Sayani Gupta fulfills a 17-year dream as she steps behind the camera for the first time, bringing her signature bold storytelling to a film about love, companionship, and fierce women refusing to be sidelined.
This debut has been 17 years in the making—Gupta's consistent track record of picking unconventional material suggests she wasn't about to rush into directing. The real question: what finally pushed her over the edge? And with Dia Mirza and Ananya Rane's One India Stories backing this as their second release, there's clearly industry momentum behind her.
The screenplay has already won awards at the New York Screenplay Competition, Independent Short Awards LA, Los Angeles Movie and Music Video Awards, Cambridge Short Film Festival, and F.A.R.O Concurso de Cinema Mediterraneo e Mundial. Gupta's quote: 'Making a film has been a 17 year long dream ever since I stepped foot into film school.' The film stars veteran actor Revathy alongside Daria Bedi and Abhay Kaul.
Sayani Gupta's directorial debut marks a calculated leap from actor to filmmaker—one that's been nearly two decades in the making. With a screenplay already collecting international awards and heavy hitters like Nikkhil Advani and Dia Mirza attached as executive producers, 'Aasmani' isn't just a passion project; it's a statement. The real tea? We'll see if 17 years of patience translates to screen magic.
Indian actor Sayani Gupta is officially stepping behind the camera for the first time, and honestly? It's about time. The actress best known for her transformative roles in "Margarita with a Straw," Prime Video's "Four More Shots Please!," and Anubhav Sinha's hard-hitting "Article 15" has made her directorial debut with "Aasmani," a short film she wrote, directed, and produced. The project marks the culmination of a 17-year ambition that began when she first stepped into the Film and Television Institute of India—yes, this isn't some impulse decision; she's been planning this for nearly two decades.
The film follows Smita, an elderly woman in her late sixties who shares an unbreakable bond with a vintage powder-blue Fiat car named Aasmani. Joined by her sharp-witted granddaughter Tiya, Smita navigates themes of redundancy, values, and loss—all while refusing to cede control within her own family. Veteran actor Revathy heads the cast alongside Daria Bedi and Abhay Kaul, giving this project serious gravitas from the jump. The car itself isn't just a plot device; as One India Stories noted, it becomes a symbol of selfhood and quiet resistance.
The production backing reads like a who's-who of industry support. "Aasmani" is produced by Sayani Gupta Movies, the Sumitra Gupta Foundation for Arts (its first production, no less), and One India Stories—the company launched by Dia Mirza and Ananya Rane as their second release. Executive producers include Gupta herself, along with Nikkhil Advani, Dia Mirza, and Ananya Rane. That's some serious firepower behind a directorial debut, indicating this isn't just a vanity project but an industry-backed bet on Gupta's potential.
The screenplay has already built up quite the trophy cabinet before the film even premiered, winning awards at the New York Screenplay Competition, Independent Short Awards LA, Los Angeles Movie and Music Video Awards, Cambridge Short Film Festival, and F.A.R.O Concurso de Cinema Mediterraneo e Mundial. In a statement, Gupta described cinema as "a medium for discourse, resistance, evocation; and perhaps even a balm"—which tells you exactly what kind of filmmaker she intends to be. With 17 years of watching and learning on sets ranging from streaming thrillers ("Inside Edge") to acclaimed dramas ("Pagglait," "Axone"), she's finally ready to tell her own story. The question now is whether the wait was worth it.
