Shiladitya Bora

Biography:

Shiladitya Bora is an Indian film producer, director, marketer, and distributor. He is the founder of Mumbai-based film production studio Platoon One Films. Bora hails from Assam and completed his undergraduate and post-graduate studies in Ahmedabad. He began his film career by leading the indie release banner PVR Pictures’ Directors’ Rare, a limited release arm of PVR Cinemas group. During his tenure, he successfully released more than 85 independent films. In 2015, Bora was honored for his work in marketing and distribution and was chosen as one of the Berlinale Talents of the year.

As the first CEO of Drishyam Films, Bora served as an Associate Producer on acclaimed films like Masaan (2015) and Newton (2017). He played a crucial role in developing Newton from a concept to a full-fledged production, which became India’s official entry for the 90th Academy Awards. In 2017, he founded Platoon One Films with his wife, Shilpi Agarwal, a costume designer. The studio’s debut Hindi production, Yours Truly, directed by Sanjoy Nag and featuring Soni Razdan, Pankaj Tripathi, and Aahana Kumra, premiered at the Busan International Film Festival 2018 and traveled to numerous festivals worldwide. Platoon One Films also produced the National Award-winning Marathi film Picasso, directed by Abhijeet Warang and starring Prasad Oak.

Bora completed his schooling in Assam and earned his Bachelor’s in Engineering from Lalbhai Dalpatbhai College of Engineering, Ahmedabad, in 2005. He pursued a Post Graduate program in Communication Management and Entrepreneurship at Mudra Institute of Communications, Ahmedabad (MICA). During his studies, he initiated the FulMarxx Shorts Fest in 2008, which later evolved into the Ahmedabad International Film Festival. Bora received the MICA Award for Creative and Entrepreneurial Excellence in 2008 for this initiative.

His film career began with the establishment of a film club called Sunset Boulevard, which collaborated with PVR Cinemas to conduct screenings for its members. Impressed by this model, PVR Cinemas joined forces with Bora to organize multi-city film festivals. In 2010, under Gautam Dutta’s guidance, Bora launched PVR Cinemas’ first indie release banner, PVR Directors’ Rare, where he released around 85 films, spanning fiction, documentary, and experimental genres from around the world.

In 2017, Bora founded Platoon One Films, a Mumbai-based film production studio, with his wife, Shilpi Agarwal. Over four years, the studio has marketed and distributed over 60 films, both domestically and internationally. In 2020, Bora marketed and distributed the Cannes Film Award-winning Is Love Enough? Sir, directed by Rohena Gera, which also won two Indian Filmfare Awards in 2021.

Platoon One Films’ debut Hindi production, Yours Truly, directed by Sanjoy Nag and featuring Soni Razdan, Pankaj Tripathi, Aahana Kumra, and Mahesh Bhatt, premiered at the Busan International Film Festival 2018. In 2019, Bora directed his first short film, Aapke Aa Jane Se, starring Manu Rishi Chaddha, which premiered at the New York Indian Film Festival and was screened at over 20 festivals worldwide.

The studio’s second production was the Marathi film Picasso, directed by Abhijeet Mohan Warang and starring National Award-winning actor Prasad Oak and child artist Samay Tambe. In 2021, it won the National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Special Mention.

Bora’s Hindi feature directorial debut film, Bhagwan Bharose, starring Masumeh Makhija, Vinay Pathak, Shrikant Verma, and Manu Rishi Chaddha, was selected as the closing film for the 25th UK Asian Film Festival, London, where it won the Flame Award for Best Film.