Siddharth Chauhan is an Award Winning Independent Filmmaker based in Shimla. He was born on 24th Sep, 1990 in Sirmaur district (Renuka), Himachal Pradesh. Siddharth's father Balwan Singh Chauhan is a retired bank officer and mother Bimla Chauhan is a homemaker. They belong to village Dhanoti of Rohru and are currently living in the city of Shimla.
Siddharth studied in ECI Chalet Day School Shimla, Shimla till class 10th and then did his intermediate from Dayanand Public School. Later he graduated from University School of Business studies in BCA and then pursued his MBA from Himachal Pradesh University Business School. During his studies, Siddhartha learnt film making techniques on the internet and through books.
During his MBA, he made a gender sensitive film called : ‘Boys don’t wear nail polish!’ in Shimla with a limited budget and a non-professional crew, starring Ms.Kamayani Bisht and Manan Thakur. His film won The Golden Halo award at its very first festival screening in Kerala.
His second film 'The Infinite Space' based on the story of a monk who discovers a secret, did better on the International circuit and featured the music of a famous Grammy Award Nominee Tibetan Musician; Nawang Khechog. The film was selected by The University of Manchester, UK, for their film curation scheme in 2015 where the Selection Jury reviewed it as a film that "maintains the peace and serenity of Buddhism" and called it a piece of "Excellent cinematic storytelling, Well Shot with some striking images".
Siddharth's latest film ’PaPa' is a story about the strange relationship of a son and his disabled mother living in strange circumstances after an accident which has left their lives scarred forever. The film had its premiere at the International Documentary & Short Film Festival Kerala, where it recently won the Best Film Award for its "For its innovation in narrative gesture and wicked understanding of human behaviour."
The jury loved this Shimla filmmaker's film and awarded it for its uniqueness and wit. PaPa was competing with 30 other films which included films from FTII Pune, SRFTI Kolkata, TISS Mumbai, NID Ahmedabad and many other filmmakers from Mumbai.
PaPa features Mohit Singh Parmar in the lead role, an actor from Palampur with Nandita Aron, a Jewellery Designer from Bareilly, playing the neighbors role and Sushma Kaul, HOD, English Department, Bishop Cotton School, playing the mother's role in the film.
Siddharth has independently written, directed and produced 4 short films till date, all of which have been produced in Shimla and have taken the local culture, talent, and scenic beauty to several countries like Sarajevo, England, USA, Belarus, Italy, Durham, Indonesia, Paris and New Zealand. He was awarded the Hindustan Times Group 'Youth Achiever Award' in 2014, for his film Boys Don't Wear Nailpolish's grand success. He has earned himself the position of being the 1st Independent filmmaker from Himachal Pradesh to have continuously taken his locally produced films outside India, without any professional study, training, crew or cast! An unheard & magnificent record by a Himachali local.
Siddhartha expressed his gratitude to his parents, holding them responsible for his success. He is currently writing more scripts and working on his next film which will also feature local talent and will be in Pahari (Himachali) language.