From PAF to the Big Screen

Sometimes, a film begins with a script.

Sometimes, it begins with a dream.

And sometimes, it begins with friendship.

But for me, the journey into cinema feels like it began much earlier — back in 2001, during my first year at IIT Bombay.

During our first year at IIT Bombay, we had a legendary college event called PAF — Performing Arts Festival, one of the godgiri-level art festivals of our college.

Our hostel H8 was grouped with H10, the girls' hostel. And honestly, even today, just hearing the name H10 brings a little romantic feeling. 😂😂😂

Our hostels were performing an act called ASAKT!

Since I was a freshie at that time, I was selected for the production team — basically, the ghodagiri wale log. 😂

And then came one of the most memorable nights of my college life.

We needed bamboo to construct a helicopter for our ASAKT production. So, in true IIT Bombay student style, we went for some "bamboo chori" from a construction area of the college. And yes, there was even a college security jeep following us!

Somehow, we managed to get the bamboo and bring it back.

Then came the next challenge: We had to actually build the helicopter. And we did. A helicopter made out of bamboo.

But the real test came during the performance. At the OAT — Open Air Theatre, we had to release the helicopter and make it slide along a rope from one end of the OAT to the other. It took a lot of effort, coordination, jugaad and, of course, ghodagiri.

But finally… the helicopter scene worked!

And for me, that was my first real "movie-type" experience. I didn't know it then, but that little bamboo helicopter would become a memory that would somehow connect with my life more than two decades later.

Those IIT Bombay memories will always remain with me.

Even today, whenever I hear "Dhol Bajne Laga" from Virasat, I am immediately transported back to those days. I remember ASAKT! I remember the OAT. I remember the madness of those performances.

And then there was "Hil Le Le Chakchor." How can I forget those seniors who performed on that song?

Some memories simply refuse to fade. They remain somewhere inside you, waiting for another moment in life to bring them back.

More than twenty years later, something completely unexpected happened.

My entrepreneur friend Santosh Hagawane from Pune was nurturing his dream project — a Marathi film called Khurchi. He asked me to join the journey. I had trust in Santosh. I believed in his vision. And our friendship became one of the reasons I decided to become part of the project.

But there was something else that connected me to the story.

At the heart of Khurchi was the dream of a boy from a poor family who aspired to reach the "Khurchi" — the top chair of village politics. It was a story about ambition. About struggle. About dreams. About a person daring to imagine a life beyond his circumstances.

And that idea resonated with me.

"Dreams do not ask where you come from. They ask how strongly you believe in them."

So I joined Santosh on that journey. And that journey marked my debut as a film producer, under my full film name: Pradeep Natthisingh Nagar.

My legal/document name is Pradeep Nagar, while Pradeep Natthisingh Nagar is the name I use for my film career and film credits.

And this is where life gets really interesting.

Back in 2001, I was a first-year student at IIT Bombay. I was part of a production team. We were doing ghodagiri. We went for bamboo chori. We built a helicopter out of bamboo. And we somehow managed to fly that helicopter across the OAT on a rope.

More than 20 years later, I was on a commercial film journey.

And guess what? Our film also has a helicopter scene. 🚁

But this time… we can hire a real helicopter! 😍😂

"Tab ghodagiri kar rahe the… Aaj producer hai." 😂❤️

Life is truly unpredictable. You never know which seemingly insignificant event from your past will connect with a completely different chapter of your future.

Looking back today, that bamboo helicopter at IIT Bombay feels less like a random college memory and more like a tiny preview of a journey I could never have imagined in 2001.

Khurchi became my first major step into the world of cinema.

But for me, cinema is not separate from the larger vision of WizNova™ — The Wisdom Nova. WizNova is built around a simple belief:

"Education should not only give us knowledge. It should help us transform knowledge into wisdom."

And that vision goes beyond classrooms. Through teaching, we want to make learning deeper and more meaningful. Through shows, podcasts and conversations, we want to bring inspiring ideas, extraordinary journeys and meaningful conversations to young minds. And through cinema and storytelling, we want to create stories that entertain, make people think, inspire them to dream and encourage them to believe in themselves.

Because sometimes… a classroom can teach you. A conversation can change the way you think. And a powerful story can change the way you see your life.

That is why WizNova Films is becoming an important part of the WizNova journey.

We don't want to make films simply for the sake of making films.

We want to tell meaningful stories. Stories of dreams. Stories of struggle. Stories of courage. Stories that make young people look at their own lives and say:

"Why not me?"

Because somewhere inside every young person is a dream. Sometimes that dream needs a teacher. Sometimes it needs a mentor. Sometimes it needs a conversation. And sometimes… it needs a story.

WizNova Films is our attempt to create those stories.

When I look back at this journey, I cannot help but smile.

From H8 and H10… From PAF and ASAKT!… From bamboo chori and ghodagiri… From a bamboo helicopter at IIT Bombay in 2001… To Khurchi… To becoming a film producer… To standing on a real film set with a real helicopter…

I realize something:

"Life has its own screenplay. And sometimes, it writes a better story than we ever could."

You never know which moment will become part of your story. Maybe that little helicopter in 2001 wasn't just a prop. Maybe it was the beginning of a story I simply wasn't ready to understand yet.

From Ghodagiri to the Big Screen. From a dream to a journey. From friendship to cinema. And now, from cinema to the larger vision of WizNova™.

The story continues. 🎬🚁❤️