Ketan Pendse: Marathi-Hindi Actor-Director Debuts as Author with 'Haveli: Ek Adhuri Mulakat', Turns International Filmmaker with '11:17PM'

Maharashtra-Based Performer Adds Published Author and Global Filmmaker Titles to a Decade-Long, Award-Winning Career

Ketan Pendse, a Maharashtra-based performer known across the Marathi and Hindi entertainment industry, is entering a new phase of his decade-long career. Alongside a filmography built on feature films, short films, web series, and music videos, he is now stepping into publishing as an author and into international cinema as a filmmaker — milestones that arrive with his literary debut, "Haveli: Ek Adhuri Mulakat," and his first internationally shot English-language feature, "11:17PM."

A Decade of Awards on the Festival Circuit

Pendse's award run began in 2016, when he won Best Debut Actor for "Ek Thriller Night" at the Nashik International Film Festival. He followed that with a Best Actor win at the Late Dr. Patangrao Kadam 4th Pune International Short Film Festival in 2019, and in 2021 stepped behind the camera to win Best Director at the 12th Pune and 9th Goa Short Film Festival for his Marathi short "Gupt."

He has since added a Best Smile award at the Mr & Ms Glamfame fashion show, presented by Sonali Kulkarni and Ashmit Patel, and a Best Actor win at the Asian Thailand International Short Film Festival 2025 for "Kahi Kisi Roz." His award streak has continued into 2026, with a Best Actor and Best Director win at the Nepal International Film Festival for the Hindi feature "Black Night," and a Best Actor award at the Canada International Film Festival for the short film "Gupt."

A Filmography Spanning Formats and Languages

In Hindi cinema, Pendse has appeared in feature films including "The Invisible Hubby," "Trisha," and "Black Night," as well as the web series "Margao Files: The Unsolved Case" — featuring veteran actors Zeenat Aman, Pallavi Joshi, and Shilpa Shinde — and "Raavanayan."

His Marathi credits include "Ek Thriller Night," streaming on ZEE5 and co-starring Khushboo Tawde, Ashmit Patel, Sanskruti Balgude, Titeeksha Tawde, Niranjan Kulkarni, and Elana Kazan; the film also features a romantic track, "Bol Tu Shabda," sung by playback singer Udit Narayan. Other Marathi credits include "Binda," "Love Betting," "Aagmya," "Punha 26/11," "Love Lover Zindabad," and "Lagna Chakra," which released on Amazon Prime in the US and UK, along with "Chillari," "Aranyachakra," and the web series "Ti Parat Aaliy."

His short film and music video catalogue includes the Hindi shorts "Gumraah," "Strange," "Kahi Kisi Roz," "Let It Go," and "The Trap"; a set of silent short films — "Scared," "Smile," "The Mobster," "The Mobile Last Frame," and "Hope"; the Marathi shorts "Gupt," "Blue Shoe," "Phakta Sath Havi," and "Khel Sansaracha"; and music videos such as "Roop Tuzha Bhari," "Dil Mera Tere Naam," and "Yaara Teri Yaari." He has also anchored television segments — including an interview with Abhijit Bichukale and Deepti Devi — hosted the pan-India travel show "Travel Trolly," and modelled in fashion shows alongside Sonali Kulkarni, Mrs India 2013 winner Pooja Thakur, Parul Chauhan, and Ashmit Patel.

Stepping Into Publishing as Ketan Pradip Pendse

In a departure from his screen career, Pendse has published his debut novel, "Haveli: Ek Adhuri Mulakat," through Inkvision Press under the formal author credit Ketan Pradip Pendse. The novel is available on Amazon, Flipkart, Google Books, Kindle, and the Google Play Store, and explores themes of memory, longing, and unresolved connection — a sensibility that mirrors the horror-travel-adventure undertones of his on-screen work, including "11:17PM."

'11:17PM': A Global Leap

Pendse's most ambitious project to date, "11:17PM," sees him take on the roles of writer, director, producer, editor, and lead actor, produced under his own banner, Glamfame Entertainment, with Daulatsingh Rajpurohit co-producing through Rajpurohit Films.

Shot across five countries — Vietnam, Thailand, Hong Kong, Macao, and India — the film follows travel blogger Keyaan, who is drawn into a haunting mystery tied to a recurring dream that strikes at exactly 11:17 PM, and a man named Arjun whose identity turns out to be central to the mystery. Coming on the heels of his 2025-2026 Best Actor wins in Thailand, Nepal, and Canada, "11:17PM" marks the natural next step for a performer who has spent a decade building credibility across formats and languages before taking his work to an international audience.

Looking Ahead

With an award-winning filmography, a debut novel under the name Ketan Pradip Pendse, and his first internationally shot feature film now underway, Ketan Pendse's career trajectory reflects a performer unwilling to stay confined to a single role, language, or medium. As "11:17PM" and "Haveli: Ek Adhuri Mulakat" both reach new audiences, his decade of groundwork across Marathi and Hindi entertainment appears to be setting the stage for a considerably larger stage ahead.

In an industry where actors typically specialise in a single track — performance, direction, or production — Pendse's willingness to take on all three simultaneously, while also publishing fiction and anchoring television segments, marks him as an outlier within the Marathi and Hindi entertainment space. As his profile continues to expand alongside his debut novel, that same versatility looks set to define the next phase of his career — a methodical build rather than a single breakout moment, and one that appears to be reaching its most ambitious chapter yet.

Career Snapshot

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