Prof. Dr. Mohan Das conferred with the Dadasaheb Phalke Cine Artists & Technician Award for Best Direction

Bestowed with the Royal Sakseeyat Award, the Mahanagar Global Achievers Award, the Mark of Excellence Award and the Kala Gaurav Sammaan in the field of direction, Prof. Dr. Mohan Das has till now bagged 73+ AWARDS in various categories. Apart from fiction, he is majorly involved with Ads & Corporate Films. 

Writer, Director, Producer – Prof. Dr. Mohan Das whose In Search of Sunshine (Kuch Alagsa) was screened at Cannes this year was conferred with the Dadasaheb Phalke Cine Artists & Technician Award for 2024, honouring his outstanding contribution as to Indian cinema as Writer, Director. The Award is named after Dhundiraj Govind Phalke, the pioneering filmmaker who gave India its first film– ‘Raja Harishchandra’, in 1913.

The function that was held yesterday in Mumbai also saw the likes of Actor Tinnu Verma, Supriya Shukla, Meghna Malik, Thakur Anoop Singh, Sujata Mehta, Deepti Sharma, Rajesh Balwani, Partha Sarathi Mahanta, Yeong Wu and many others from the fraternity receiving recognition for their work at the function.

Speaking about the achievement, Prof. Dr. Mohan Das says ““It's always overwhelming when your work gets appreciated and you get awarded for it. It's a mark that you are on the right path. This has been the greatest achievement for me. I am deeply honored to receive this recognition from the 'Dadasaheb Phalke Cine Artist & Technician Award,’ which is indeed a significant honor. I am not only deeply grateful for this recognition, but also feeling overwhelmed with appreciation.”

“I also want to express my heartfelt thanks to my mentors who believed in me and provided those rare opportunities that shaped my career. I am also immensely thankful to my family and friends, their unwavering support and unconditional love over the past three decades, that have been a constant source of energy and motivation. This award is dedicated to all of you,” Mohan Das added. Concluding on a note to all the youngsters striving for excellence, he added: “Remember to never give up. Believe in yourself, and one day your moment will come. This achievement still feels like a dream to me.”

Armed with a degree in Financial Management and courses in advertising, journalism and film making, the direction bug bit Mohan Das after a chance meeting with the late director Hrishikesh Mukherjee. He started off assisting him in the serial ‘Agar Aisa Ho Toh’ and later having made an impressionable mark, co-produced ‘Daughters of this Century’ that was directed by Tapan Sinha. He also assisted Tapan Sinha in the making of this film. An opening film in the Indian Panorama “IFFI 97” it boasted of a cast ensemble of greats like Shabana Azmi, Jaya Bachhan, Deepa Sahi, Nandita Das, Debashree Roy, Milind Gunaji and others. This film later also went to a number of prestigious film festivals including Mumbai International Film Festival, Cairo International Film Festival and many others.

He moved into regional cinema and made Bhojpuri Feature Films Saawariya I Love U & Ghulaam – Ego Prem Katha. He also co-produced Hindi feature film Strings of Passion starring Zeenat Aman, Indrani Halder, Rajesh Sharma, Shubh, etc. Winner of several awards, this film deals with the controversial subject of male rape and is based on a concept by him. This film went on to win 3 Awards at Darbhanga International Film Festival. He is now working on his latest film Nirnay - The Judgement (Hindi) and will soon be helming another film for Cannes 2025.