Draft:Karan Gour

Karan Gour is a filmmaker whose debut was marked by the psychological drama film, Kshay ("Corrode"). Gour wrote, edited, and directed the film, which premiered at the Chicago International Film Festival and received the Asian New Talent Award at the 2012 Shanghai International Film Festival as well as the Jury Award at the Indian Film Festival of Los Angeles.

In addition to his work as a filmmaker, Gour is also a music composer and sound designer, having contributed to a number of films including NH10, Phobia, Titli, and Haraamkhor.

Early life
Karan Gour was born in New Delhi, and at the age of 6, he moved to Kodaikanal.. He spent his formative years studying at Kodaikanal. He moved back to New Delhi for university, where he spent much of his time in-front of a television set. He is a sound engineer and music composer. He eventually began writing his first script, Kshay ("Corrode"), while also working as a writer for an audio-visual technology magazine.

Career
In 2012, Gour released his first feature film, Kshay ("Corrode"), which he wrote, directed, edited, composed the music and sound design for. The film was made on a budget of $10,000 over the course of four years with the help of cinematographer Abhinay Khoparzi. "Kshay" was a success, winning several awards at film festivals such as the Shanghai International Film Festival and the Indian Film Festival, Stuttgart. Its theatrical run was followed by a digital release on Netflix and Amazon Prime

Gour's second feature film, Fairy Folk, premiered at the Sydney Film Festival in June, 2022 and went on to compete for the Q-Hugo at the Chicago International Film Festival. Between the release of Kshay and Fairy Folk, Gour worked on the background scores for several films, including Titli (2015), which competed for the Camera d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival. He also composed background scores for the films NH10 (2015) and Phobia (2016).

Kshay
Kshay (Corrode) is a 2012 independent film written and directed by Karan Gour, which took the small crew four years to complete. The film follows Chhaya, a housewife played by Rasika Dugal, who becomes obsessed with an unfinished statue of the goddess Lakshmi after visiting a sculpture workshop. The film was shot on location in Mumbai and uses natural light to give it a documentary-like feel. Gour notes that he is happy for the film to be available on digital platforms, stating that with the arrival of streaming services like Netflix and Amazon in India, independent films have a chance to reach audiences beyond their limited theatrical release.

Fairy Folk
Fairy Folk premiered at the Sydney Film Festival on the 12th of June, 2022 ; it is one of India's first improvisational, new age fantasy films and was written and directed by Karan Gour. The film marks the first feature film appearance for real life husband and wife actor duo Mukul Chadda and Rasika Dugal. Chadda and Dugal both enjoyed working on the film, which was made using improvisation and gave them the freedom to explore their characters in unexpected situations.