Mumbai, 16 June 2024

The 18th Mumbai International Film Festival (MIFF) today hosted a dynamic panel discussion titled “Inspiring Narratives: Innovation and Creativity.” The session featured budding social entrepreneurs who shared their initiatives aimed at bringing transformative changes to society. The discussion explored the personal journeys of these innovators, highlighting how they navigated challenges, embraced creativity, and transcended boundaries to bring their ideas to life. From breaking gender norms to overcoming societal barriers, the panelists shared insights and experiences, inspiring others to pursue their passions and make a lasting impact.

In an effort to celebrate these success stories and inspire millions, animation films depicting their life journeys are being co-produced by the National Film Development Corporation (NFDC) and Netflix as part of the ‘Azadi Ka Amrit Kahaniyan’ series. Trailers of these films were showcased during the discussion. Handpicked by the Principal Scientific Advisor to the Prime Minister’s Office and the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, the stories of these innovators are central to the collaborative initiative between NFDC and Netflix. Through captivating storytelling techniques blending animation and live-action, skillfully narrated by Raj Kumar Rao, the impactful journeys of these change-makers are being presented.

Highlighting this series, Dr. Sapna Poti, Director of Strategic Alliances in the Office of the Principal Scientific Adviser to the Government of India, stated that these are not just animated stories but sagas of social innovators that would inspire millions. She emphasized that innovation is not just the development of something new, but it should also be sustainable. “There is sustainability in each of these stories in this series, which needs to be amplified so that people across the nation will get to know about their life journeys. This is the reason the Government has chosen this platform to highlight their stories,” she added.

Addressing the panel discussion, Hasmukh Rawal, the Managing Director and Co-founder of Mylab Discovery Solutions, shared that the best way to bring in innovative solutions is to make them easier, accessible, and convenient for users. He cited the success story behind CoviSelf, the pioneering COVID-19 test kit for self-use, as an example.

Lokesh P. Goswami, the Co-founder and CTO of Angirus, while sharing his inspiring narrative, emphasized that every social entrepreneur should treat a larger societal problem as a personal issue. He believes that this sense of responsibility will lead to innovation.

Other participants included Amit Ghosh, the Founder of aAHARAN EduSMAR Pvt. Ltd., a company dedicated to providing e-learning services in local languages for students in Northeast India; Meghna Roy, the Co-Founder and Creative Director of The Good Stuff Studio (TGS), a creative agency; and Kunjpreet Arora, Co-founder of Angirus. They shared their experiences and insights during the discussion.

The session was moderated by Aditya Kutty, who currently serves as the Head of the Litigation and Regulatory Function at Netflix as a Legal Director.

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PIB Team MIFF | Gautam/ Swadhin/ Darshana | 17

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