Beenu Rajpoot (born 31 August 1979) is an Indian film director and producer.[1] She has directed multiple films and produced several national and international documentary films.[2][3][4] She is the founder of Beenu Rajpoot Films, a production house based in Delhi.
Rajpoot started her film career with the Mentor Mike Pandey, and she worked with him as a researcher on an episode of his TV show Earth Matters.[12] Most of her films have been approved by (CBFC) Central Board of Film Certification.[13]
In 2016, she came up with her first film independently and she gave extensive research and two long years to give shape to the film. "Born to Dance" was based on the life of Kathak dancer Shovana Narayan.[14] This film was released on 11th Oct 2016 at India International Centre (IIC), Delhi.[15] This film was later shown in Chandigarh, where it was well-received by the audience.[16][17]
In 2017, Rajpoot directed Wall of Valour - A Tribute to Martyrs. The film was based on Border Security Force (BSF) martyr Rocky, who saved the lives of 44 people in a terrorist attack. The film was screened at Panjab University and many cities.[18][19] The film is first released in Yamunanagar, Haryana, where Rocky lived.[20] After that, Punjab University, Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP), and BSF screened the film in Chandigarh.[21]Rajasthan Police Academy also screened this film many times.[22]
In 2018, Rajpoot directed and produced a film "Kaba-e-Hindostan: Ghalib’s Ode to Banares: Charagh-e-dair". The film is based a journey taken by Mirza Ghalib to Banares. Ghalib's much acclaimed poem “Chirag-i-Dair” (Temple lamps) was composed during his trip to Banares in the spring of 1827.[23]
This film was first screened on 17 February 2018 at India Islamic Cultural Centre Delhi in 2018.[24][25] This film has been screened in Banaras, Jalandhar (Punjab), Panjab University Chandigarh, Sangeet Natak AcademyChandigarh, and Hamdard University, Delhi.[26][27]
In 2019, Rajpoot directed and produced a documentary film Beyond Belief: The Real Mythbuster. The 32-minute documentary several successful visually impaired people, including Padhmashri awardee Shekhar Naik.[28] This film showed that disability does not mean you have no ability. This film was first screened on December 3, 2019, at the Alliance Française de Delhi. The Rajya Sabha TV covered this film.[29][30]
During COVID-19, Beenu directed another short documentary film, Reunion, in 2020. Her hostelmate friend conceptualized the film. While the lockdown has sparked the creativity of many, a group of women, all 1997-batch pass-outs from HMV College in Jalandhar, have created their own version of a lockdown film.[31]
In 2022, another documentary film Kathak Log of Kathak Villages directed by Beenu Rajpoot and produced by Shovana Narayan. The film is based on a book Kathak Lok. The Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts in Delhi first screened the documentary on April 30, 2022.[33][34]
Beenu directed and produced "Bhakt Bhagwat: A Tiny Lover of Lord Krishna" in 2023. Her film Bhakt Bhagwat: A Tiny Lover of Lord Krishna is in the headlines. Bhagwat Das Brahmachari, a three-and-a-half-year-old servant (bhakt) of Lord Krishna, preaches Sanatan Dharma and Shrimad Bhagwat Geeta in this film. The Delhi NCUI auditorium showed this film on November 26, 2023, followed by the Jalandhar Hansraj Mahila Mahavidyalaya.[35][36]
In the same year, Rajpoot directed "Lama Mani: A Story Teller in Arts," about Tibetan Buddhist monk and contemporary artist Lama Tashi Norbu and the old Tibetan tradition of Lama Mani. The Sebastiani Theatre in Sonoma, CA, USA hosted the documentary's first screening on November 19, 2023. Next, the documentary screened at NeueHouse in New York City on January 30, 2024; Tsechen Kunchab Ling Buddhist Temple in Walden, NY, on February 15, 2024.[37][38]
In 2024, Rajpoot directed Bharat Ki Awaaz: Acharya Rama Kant Shukla, based on Rama Kant Shukla's work and life. The film was screened at Alliance Francaise Auditorium in Delhi. And the show was housefull.[39][40]
Rajpoot always promotes Indian Art & Culture and literature. In the year 2019, she formed a society named “AGRIMAA Society of Arts” in Delhi. She is the founder member of Precious Planet Charitable Trust (PPCT), Delhi.[41]