Mahesh Vaman Manjrekar who plays H.R. is an Indian film director, actor, writer and producer. He is credited with directing many critically acclaimed films like Vaastav: The Reality , Astitva and Virrudh. He first gained acclaim as an actor for his performance in the 2002 film Kaante. He has acted in English, Hindi, Marathi and Telugu films. He acted as the gangster Javed in film Slumdog Millionaire . He also played the role of Shivaji Maharaj in Marathi film "Me Shivajiraje Bhosale Boltoy."
Due to its unique runtime of 44 mins, Coma Café technically qualified as a feature film in North America but as a short film (or featurette) in European film festivals.
Coma Café was shot in a restaurant called "THE OTHER SIDE" in Mumbai, INDIA. The restaurant was due to be demolished but director Avi Vasu and his team were able to convince the owners to delay it until the film was shot. It was taken down the day after shooting concluded.
Writer-Director Avi Vasu came up with the idea for the film while spending days sitting in a café waiting for his career to take flight. He had applied to multiple production houses for jobs and waited in the café patiently for them to respond. He saw several regulars daily in the café and realized they were all waiting in limbo just like him.
Coma Café won the first runner up for best Feature Film at the South Asian International Film Festival in 2017 and was screened at the legendary Landmark Sunshine Cinemas in New York, America.