Saad Khan is an Indianfilm director, screenwriter and acting teacher. He is the founder and creative head of FirstAction and A for Acting where he mentors nurturing talents. Khan is known for his Kannada feature filmHumble Politician Nograj, which is the first Kannada film to achieve world-wide digital audience presence on Amazon Prime. Khan worked in Bollywood as an Associate Director to Oscar nominated filmmaker Ashutosh Gowariker. Khan was the director of the 2014 film, that was the first Hindi feature film in Bangalore. In 2008, Khan's short film Another Kind of Black was screened at the Cannes Film Festival. In 2016, Khan filmed his first Hollywood feature film titled Love and She in Louisiana. In 2018, his home-grown critically acclaimed film Humble Politician Nograj released. The film became the first Kannada-English film to become a box office hit in India and achieve the biggest overseas release across USA, UK, Europe, Australia, Germany, among other countries.
Early life
Khan was born in Mumbai, India, and was raised in Bangalore. Khan is an alumnus of St. Joseph's College, eventually graduating as a mechanical engineer from M.S. Ramaiah Institute of Technology. While studying to be an engineer, he developed an interest in theatre at the age of 17 and started writing and directing plays. He also spearheaded a theatre group which then produced over 12 plays in a span of 4 years. Khan decided to pursue a career in film and media. After graduating from college, Khan left for the United States to continue his education in filmmaking. He got a degree certificate in filmmaking from Tisch School of the Arts, New York University where he was also awarded a study scholarship and assistantship. Khan's determination to excel in filmmaking then took him to the University of Louisiana at Lafayette where he was awarded his master's degree in Communication and Media. He then returned to New York to complete the summer degree program in directing at Tisch.
Career
Right after completing college, Saad Khan wrote and directed two short films, Another Kind of Black and On My Mind. The former was selected at the Short Film Corner of the Cannes Film Festival, and the latter was shot in the south of the US and was screened at the Acadiana Film Festival. On his return to India, Khan assisted Ashutosh Gowariker in the Bollywood film Khelein Hum Jee Jaan Sey almost immediately. After a 2-year stint in Mumbai, he founded his media company Centerstage in Bangalore, which holds acting, communication and media workshops, produces stage shows, manages casting for films, ads, television commercials, viral videos and provides opportunities to aspiring artists in the city. Khan is also the producer of the comedy show The Improv under the Centerstage banner. Khan has conceptualized, hosted and directed the entire show with 6 to 7 actors by taking scenarios from a live audience, with the actors performing them on the spot. The Improv was the first national act which was presented by Black Dog Easy Evenings in Hyderabad, after they toured with performers such as Russell Peters, Robert Schneider, and the team of Whose Line Is It Anyway?The Improv toured internationally with well received shows in Dubai and Abu Dhabi. After CenterStage, Khan moved into ideating and creating something with Danish Sait that changed the face of Kannada Filmmaking- Humble Politician Nograj. The movie was a satirical take on a politician's personal life and what happens when you vote someone into power. Humble Politician Nograj also created a buzz by becoming the first Kannada film to be picked up by Amazon Prime at a promising price. With web series and online shows catching up with the audiences, Khan and team decided to give it an online push with a series. Khan also stated that the idea to push it online was creatively focused. Khan will be writing the screenplay of the online series/sequel too. With the sequel of The Humble Politician, Saad Khan and Danish Sait have collaborated with Samir Nair, the CEO of Applause Entertainment, the content publisher of series like Mind The Malhotras, Hostages, who will be venturing into Kannda film and media with this stint. Khan's venture with Danish Sait – FirstAction, under which the movie Humble Politician Nograj was created has recently given significant stakes to Mumbai-based Rainshine Entertainment in a strategic move. Khan is also the Founder of an acting school called A for Acting where he mentors budding talents. Famous comic Sumukhi Suresh, Kenny Sebastian, Samyukta Hornad, Ria Nalavade are alumni of A for Acting. Having restricted bandwidth, Khan has now started a YouTube page to help students realize their potential. Khan has also given various TedTalks on IMPROV, How to be the centre of attention.
