Industry's ace filmmakers including Vishal Bhardwaj, Ritesh Batra, Rohit Khattar and Vikas Bahl recently came together to celebrate 400 years of Shakespeare at a special event. This event was hosted following the collaboration of Cinestaan Film Company and Film London, which will invest in the ambitious Film London Microwave International: Shakespeare India training through production fund.

Vishal Bhardwaj (Maqbool, Omkara and Haider), Ritesh Batra (The Lunchbox) and Vikas Bahl (Queen, Phantom Films) attended the launch of the partnership and call for applications in Mumbai and will act as professional industry mentors for a unique and groundbreaking opportunity which aims to bring the two industries closer together.

The international iteration of Film London`s award-winning initiative will unite Asian filmmaking talent from the UK and India. Five successful teams will be selected for Microwave`s acclaimed Microschool. This will give the writers, producers and directors from both countries the chance to hone their skills through an intensive programme of training, professional mentoring and advice on issues ranging from financing through to distribution.

The ambition is to greenlight one successful project, which will draw from the work of William Shakespeare and be theatrically released in 2016 as part of Shakespeare 400 - a year-long cultural programme marking 400 years since the writer`s death.

Rohit Khattar's Cinestaan Film Company will invest up to £250,000 in the greenlit feature. They will join Film London and the British Council in contributing to the crucial training programme and play an important role in selecting the filmmaking teams and ensuring the selected project has the strongest possible chance of success.

Microwave International: Shakespeare India dovetails with Cinestaan`s own ambitions to preserve and celebrates India`s rich film heritage and will help forge valuable international links for Indian talent.