Latest news with #Anuja
Hans India
4 days ago
- General
- Hans India
All-women team reaches home after 1,800-nautical mile int'l voyage
Visakhapatnam: The Tri-Services All-Women Sailing Expedition team returned home after completing a ground-breaking 1,800-nautical-mile international voyage to Seychelles. The historic expedition, commenced on April 7, marks the first-ever international open-sea sailing mission by an all-women team from the Indian Armed Forces. The expedition was flagged-in by Commandant, College of Military Engineering Lieutenant General AK Ramesh in Mumbai. He hailed the mission as a milestone in the journey of gender-inclusive operational excellence. Applauding the courage and determination of the team, he emphasised the growing role of women as key contributors to the Armed Forces' operational strength. Aboard the indigenously-built Indian Armed Services Vessel 'Triveni', a 56-foot sailing yacht, the team of 11 women officers from the Army, Navy and Air Force navigated nearly two months of challenging open-sea conditions. Enduring tropical squalls, rough sea states, and extended fatigue, the crew demonstrated exceptional endurance and unflinching resolve. Indian Army - Lt Col Anuja, Maj Karamjeet, Maj Tanyah, Capt Omita, Capt Dauli and Capt Prajakta from Indian Army, Lt Cdr Priyanka from Indian Navy, Sqn Ldr Vibha, Sqn Ldr Shraddha, Sqn Ldr Aruvi and Sqn Ldr Vaishali fromIndian Air Force formed part of the crew. During its stopover in Seychelles, the crew participated in a series of high-level defence and diplomatic engagements, including formal interactions with the Seychellois Minister of Foreign Affairs, the Chief of Combined Defence Staff and the High Commissioner of India to Seychelles. These events served to strengthen maritime diplomacy and further India's strategic partnership with the Indian Ocean Island nation. The initiative represents more than a naval feat as it is a celebration of 'Nari Shakti' in the Indian Armed Forces. It also stands as a shining example of Tri-services synergy. As India continues to expand its maritime footprint and capabilities, the successful completion of this voyage serves as a symbol of the Armed Forces' commitment towards excellence, equality, and strategic vision-led proudly by its women warriors on the high seas.
Yahoo
02-03-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
‘2025 Oscar Nominated Short Films: Live Action' Review: Optimism and Outrage Battle It Out in Solid Shorts Crop
Over the past two decades, the Academy Awards have been in a constant state of flux: There are now 10 best picture nominees instead of five, the membership has grown (and diversified) by more than 50% in that time, streaming releases now routinely vie for the top prize. Amid all that change, one constant remains: For 20 years, ShortsTV has been working with the short film nominees to get their work seen around the country. The theatrical audience for those releases grows each year, to the point that the '2025 Oscar Nominated Short Films: Live Action' package is on track to outgross best picture nominee 'Nickel Boys' at the box office. First up in an all-around strong (and impressively international) selection is the Croatian short that won the Palme d'Or at Cannes last year, 'The Man Who Could Not Remain Silent.' Set aboard a train traveling through Bosnia in 1993, director Nebojša Slijepčević's fact-based thriller puts us in the position of the bewildered passengers, confused and intimidated when the train stops and heavily armed men come aboard to separate Muslim travelers. Drawing from eyewitness testimonies, Slijepčević focuses on an average guy named Dragan (Goran Bogdan), who recognizes that what's happening is wrong. Given the film's title, we're hoping to see him act heroically, though the gun-wielding officer (French actor Alexis Manenti) is so threatening, Dragan doesn't dare. And so we're left to share in the shame of what happens. The film is dedicated to Tomo Buzov, a veteran who paid dearly for challenging the soldiers — and a role model in times when resistance becomes a moral obligation. More from Variety Oscar-Nominated Short 'A Lien' Joins With ACLU on Impact Campaign for Immigrant Rights Oscar Nominees Guneet Monga Kapoor, Adam J. Graves on 'Anuja': 'The Honesty Travels Through' Kristian Novak's Novel 'Dark Mother Earth' Sets Film Adaptation From Oscar-Nominated 'The Man Who Could Not Remain Silent' Director (EXCLUSIVE) In recent years, the Academy has used the shorts categories to amplify