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Page 18 - The Indian EYE 071026
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    The Indian Eye
                                            COMING TO AMERICA                                                            JULY 10, 2026      18

             From a Night on the New York Subway

                                        to Producing 40 Films:

                     One Immigrant’s American Dream

                     PRASHANT SHAH

                  he American Dream was nev-
                  er promised to be easy. For
            TPrashant Shah, founder of
            Bollywood Hollywood Productions, it
            arrived first as a cold night on a New
            York City R train — penniless, wal-
            letless, and alone — with nothing but
            an unwavering belief in storytelling.
                Shah had already crossed mul-
            tiple  worlds  before  setting  foot  in
            America,  having  lived  and  worked
            across India, Africa, and the United
            Kingdom. Each stop sharpened him.
            None satisfied the pull he felt toward
            the entertainment industry. America,
            he believed, was where that dream   ing parents, and quietly carving sta-  shoot had ground to a halt in the af-  That accidental coffee shop en-
            had to live. So he came — and in his   bility  from  scratch  —  the  invisible   termath of September 11, 2001, when   counter became the foundation of a
            very first week, lost his wallet.
                                              labor that immigrant success stories   filming restrictions made production   25-year career producing and facili-
                                              rarely headline.                  in New York nearly impossible. He   tating over 40 feature films and mul-
            “That night on the subway,”           Then came the disruption that   needed someone who understood   tiple television series.
                                                                                                                      The roster of collaborators reads
            Shah recalls, “I had nothing      changed everything.               the American landscape, knew mov-  like a who’s who of global entertain-
                                                  As Y2K fears receded and the
                                                                                ie production logistics, and had the
            but the belief that this coun-    IT  industry  lurched  through  un-  audacity to say yes on an impossible   ment: Dharma Productions, Yash
            try rewards those who refuse      certainty, Shah found himself at a   timeline.                      Raj Films, Film Kraft, Red Chillies
                                              crossroads. What appeared to be a     With  his  family  standing  firm-  Entertainment, Nadiadwala Grand-
            to give up. America has never  setback turned out to be a redirect.   ly beside him, Shah said yes — and   son,  Balaji  Telefilms,  MTV,  Fox,
            promised a soft landing — only    In  a  moment  that  sounds  scripted   closed the door on the hotel business   Sony,  amazon  prime,  among  many
                                              but was entirely real,  Shah  walked   conversation for good.       others spanning Bollywood and Hol-
            a fair chance. On its 250th  into  the  coffee  shop  at  the  Lexing-  By October 2001, they were    lywood alike.
                                                                                                                      What Bollywood Hollywood
            birthday, I celebrate what that   ton Hotel in New York City — now   pushing  forward  on  Love  at  Times   built was more than a production
                                              a Marriott — to meet his uncle, who
                                                                                Square, navigating a grieving, guard-
            chance made possible.”            wanted Shah’s help launching hotel   ed city before taking the production   company. It became a bridge — con-
                                              chains across India. It was at that ta-  across the United States. It was the   necting the creative energy of South
                What followed were years of   ble adjacent from him where Shah   spark that lit the fuse. Under the   Asian cinema with the infrastructure,
            building  from  the  ground  up.  Shah   came face to face with Dev Anand,   Bollywood Hollywood banner, Shah   talent, and audiences of the Ameri-
            waited tables, managed an electron-  the legendary icon of Indian cinema   had found his true calling — not in   can market at a time when that con-
            ics retail floor, and built an IT com-  whose career had defined Bollywood   IT servers or mining data but mind-  nection was largely uncharted terri-
            pany  while  navigating  the  volatile   for generations.           ing  business  in  stories  that  crossed   tory.
            tech landscape of the late 1990s. He   “Dev saab,” as he was affection-  cultures  and  continents  serving  the   When the pandemic shuttered
            was raising children, supporting ag-  ately known, was stranded. His film   audience.                        Continued on next page... >>

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