Siddharth Roy Kapoor, Sooni Taraporevala, Mira Nair and Muzaffar Ali come together to raise money for Yeh Ballet star Achintya Bose’s education

Producer Siddharth Roy Kapoor along with Ardea Foundation presented a fundraiser evening ‘Dare To Dream’ to raise money for Yeh Ballet star Achintya Bose’s education.

Evoking the heartwarming narrative of Yeh Ballet, dancer-actor Achintya Bose who made his acting debut in the critically acclaimed Netflix original film as Asif, a rebellious teenager passionate about hip-hop who defied all odds, and overcame social barriers to become a successful male ballet dancer, has got a part scholarship to the prestigious Sharon Disney Lund School of Dance at CalArts but requires additional financial support to fully realise his dreams.

The evening comprised a High Tea followed by the screening of Yeh Ballet which was attended by Sooni Taraporevala, Mira Nair, Muzaffar Ali, Anusha Rizvi, Bhaskar Hazarika and art philanthropists like Monsoon Bissell of Fab India, Aditi Jaitly-Senior Curator,  Performing Arts and Aseem Vadehra, Projector Director from the Kiran Nadar Museum of Art, and Vidyun Singh, Creative Head Programmes  and Sunit Tandon, Executive Director, ,Habitat World, India Habitat Centre. 

Achintya enthralled the audience with his surprise dance performance choreographed by him with inputs from Urvil Shah and Purva Goel before the beginning of the film. Filmmaker Sooni who presented the film called Achintya her ‘Miracle Boy’ and also dedicated the evening to Yeh Ballet actor Julian Sands who passed away recently. 

The screening was followed by a conversation moderated by Author-Festival Programmer Aseem Chhabra with producer Siddharth Roy Kapoor,  writer-director Sooni Taraporevala and dancer-actor Achintya Bose.

The producer Siddharth Roy Kapoor who also presented the evening says, “It was incredible to watch the film in all its glory with this wonderful Dolby sound but what was even more gratifying was the fact that the audience here recognised and appreciated Achintya as a performer and as someone that they clearly would like to support because it is incredible how his real life story is mirroring the character in the film and the fact he’s got admission to Cal Arts which is such a wonderful school. I think we should all get together to support it and I hope that this screening enables us to be able to send him on a journey that he was born to be on”

Writer and director of Yeh Ballet Sooni Taraporevala says, “Achintya, or Ochinto as I now call him after having shot with him in Kolkata for my new project also centred around dance, is a remarkable young man, with boundless talent and a passion for hard work. For Yeh Ballet he learnt ballet, breakdancing, & acting all in a short period of time earning him the title I gave him – my miracle boy. Besides his artistic acumen he also has a solid moral compass . I applaud ARDEA for their excellent decision to make him their Youth Ambassador and I am certain he will make them and all of us proud.”

Renowned filmmaker Mira Nair who was also there to support the fundraising initiative says, “Nothing is more brilliant than seeing Yeh Ballet and Achintya’s amazing and real performance. The story of the film, which is a true story to further one’s own dream, and to have Achintya now cross the ocean and become the professional dancer. This gives me great joy to be here and support him through his remarkable performance through this remarkable film. It dares me and encourages us all, especially the young people, to go with the impulse of their love and passion.”

Achintya Bose who debuted as Asif in Yeh Ballet says, “I am filled with love and gratitude. It’s amazing to see that people would still come in to see this film that we put together 4 years ago! It was lovely watching it on the big screen, this time with Dolby! I am thankful to everyone who made this happen, and grateful to everyone who came. 

He adds, “This movie is about dreams; I hope that resonates with people. With my dreams coming closer to becoming reality, I feel I am reliving Asif and his life. I am glad my mother, ‘the tiger mom’ of the evening; put together the screening in celebration of my admission to Cal Arts. It felt right to go back to this film.”