Gurdeep Singh is a cinematographer and producer from India. Although he loves movies and storytelling, along with photography, filmmaking wasn’t his initial choice of careers. While he was taking filmmaking courses at his school’s Centre for Advanced Media at Punjabi University, Patiala, he was actually on a path that would have led him into the engineering world. He stumbled into the movie business quite accidentally. It was a serendipitous moment, so to speak.
There was a Punjabi thriller titled Mel Krade Rabba being filmed near the school and one of the line producers fell ill unexpectedly, and they approached his school to see if someone could take over the position of line producer. A line producer is a film or television producer who is the head of the production office management personnel during daily operations of a feature film or TV program. Knowing that he was clueless about what the job entailed, Gurdeep courageously volunteered and was hired on the spot. It was an incredible experience for Gurdeep. He had to learn very quickly what it was like working on a professional film and working with skilled professionals. He was very lucky, though. His co-workers were all very kind and helpful and they would answer any questions that he had. The film was a Punjabi thriller titled Mel Krade Rabba. That was Gurdeep’s first opportunity to work in the film industry and he learned a great deal and made some great memories. And, after that experience, he knew what his life career was going to be and he jumped in head first.
While still in India, Gurdeep was fortunate enough to meet Balwinder Singh Kohli, the CEO of Speed Records. In a short time, he was hired as an executive producer for the company and oversaw and worked in any position that he was needed on over 40 music videos. H worked with of artists like Diljit Dosanjh, Jassi Gill, Parmish Verma, Mankirat Aulakh, Sherry Maan, and Miss Pooja. He also contributed to some feature films like Pata Ni Rabb Khedeyan Rangan Vich Raaji, Love You Soniye, and Ishq Gerari. He was also part of the production of Gangland (ft. Mankirat Auklah with 211 million views), Laembadgini (387 million views), and Gaal Ni Kadni (311 million views).
He soon moved to Los Angeles, California and after completing his graduation from the famed New York Film Academy, opportunities to work as a cinematographer and producer popped up almost immediately. Initially, he tried to fit into whatever role was available and he had the opportunity to work on films like Paper Kids, The Last Cigarette, American Virus, Gangster, A Family Barbeque, and Fenced which won Gurdeep the award for Best Cinematography at the 7th Mumbai Shorts International Film Festival. All these films hold a special place in Gurdeep’s heart, and he learned valuable lessons from each of them.
