Biography
Nayan Padrai is an award-winning screenwriter, producer, and director. Nayan co-wrote, produced, and directed his first feature film "When Harry Tries to Marry" released in the US on April 22, 2011. He also produced the film's soundtrack.
Nayan's next feature directing project is "Billion Dollar Raja" inspired by the true story of the largest insider trading case in US history. The script is an Honoree of the Writer's Guild of America's Feature Access project. Nayan is producing "Wildflowers" for the company.
Born in Mumbai, and raised in Forest Hills, New York, Nayan grew passionate about writing and acting at Forest Hills High School. From there, Nayan studied drama at Queensborough Community College and transferred to focus on screenwriting and acting in New York City at the School of Visual Arts.
Nayan has won several awards and accolades for his screenwriting efforts at screenwriting festivals and contests. In 2009, his script for "When Harry Tries to Marry" with writing partner Ralph Stein was a top ten finalist at Creative Screenwriting Magazine (Expo Contest). The script was a winner at the Texas Film Institute competition and at the Empire Screenplay Competition. He was accepted to the Sundance Independent Producer Conference in 2004. His writing has placed in various stages of quarterfinal, semi-final, and finals competition at Austin Film Festival, Academy of Motion Pictures Arts & Sciences - Nicholl Fellowship, Breckenridge Screenplay Competition, Lone Star Screenplay Competition, Open-Door Script Magazine Contest, Writer's Network Competition, and Chesterfield Writer's Film Project. Nayan is a member of the Writer's Guild of America (w), where he now serves as a Co-Chair of the Asian American Writers Committee. He is also a member of BMI.
"When Harry Tries to Marry" became a festival darling. The film won Best Audience Award, Best Crossover Film, and Best New Talent at London Asian Film Festival. It also won Best Feature Film (Comedy) at Jersey Shore Film Festival. The film was a marquee screening of the Austin Film Festival, where it had its World Premiere, and its international premiere was at Mumbai Film Festival. The film was an official selection of the Gold Coast International Film Festival.
Nayan has been a guest speaker at various industry events, and colleges including Ithaca College, Pace University, and Stonybrook University. In 2006, the South Asian Student Alliance (S.A.S.A.) bestowed Nayan with a Visionary Award for his work in the media and entertainment sector. Nayan has written guest blogs for IndieWire, Filmmaker, and The Wall Street Journal. Nayan first coined the phrase "Direct Distribution" on Ted Hope's Hope for Film blog.
Prior to launching his filmmaking career at the age of 34, Nayan was the Co-Founder and President of Cinemaya Media Group, one of the largest South Asian media, entertainment and marketing conglomerates in the US. At Cinemaya, Nayan produced over 300 hours of television programming, and ran it's advertising agency Elephant, which was in the top 15 multi-cultural agencies ranked by AdAge. Nayan was responsible for launching the company's operations in India in 2007.
Nayan lives in Los Angeles.
