My experience in dancing came to the rescue during my toughest time.

I am from Ranavav, a small town near Porbandar, Gujarat – the Birthplace of Mahatma Gandhi. Love for movies is in my blood as my Grandfather & father were big movie buffs. My father wanted to pursue filmmaking, but his dream wasn't fulfilled, so he started photography.

My younger brother and I grew up playing with cameras, my other interests were dancing and storytelling, I used to tell imaginative stories to my brother. At a very young age, I knew that the movie industry is where I could fit in. I told this my mother, and though she knew very little about the industry, she supported me and said – ‘Kam karo, usi main karo, mehnat karo’.

I was 13 when I auditioned for the ‘Dance India Dance Season 2’. I had this constant feeling that time was running out. After my 10th exam, I told my father I had to go out and fulfil my dreams. He gave me 300 rupees considering I might return in a day or two, but I had other plans. I left for Baroda and found work at Ramanand Sagar’s - Sagar Studio. I used to get ₹ 200 per day. I also started teaching dance to kids.

At 17, I landed in Mumbai with ₹ 15K and went straight to Andheri, to the house of someone I know through contact, but they didn’t accept me. I was left with two options: going back or trying to fulfil my dreams in - the city of dreams. I chose the latter and went to Azad Nagar Bus Stop to spend a night, but I spent a week there before I found a place in Goregaon. I used to live with 11 people in a small room. I started giving auditions, sometimes surviving on one meal & walking miles to save money but got no work, and in 2.5 months, I left with no money.

Then, my experience in dancing came to the rescue. I started doing theatre-to-theatre movie marketing. The first promotion I did was for the movie ‘Kya Super Kool Hai Hum’ - we used to visit theatres & perform in front of an audience during intervals. During that stint, I got selected as a background dancer in Bhojpuri Movie, & then in ‘Balam Pichkari’ from #YeJawaniHaiDeewani .I start receiving work & got a chance to work with the legendary Saroj Khan, @prabhudevaofficial , @remodsouza , I worked as an assistant to choreographer @firoz.a.khan

I decided to learn the technique of storytelling, so I bought a laptop and a few books, which I thought would take a few weeks, took 2-3 years to learn ‘S’ of storytelling. I was getting no work, and that made me depressed day by day, I used to roam around the city sometimes and shoot videos. During that phase in the Month of Ramzan, I shot a documentary - Mohammed Ali Road and uploaded it on YouTube, it got positive reviews and a few awards.

In 2018, during a visit home, my younger brother, who by the time started learning cinematography, insisted on coming to Mumbai with me. I asked him to shoot a video, and if it’s good enough, I will take him along with me. We worked on an idea and, with the help of cousins, shot a short film –I was amazed by his cinematography skills. We named our short film – Little Wheels.

I sent Little Wheels to @humaramovie – a platform for short movies by @preetyali and Vinay Mishra. She liked the film and asked her executive producer Abhishek Gautam to contact us. They wanted to acquire it. The movie got astonishing reviews, and film schools invited me as a guest lecturer.

I wrote and directed the movie URIBO which got rave reviews. In 2020 I work as a screenplay writer and as part of the Director's team for the @disneyplushotstar web series Mukesh Jassos. Things were working fine when the pandemic hit, like the whole world, we were also confined to our home in lockdown. During that time, I wrote a few short stories.

However, as the situation and times require, I joined @sportskeeda as a video producer for their MMA division. My experience in filmmaking helped me produce some very good content, the response was such that from a team of one editor, my division became a team of 15-16 members.

When the situation eases out, I reach out to Humara Movies with a story I wrote during the lockdown, they liked it and were ready to produce it. Our short movie – #paani, was recently released on #DisneyPlusHotstar

When I look back at my journey - of getting out of home with ₹ 300 and the release of Paani comes to a sense of accomplishment and determination to work hard and achieve more.

More power to you Junaid! We are proud to feature you.

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