For a limited time on Vimeo, you can watch Dandekar Makes a Sandwich, a short film about one man’s quest to make the perfect sandwich. The under-10-minute film is set at a grocery store where retiree RK Dandekar, played by Brian George (Seinfeld, Big Bang Theory), seeks out his ingredients. Watch it below:
This short film was crowdfunded via Indiegogo and won the 2015 Indian Film Festival of LA’s Grand Jury Prize for Best Short. The team that created Dandekar Makes a Sandwich includes writer/director Leena Pendharkar (20 Weeks, Raspberry Magic) and producer Megha Kadakia (The Tiger Hunter, Miss India America, Raspberry Magic). It’s also a prequel to the feature screenplay Days with Dandekar in which the same character goes on a search to find his beloved Volvo that was traded away by his well meaning daughters.
Pendharkar’s inspiration for the film came from her dad. She writes about how he inspired the film:
Days with Dandekar started with a visit to the bank with my dad in my hometown of Raleigh, NC. They all knew my dad by name, and could tell stories about how he came in, every single day for coffee and to “check his accounts.”
It was apparent that my dad was making the rounds because he also knew the local mechanic, a few grocery store clerks, and had even been offered the position of “sampler” at the local Harris Teeter multiple times.
See a photo of Pendharkar’s dad and his sandwich, plus read more on how her dad inspired the film at http://dayswithdandekar.com. For more on actor Brian George and the roles he’s played in his long career, including the recurring character of Babu Bhatt on Seinfeld and Dr. V.M. Koothrapalli, read an interview with him at From the Grapevine.
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Pavani Yalamanchili is an editor at The Aerogram. Find her on Twitter at @_pavani, and follow The Aerogram at @theaerogram and on Facebook.
