Anushka Meenakshi

Anushka Meenakshi is a director, actress, cinematographer, and community video trainer. She is a member of Perch, a collective performance in Chennai that comprises artists from different fields. She is known for her work in Up Down & Sideways, Nelson Vandre, and the 10th Film Bazaar.

Anushka and her co-director, Ishwar Srikumar, started the U Ra Mi Li project, which brings together people who tell stories about music through writing, photography, and performance. They have been traveling across India since 2011 to rediscover the work music of various communities. The main purpose of the project is to research and document different forms of art. The project was praised by the India Foundation for the Arts, Pad. ma, and the Archive and Research Centre for Ethnomusicology. It has also been selected for the NDFC film Baazar WIP Lab and Docedge, Kolkata. Her film, Up Down & Sideways, also received a special jury mention award for India Gold.

They have worked on great projects. They discovered the magical form of Li, which is the relationship between song and agricultural labor, during a week-long visit to Phek Village in 2011. They have also been commissioned by the National Centre of Performing Arts, Mumbai.