthrough for me and my career and I really feel proud that my work has been recognised on a large scale. 

FTV:  Why did you decide to title your book 'The Music of Silence’?

Ashwin: The title is inspired by solitude and the clarity of the opportunities in front of us in that solitude. I believe if one is silent, he tends to be more focused. In that silence, if one is conscious of his surroundings and tries to keep himself calm (silence), he can raise the frequency of his thoughts and attract the best ideas (music) in life. I call this process listening to the music of silence. 

FTV:  What has been the biggest roadblock that you ever encountered and how did you get through it?
Ashwin: The biggest roadblock was the lack of vision when I came to Delhi in 2017 to become an entrepreneur and lack of knowledge on excelling as an entrepreneur. I had no one to support and help my business grow as there was no settlement in Delhi. But after some time, I finally settled here and decided to stop looking for help from external sources and opted for self-learning to grow on my own. In this life, I have seen, examined, experienced, and learned a great deal. I took a lot of online filmmaking classes and improved my skills. I also began reading books and made it a habit to read every day. I quickly realised that I had gotten a long way from where I started in a short period of time. All of this self-learning assisted me in being more aware of my aims and behaviours, as well as overcoming hurdles, which were nothing more than self-imposed mental restrictions. 

FTV:  Do you plan on ever converting your own book into a movie?

Ashwin: Someone, most likely another director, should be inspired by my novel and make a film based on it. It would be an honour to have touched someone's soul in that way, and that film would then have the potential to reach a wide audience. 

FTV:  One piece of advice that you would like to give to budding artists?
Ashwin: I would like to suggest to aspiring artists that solitude is the quickest way to grow oneself, but it's also the most difficult. If one is feeling brave, go for it. If one isn't already brave, work on it and then go for it. Self-learning is the second most important thing because understanding the circumstance is the key to every lock anyone will encounter in life. And always be grateful for everything that life has bestowed upon us. 

Kreative Krew is, a New Delhi based, film production company with few of our films streaming on Disney+ hotstar, Hungama Play & Airtel Xstream. Specialising in making professional quality 'Brand Videos' for small business and store owners of any specific brand, Kreative Krew incorporates the 'storytelling' formula in all of its videos to make viewers feel connected. This is what makes them different. Kreative Krew makes award-winning Short Films, Comedy Videos, Poetry Videos and Informative Talk shows for YouTube. Don't forget to watch them. Kreative Krew has been featured in various publications including Hindustan Times, Navbharat Times, Amar Ujala, Dainik Jagran, Rashtriya Sahara, iNext Live and other local newspapers.