Ruchir Kulkarni is an Indian filmmaker based in Los Angeles whose work spans writing, directing, editing, and producing narrative and documentary films. Before pursuing filmmaking professionally, Ruchir trained as an engineer, an experience that shaped his analytical approach to visual storytelling and narrative structure.

He briefly studied film editing at the Film and Television Institute of India (FTII) before earning an MFA in Filmmaking from the New York Film Academy in Los Angeles, where he developed his directorial voice while working across narrative, documentary, and commercial formats in both India and the United States.

Ruchir has directed several short films and collaborated on independent narrative and documentary projects that explored themes of social justice, gender dynamics, and grassroots movements. These experiences helped shape his creative sensibility and strengthened his interest in telling stories that reflect personal vulnerability alongside broader social realities.

His recent short film Changing Room, an intimate coming-of-age story about body image and self-esteem, premiered in Los Angeles at Dances With Films at the TCL Chinese Theatre and later screened at the Chicago South Asian Film Festival and the International South Asian Film Festival Canada. The film was also selected as a finalist at the Oscar-Qualifying Bengaluru International Short Film Festival.

Ruchir was also selected as one of the “75 Creative Minds of Tomorrow” by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, Government of India, at the International Film Festival of India, a national initiative recognising promising emerging filmmakers across the country.