Cyrus is no stranger to the world of film production. As the President and CEO of Blue Rock Group, Cyrus has spearheaded a myriad of recent independent feature and short films under his Blue Rock Entertainment subsidiary. Some of Blue Rock's recent endeavors include the soon-to-be-released feature film "Bayside" and the award winning short "Ketosis". For American Desi, Cyrus was instrumental in bringing the talents of Renato Falcao (acclaimed Brazilian cinematographer) and Rob Tate (award winning editor) to the production team. Cyrus honed his financing and management skills as an investment banker with such firms as Prudential Securities and BNP Paribas before venturing into film production and financing.   Cyrus is currently working to secure financing for a number of film projects including Deep Katdare's directorial debut "G Killa". Cyrus holds a masters degree from the University of Texas.

American Desi is a first credit in what will likely be a long list of producer credits in Deep's career. An actor by training and a producer by necessity, Deep learned a great deal about what it takes to balance the two at every stage of American Desi. Since graduating from MIT , Deep has pursued acting and performed in theatre, television and film. His theater credits include Sampson in Romeo and Juliet and Claudio in Measure for Measure at the New Jersey Shakespeare Festival, Wister LaSalle in The Disenchanted at The Player's Club, Mohammed (Understudy) in The Tale of the Allergist's Wife both at the Manhattan Theatre Club and on Broadway at The Barrymore Theatre, and Merlie Ryan in The Ballad of the Sad Café at T. Schreiber Studio. Deep has appeared on the FOX television drama New York Undercover, and in the short film entitled Vasarma's Lovers which is currently on the international festival circuit.

 

For over three years, Gitesh Pandya worked for the CBS Television Network in New York City in Finance, Videotape & Post-Production Operations, and Olympic Operations. He has also worked on-site in Nagano, Japan on the broadcast of the 1998 Winter Olympic Games. With an economics degree from Drew University, Gitesh Pandya also operates Box Office Guru, a web site that tracks the film industry’s box office performance.

 

Graduating from Rutgers University in 1990 with a degree in Computer Science, Piyush Dinker Pandya brings film experience on many levels to American Desi. He has studied filmmaking at New York University, Rutgers, and The New School focusing on directing, screenwriting, and film production. In 1993, he directed and produced the sitcom Under One Roof and was a camera operator on the independent short The Sari directed by J. Palit. He has also worked on the production of New Line Cinema’s Hangin’ With The Homeboys. Piyush Dinker Pandya also maintains a successful career as an independent computer consultant with clients such as Hoffmann-LaRoche and Merrill Lynch.

 

After earning his political science degree from Drew University in 1994, Sujit Chawla studied at the New York Film Academy where he wrote and directed a commercial, a music video, and a short film entitled The Movie Part II. He has also worked on the sets of such motion pictures as The Substance of Fire, The Funeral, Ransom, and Tromeo and Juliet. Currently, Sujit Chawla is a law graduate from the Widener University School of Law in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.  

Sujit maintains a website for movie reviews and is currently working in the Public Relations Department of Saint Francis Hospital and Medical Center in Hartford, CT.

 

Kaushal Pandya has brought her expertise in set design, wardrobe, choreography, and dialogue to American Desi. She graduated from University of Gujarat in India and has worked at the law firm Simpson, Thatcher, and Bartlett in New York City since 1997.

 

Olivier Serra, Associate Producer

 

Olivier is a co-producer of 'American Desi' with a passion for film-making, photography and music. He is especially compelled by the cultural and ethnic content of the 'Amercian Desi' story, which is depicted with strong comedy elements. Olivier's involvement in the art world also includes short theatre pieces he co-wrote and performed. Olivier currently works as an investment banker in New York. He holds a graduate degree in business administration and is fluent in English, French, Portuguese and Spanish.