Ashoke Pandit

Ashoke Pandit (born 11 May 1957) is an Indian filmmaker and social activist.

Early years
Ashoke Pandit’s relentless artistic efforts have been spread over various mediums ranging from television shows, documentary films, ad films and also feature films. He made his foray into the entertainment arena with notable shows that were going to prove to be milestones in television for the posterity. He has been an Associate Director for shows like Nukkad, Yeh Jo Hai Zindagi and Circus working with Kundan Shah, Sudhir Mishra and Aziz Mirza.

Television
Ashoke Pandit produced and directed of a comic sitcom called Filmi Chakkar starring Satish Shah and Ratna Pathak Shah. The show had achieved success from its first episode.

Filmi Chakkar was followed by Tere Mere Sapne on Zee with Aruna Irani and Irrfan Khan, Colgate Top 10, Thriller at 10, Hanste Khelte, Vilayati Babu, Mungeri Ke Bhai Naurangilal, Rishtey, Gubbare and Mukkammal with Deepti Naval on Sahara Manoranjan.

Pandit produced and directed a show for Sony Entertainment Television in association with Madhur Bhandarkar called Heroine-Zindagi ke Panno se. It was a series of 12 short films all based on women-oriented stories.

He has produced and directed numerous live events for television: He also has been major associated with the Indian Television Awards.
 * musical shows like Safarnama (Sahara One) which featured Amitabh Bachchan and 18 singers from Bollywood;
 * comedy awards with Percept (NDTV Imagine), Masti Express (Sahara One).

Documentary
Besides television Ashoke Pandit has been a front runner for social causes and he being a film maker he has always found his voice in his craft. His documentary based on the exodus of Kashmiri Pandits, And the World Remained Silent has been a stark portrayal of the pain and pathos of a community who were reduced to be refugees in their own country. His documentary has travelled the world over to International Film Festivals to the UN in Geneva. This documentary was felicitated in International Film Festival in Goa, Pune International Film Festival, MAMI in Mumbai. The documentary got a standing ovation when screened at the House of Commons in London.

Pandit’s second documentary Paani was based on the 26 July deluge of Mumbai. It was screened on 3 June 2005.

He is now producing a documentary called the Village of Widows, which has also received the Indian Television Academy Award for the Best Documentary.

Film
Pandit’s directorial film debut was under the production mantle of Sahara Manoranjan. Sheen (means Snow in Kashmiri) premiered in the Human Rights Violation Conference, Geneva. The film captured the agony of the Kashmiri Pandit refugees.

Production house
His production company called Shaarika Images is very active in the production of live ground events and television commercials 11 national and international brands feature in the ads produced by his Production House.

Actor

 * ''Tera Kya Hoga Johny" (2011) (Special Appearance)
 * Corporate (2006) as a Journalist (As Himself)
 * C Kkompany (2007) as a News Channel Head (Special Appearance)
 * "Maan Gaye Mughal-e-Azam" (2008) (Special Appearance)
 * "Maine Gandhi Ko Nahin Mara" (2005) (Special Appearance)

Director

 * Sheen (2004)

Story writer

 * Sheen (2004)

Producer

 * Sheen (2004)

Social activism
Pandit is associated with the struggle of displaced Kashmiri Pandits. For last 15–17 years he has been working for the cause.

For last 20 years Pandit has been working create newer platforms to address the issue of Kashmiri Pandits. He took the mantle of the cause to platforms like Human Rights Violation Conferences in Geneva, House of Commons in London, Shri. Abdul Kalam - President of India, various leaders and political offices of the country. His efforts compounded by the efforts of other mainstream activist did force the offices of power to take cognizance of this issue. He strived hard to persuade the then Maharashtra Government to reserve two seats for displaced Kashmiri students in professional colleges of Maharashtra. This did give a major impetus to the students who were toiling hard to get admissions after the exodus. Whenever he has stood for an issue he has stood by the credibility of the issue. It may be the genocide of Hindu Kashmiri Pandits in the Kashmir valley or the mass genocide of the Muslims in Gujarat.

He has been working hard to create a better living ambience for the residents of Mumbai, especially in the suburbs. His activism regarding the 26th July floods has brought about the awareness required in order to avoid such a calamity which he has pointed out was more a man-made disaster than a natural calamity.

He has taken up the cause of supporting the anti-reservation movement and for that purpose along with making his presence felt at various rallies and forums, he is also responsible for initializing a music video that has music by Roop Kumar Rathod and lyrics by Sameer, the video was directed by Ashoke Pandit.

He was one of the frontrunners in the rescue operations and post rescue working during the blasts of 7/11 and 26/11.

He has been a strongly supporting the Anti-Corruption movement led by Shri Anna Hazare and Dr. Kiran Bedi by carrying out protests & rallies in Mumbai and speaking on various public forums.

Personal
He married playback singer Neerja Pandit in the year 1988. They have a daughter, Shaarika and a son, Raj.