Indrani Pal-Chaudhuri

Indrani Pal-Chaudhuri is an award-winning internationally renowned director and photographer. She is described as a "rad feminist director and fashion photographer" by Julianne E. Shepherd of Jezebel, "renowned for her iconic imagery and visionary storytelling, collaborations with Lady Gaga, Beyonce, Jennifer Lopez, Alicia Keys, Jay-Z, and Kanye West" according to Shinjini Das of Huffington Post. Her work was discovered by David Bowie who commissioned her first album cover for "Heathen" and a dozen years later, Bowie launched her directorial career, commissioning her first major music video, for his song "Valentine's Day" on his album The Next Day. Moving beyond fashion shoots and commercials into films, "Wielding her visionary work like a weapon, Indrani is using her art and resources for social justice and change." 2Early life, modeling career Indrani was born in Kolkata, India, raised in the historic palace of her Zamindar family, and accompanied her British mother who was a volunteer with Mother Teresa. Both her parents were accountants. She witnessed "the devastating poverty that stood in stark contrast to her own childhood," which motivated her to someday make a difference in the area. Indrani began modeling at 14, in order to study photography and film with artists around the world, and became a rising star. Her experience as a successful model / actress became a window of cultural perspective as her career took her all over the world. At 18, she returned to turn her family home into a charitable school, to give girls a better future. The school was named Shakti Empowerment Education and currently educates around 300 youth, both girls and boys and provides women with literacy and vocational trainin