• Filmmaker, entrepreneur and chef Vikas Khanna is now also the brand ambassador of Indo-American Arts Council (IAAC), a leading cultural organisation based in New York
• The title was provided to the Michelin-star during a press conference at the Consulate General of India in New York City on Tuesday
• IAAC will be organizing the annual New York Indian Film Festival next month that will showcase 30 Indian feature-length films, including three documentaries. It will also bring to the audience of New York 30 shorts and 19 regional films, including Bengali, Assamese, Marathi, Tamil, Malyalam cinema

Filmmaker, entrepreneur and chef Vikas Khanna is now also the brand ambassador of the Indo-American Arts Council (IAAC), a leading cultural organisation based in New York.

The title was provided to the Michelin-star chef during a press conference at the Consulate General of India in New York City on Tuesday.

IAAC will be organizing the annual New York Indian Film Festival next month that will showcase 30 Indian feature-length films, including three documentaries. It will also bring to the audience of New York 30 shorts and 19 regional films, including Bengali, Assamese, Marathi, Tamil, Malyalam cinema.

The festival will also showcase the celebrity chef's film 'The Last Color' which has won rave reviews at various international film festivals for its lead actress Neena Gupta, who plays a widow living a life of abstinence and isolation in the ancient Indian city of Banaras.

Khanna said it was a matter of immense pride for him to be named as the brand ambassador of IAAC and showcase his movie at the film festival based in his "adopted home" of New York City.

"The Last Color” is the story of moving on, leaving traditions behind which have been followed for centuries. It's very close to my heart," he told the media, adding that he has seen women who have been widowed and forced to live in total isolation in Varanasi.

Khanna added that he is extremely fortunate to have worked with Gupta, he said, "When women get empowered, they can make the shift not just in societies but in our lives."

The chef also said that his movie had gone to more than 20 film festivals around the world but the first confirmation for his movie came from NYIFF and would be the closing night film of the festival.

"The story is a piece of my heart, it may be technically weak, financially bankrupt but it is emotionally overwhelming," he said, adding that India's regional stories are "more powerful" and tell about the amazing resilience of its people.

IAAC Vice Chairman Rakesh Kaul said the arts organization wanted the festival to bring a diversity of India to the New York audience, who will get to see the magnificence of India through the festival's line-up.

"You will see how bold these stories are, what courage the directors display because these stories will move you in a manner like nothing that you have experienced in the multiplexes you go to see Bollywood or Hollywood fare," Kaul said.

The IAAC will present the New York Indian Film Festival, North America's longest-running and most prestigious Indian film festival from May 7 to 12.