Sabarish Nanda – Director [Indra]
Sabarish Nanda is a passionate and ambitious film director from Chennai, whose journey in cinema reflects perseverance, talent, and an unbreakable love for storytelling. Born and raised in Chennai, he pursued an engineering degree, but his heart was always closer to films. A major turning point in his life came when he watched the movie Fight Club, which strongly influenced his creative vision and sparked his urge to explore filmmaking.
During his college days, Sabarish began creating short films and experimenting with narrative styles, visual tone, and character-driven storytelling. He soon participated in Nalaya Iyakunar, where he showcased his filmmaking talent. Although he didn’t progress far in the competition, it strengthened his determination more than ever.
Sabarish continued making short films, and one such milestone project, “Chennaiyil Oru Mazhaikalam”, became a breakthrough moment by winning an award at SIIMA. This recognition opened professional doors for him, leading to opportunities as an Assistant Director.
He began his professional film journey under renowned filmmaker Rajeev Menon, working on the film Sarvam Thaala Mayam. His skill and commitment later led him to work with Gautham Vasudev Menon on major movies including Dhruva Natchathiram, Enai Noki Paayum Thota, and Achcham Yenbadhu Madamaiyada.
He later took on a new milestone in his career as Executive Producer for Mani Ratnam’s Navarasa, gaining deep insight into the production side of cinema.
Sabarish has also worked in the advertising industry, collaborating with Happy Unicorn for a year and gaining valuable experience in communicating ideas within a short aesthetic format.
He then worked on the movie Ira, further shaping his identity and versatility in filmmaking. His long-awaited dream materialized with his directorial debut “Indra”, which turned out to be a huge commercial and critical success. The triumph of Indra marked Sabarish Nanda as a promising director with a unique cinematic voice.
During our interaction, Sabarish shared his inspiring journey — from an engineering student to short-film maker, to executive producer, and finally to a successful director. With determination, clarity of vision, strong work discipline, and deep understanding of storytelling, he has the caliber to become one of the most celebrated names in the film industry in the coming years.
