It might not sound like the most likely comparison, but Rishi S Bhilawadikar likens his tryst with filmmaking to that of running a startup, except that the end result is a feature film. The 34-year-old techie, who currently lives and works in San Francisco as principal user experience designer for Gap, is collecting accolades as we speak, for his film, For Here Or To Go?, which is slated to release next week, after a golden run in festivals globally. The film traces the struggle of Bay Area Indians stuck in a limbo due to the US immigration system, in a comic vain. Bhilawadikar, who has been living in the US for 13 years now, dug into his own experiences to write this film. Born in Mumbai, this Thane boy moved to the US in 2005 to pursue a master's degree in interactive media and video game design from Indiana University.

Speaking to us in an email interview, Bhilawadikar elaborated on why he thought of making the film. "It's the problem with my immigration status, which I was finding very hard to explain to my American boss, peers and my parents. It affects most immigrants. I was writing about this on a blog titled, Stuff Desis Like. But all that I wanted to say couldn't fit in a blog. This is why I thought a film would be an apt way to explore the subject."