In Focus

“When you are passionate about your work, every difficulty becomes a challenge and ultimately, hard work pays.” – Bud Patel

US-based actor, writer, director and producer Bud Patel is indeed an inspiration. Read on as he candidly speaks about his popular film 'A Curry on an American Plate', and other short films...

Actor, producer, writer, director… this versatile powerhouse performer has a finger in every pie in the entertainment world. Meet the very talented Bud Patel, also known as Bhadresh Patel, whose A Curry on an American Plate on YouTube, won accolades and hearts. Incidentally, he was the producer and the lead actor in this film. The film was officially selected at the 2018 Hoboken International Film Festival and also the 2018 NIFF International Film Festival in Houston.

Bud is truly amazing. He has acted in over 150 plus dramas and 50 plus short films and music videos in several languages including Hindi, English, Gujarati, Marathi, and Bengali. He has also done various stage shows in Mumbai, Houston, and Toronto Canada. We caught up with this versatile personality for an interview. Read on as Bud regales us with stories about his formative years, short films, the making of A Curry on an American Plate and more. Read on…

Tell us about your formative years? Were you involved in Theater/Drama/Films back in India?

Acting is my passion and it all started at the age of 7 in school. I later started acting in Marathi dramas in Mumbai. Then I moved to the USA in 1988 and my dream of working in Bollywood never happened. However, I carried forward my passion for acting and kept myself involved in theater in the USA too. I wrote and directed many stage plays - both in Hindi and Gujarati. I worked in many short films produced by Dil-Ki-Baat & Story Teller Films based in Houston.

You have been a Microbiologist, Medical Laboratory Scientist and Hotelier after you came to America. Give us an insight of your journey in the US.

Yes, I am a Microbiologist and worked at the Medical Laboratory as Medical Technologist for more than 20+ years. Simultaneously, I shifted my interest in the Hotel business and ultimately started building franchise hotels. Now I am a full time film maker and actor. My journey from the Hotel Business and Medical Profession to Film Production was not easy. I started giving auditions for various roles, struggled to get good roles, even worked in Theater as a backstage manager, but my ultimate goal was to produce a mainstream cinema feature film.

How supportive was your wife and family towards your passion for producing A Curry on An American Plate and your journey in producing short films?

I had enrolled myself at Film-Making classes with Next Actor Studio in Houston, Texas, where I met Trisha Ray and San Benarje and they offered me a role and also we collaborated and jointly produced A Curry on an American Plate. It is a hysterical comedy about a dying Indian restaurant that gets 30 days’ notice to close down. Now Bud Patel (Owner) can only hope for a miracle to keep his staff and restaurant open. This film stars Bud Patel, Rick Fox, Charlie O’Connell, Andrea Guasch, and San Banarje. Honestly, I’d like to point out that it would have not possible without the support of my family, especially my wife Gita Patel and my children.

DIFFERENT CHARACTERS PLAYED BY BUD PATEL

Tell us about the difficulties you had to face while producing the film?

The difficult part was the uncertainty of the film business; we were worried about the investment and expenses. But I guess when you are passionate about your work, every difficulty becomes a challenge and ultimately, hard work pays.

How long did it take you to put this project together?

Most of the casting was done by Next Actor Studio, we had Hollywood actors playing some important role. Rick Fox and Charlie O’Connell did a fantastic job. The script was ready and the film was made in 90 days.

The film was on Amazon Prime. How was the response?

The film did very well on Amazon Prime and the response from our community was great. Currently, A Curry on an American Plate is on YouTube too.

SCENE FROM UPCOMING COMEDY MOVIE ‘BAAP-RE- BAAP’

Tell us about your activities during the lockdown due to COVID-19. Did you have any difficulties in production?

The show must always go on and we did many short films during the lockdown. Of course, we took extreme precautions, used PPE, Temperature check, and made sure everyone had negative COVID-Test. The scenes were shot with limited people on the sets and at times, it was shot by individual actors in the comfort of their homes and then edited to make simple yet good, short films. We also produced some great comedies (satirical) short movies such as Corona Ke Sholay, Metha Sandesh, Corona Se Dorona, and Baap Numbri-Beti Dus Numberi. All these short movies are available on my YouTube channel under ‘Bud Patel’.

Any upcoming future projects?

Yes, we have 4 short films in pipeline. We just finished shooting for Baap-Re-Baap which is ultimate comedy and based on ‘80-‘90’s typical Bollywood masala movies. It is also my tribute to Jodi #1 (David Dhawan and Govinda).

What advice would you give young actors and producers who are planning to get into the business of films?

There are no shortcuts so be ready to work hard and keep the passion of film making and acting alive. In the end, I would say…. Keep working hard, be consistent, learn to say ‘no’, be committed, adapt new skills, respect the cast and crew, and make sure your signature becomes your autograph.