Communication-design research with a focus on film.
Led by Prof. Mazhar Kamran, IDC School of Design, IIT Bombay.
Mission
Studio K-Lab is dedicated to advancing communication-design through hands-on exploration, with a core focus on the art and craft of filmmaking. Driven by a community of makers—including research scholars, alumni, and current collaborators—we push the boundaries of visual design by creating, experimenting, and sharing real-world solutions. All research and innovation at K-Lab is developed under the auspices of IIT Bombay, which retains intellectual property in alignment with institutional policy.
Beyond inquiry, we actively engage with the broader filmmaking community, sharing our knowledge and enabling independent creators. As a praxis-oriented lab, Studio K-Lab regularly delivers both sponsored and self-initiated projects that demonstrate how creative and technological advances democratize the practice of filmmaking.
Professor, IDC School of Design, IIT Bombay
Mazhar Kamran is an Indian film-maker, cinematographer and educator whose work spans fiction features, documentaries and academic research.
After a B.Tech in Electrical Engineering from IIT Madras and a Post-Graduate Diploma in Cinema from FTII Pune, he began his career as the cinematographer of the cult feature Satya (1998) and went on to shoot Kaun?, Jhankaar Beats and Masti.
His directorial debut, the award-winning feature Mohandas (2009), premiered at prestigious film festivals- Fribourg, San Francisco and Innsbruck. Documentaries such as Ainie Apa (on Qurratulain Hyder for Sahitya Akademi) and In Search of the Agaria ('Colours of India', for Fox History Channel) established his voice in non-fiction storytelling.
At IDC he teaches World Cinema, Popular Indian Cinema, Sound & Camera and Moving-Image Design, and mentors masters' students and supervises doctoral research in Indian animation idioms, hybrid cinema and literature-to-film adaptation. Recent films are Uncle, The School in Himself (for the Observer Research Foundation), The Photographer and Nilani (for FTII Pune). His current creative work is his second feature film as director Safar Mein Sheher.
IMDb | Official site | Wikipedia
Published October 2025, Publications Division
Present and past research scholars with Prof. Mazhar Kamran.
PhD (completed 2022) Art Education amongst the Bhils
Pedagogic transmission of art in an indigenous artist community in India.
Co-supervisor: Prof Disha Nawani, TISS Mumbai
PhD (2017 – ) Animation & Indian Art Forms
Investigates the transformation of visual syntax when static art forms are animated with a focus on Indian visual styles.
Co-supervisor: Prof Hans-Martin Rall, ADM, NTU Singapore
PhD (2019 – ) Personal Narratives as Animated Documentaries
Explores animation as a sensitive medium for factual stories lacking conventional evidence.
Co-supervisor: Prof Sekhar Mukherjee, NID Vijaywada
PhD (2018 – ) Hybrid Narratives in Cinema
Explores hybrid cinema that fuses documentary and fiction.
PhD (2021 – ) Literary Adaptation in Cinema
Examines the process, aesthetics, and socio-political implications of adapting literary texts to film.
PhD (2022 – ) Masks & Performance
Masks have historically served as archetypal images, physiognomic indicators, and receptacles of identity.
Principal Investigator
Prof. Mazhar Kamran
IDC School of Design, IIT Bombay
Courses are delivered through the Continuing Education Programme (CEP) Portal of IIT Bombay.
Future courses will be announced here.
Studio K-Lab
IDC School of Design, IIT Bombay
Powai, Mumbai 400076, India
mazhar [at] iitb [dot] ac [dot] in
