From The Stacks

In the basements of university libraries across the country, some of the best longform journalism you've never seen lies waiting. Capstone projects, meticulously researched and passionately written, are gathering dust—overlooked, unpublished, but brimming with potential. It’s time to excavate them…

September’s From The Stacks: Karnama (Well of Death)

Karnama is an award-winning documentary exploring the high-stakes world of the stunt drivers of Well of Death — where passion, risk, and sacrifice collide. Only about 50 people in a nation of 1.4 billion make a living working as a stunt driver in the Maut Ka Kuan (Well of Death). A profession and passion this niche deserves nothing but appreciation for carrying on a legacy that has kept millions entertained over decades.

You can find the film on Letterboxd: https://letterboxd.com/film/karnama-well-of-death/


Credits:

The Riders - Raju Saini, Sukhwir Saini, Atul Kumar, Narendra Saini, Manovar Ali, Kisan Pal Saini

Director - Pranav Dawar
Producer - Pramod Amminabhavi
Executive Producer - Celia Aniskovich, Jason Anderson
Cinematography - Peter Garajszki
Editor - Vidhu Kota
Original Score - Holly Wang一平
Original Song - Pavan
Colorist - Arianna Shining Star
Sound Designer - Joey Magee
B-Camera Cinematographer - Sheena Chacko
1st AC - Harish Kumar P.K.
2nd AC - Suhas D.S.
Camera Assistants - Santhosh, Kalyan K.
Gaffer - Sharanaiah U.M.
Key Grip - Cheatan H.K.
Dolly Grip - Ningaraju
Sound Recordist - Pramod Amminabhavi
Graphic Designer - Sahana Vathsa
Captions - Ashwin Sriram

Special Thanks:

Siya Sabharwal, Eliza Hittman, Christopher Radcliff, Alex Noyes, Kara Hearn, Kavya Shankar Pandit, Riya Hundi, Eklavey Kashyap, Ahmer Khan, Ajay Dawar, Anjali Dawar, Harleen Sabharwal, Kapil Sabharwal, Eric Trenkamp, Matthew Hysell


About Pranav Dawar:

Pranav Dawar, a recent graduate from Pratt Institute in Brooklyn, is a film and commercial writer, director, and editor. His films have played at various festivals, such as Indy Shorts, and have been awarded Silver at the Young Director Award (YDA), the National Board of Review Student Grant, and Audience Choice Awards at Tasveer Film Festival and NFFTY. He continues to direct and tell stories about what’s beneath the surface - the unspoken, the unresolved.

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