A young film maker from India is making his presence felt in the stand-up comedy scene in the U.S. Siddarth Salgaonkar from Belagavi is also actively involved in the alternative film circuit there. A polymath with an artistic bent of mind, he is writing scripts and assisting TV crews while working on his next independent film project.
A graduate of the Bengaluru based Srishti School of Art, Design, and Technology, Siddarth made a film that was screened in the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF). The festival was held in collaboration with Instagram. As part of his curriculum, he made ‘Savangadi’, a thesis film that was filmed entirely in his hometown of Belagavi.
He later completed a post graduate course in Dramatic Writing for Stage and Screen from the Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD) in Savannah in Georgia.
As a SCAD student, Siddharth wrote scripts in all formats — feature, TV, stage, VR, podcast, sketch comedy, and others. He also got a chance to perform improvisational sketches. After graduating in 2022, he moved to New York to continue his dream of becoming a writer/director/actor. He also began to explore his newfound interest in stand-up comedy.
He regularly performs freelance in the stand-up comedy circuit in New York. He is helping out on sets of some TV shows for script writing and in allied areas. He is also working on his next personal film project.
Siddharth’s parents are both artists — his father Hemant Salgaonkar is a painter, trained in Mumbai based JJ School of Art. He ran a business in Belagavi recently, but kept creating lasting images of Belagavi, the city on the borders of the western ghats. His mother Seema is a gifted Marathi theatre artist and Yoga trainer. He says art runs in his family. “My brother graduated from the National Institute of Design in Ahmedabad and is now a UX-Designer in California,” he said.
`Monster’, the 60- second film that was screened in Toronto film festival changed his life. “It was made using available materials and meagre resources, featured my mother Seema as an actress and my father Hemant as a crew member. The film was selected among 23 films from around the world to be screened at the festival. It won recognition from unexpected quarters — rapper/actress Awkwafina who has acted in Hollywood movies like Shang-Chi and Ocean’s Eight, recommended it,’‘ he says. “As a child I wanted to be either a chef or a film maker. I think I have made my choice now after a lot of thought,’‘ he said.
Siddharth credits SCAD for honing his skills in writing for the screen. “During my time there, not only did I learn a lot about the craft and some crucial tricks of the trade, but I also made some meaningful connections -friends and faculty members. I had great mentors who guided me, and peers whom I would definitely collaborate with in the near future. I wrote scripts in all formats and got the chance to perform on stage. It boosted my confidence to write and direct and helped me focus on stand up comedy,’‘ he says.
He is planning to collaborate with like-minded youth in New York and come up a new age script that would address issues faced by the youth today.