all kinds of political messages. That's one way for voters to show their values, but also a strange hijacking of an award that ought to recognize the most talented up-and-coming directors. This year, there's real talent behind the cause-based noms, which can be seen in Adam J. Graves' 'Anuja,' named for its 9-year-old protagonist (first-time performer Sajda Pathan), illegally employed in a shady Indian garment factory. The plot is slender and shameless, as the streetwise Anuja navigates a realm of Dickensian adults — some looking to exploit her, others determined to steer Anuja to a better future. The movie unravels just as it nears Anuja's climactic decision, but it's the backstory that matters most here anyway: Working with the Salaam Baalak Trust, Graves cast a girl who'd been rescued from a similar fate to play Anuja, using the project to inspire kids in similar circumstances. As it happens, the only nominee chosen solely on the strength of its filmmaking (as opposed to the worthiness of its activist cause) is Dutch writer-director Victoria Warmerdam's ultra-clever 22-minute 'I'm Not a Robot.' In a stylish modern office building, Lara (Ellen Parren) sits at her computer listening to a cover of 'Creep,' a song whose lyrics take on new relevance as the film unfolds. Faced with one of those annoying CAPTCHA prompts on her screen, Lara clicks as directed, but keeps failing the test. We've all been there, wasting time on mind-numbing tests meant to separate humans from bots, but Warmerdam introduces a twist: What if Lara really were a bot, and this was how she realized it? It's a novel approach to the AI conversation and one that puts audiences in the shoes of a possible 'replicant' as self-doubts plunge her into an existential tailspin. Unexpected, original and eminently expandable, 'Robot' feels like the prototype for a terrific feature about an all-new category of gaslighting. Exposing a cruel strategy that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement uses to catch non-citizens, sibling filmmakers David and Sam Cutler-Kreutz's 'A Lien' is an effective example of a fairly common format used in social-justice cinema. Basically, the idea is to follow a bureaucratic nightmare in practically real-time, criticizing the process simply by revealing how cumbersome and impersonal it all seems. In what plays like a 15-minute panic attack, the brothers observe a husband and wife (William Martinez and Victoria Ratermanis) rushing to make a mandatory immigration interview, dragging their adorable young daughter through the ringer. The film doesn't care about the rules he's broken, focusing instead on the ones he's now trying to follow in order to remain in the country — the irony being, ICE officers are waiting to arrest him at the appointment. The tight widescreen framing and shaky handheld shooting style amplify the stress of a situation that's all the more potent for not trying to pin a happy ending on such an upsetting policy. By contrast, Cindy Lee's urgent 28-minute 'The Last Ranger' takes us into the proverbial heart of darkness — an African wildlife preserve where poachers deprive rhinos of their horns — and somehow manages to leave us feeling optimistic about a seemingly impossible fight. Young Litha (Liyabona Mroqoza) loves the endangered local animals and looks up to Khusi (Avumile Qongqo), a woman who's dedicated her life to protecting them. One day, this park ranger picks up Litha and brings her along to work, intending to show the girl a live rhinoceros. Instead, they wind up witnessing the very kind of attack Khusi's sworn to prevent. It's easy to imagine the audience-friendly version of this story, but Lee admires the real-life sacrifice of such heroes too much to sanitize it, including actual footage of a rhino left for dead … and an uplifting reunion with that same animal over the end credits. Best of Variety The Best Albums of the Decade
Yahoo
26-02-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
#StandWithHer: Oscar-Nominated ‘To Kill A Tiger' Inspires Worldwide Gender Justice Campaign
EXCLUSIVE: Oscar-nominated filmmaker Nisha Pahuja is partnering with major NGOs to launch a global gender justice campaign inspired by her acclaimed documentary To Kill a Tiger. The #StandWithHer initiative, supported by Equality Now, Equimundo, and MenEngage Alliance, announced three principal goals: 'Empower survivors of sexual assault and GBV [Gender-Based Violence] to seek justice; create a culture of shared responsibility, inviting men and boys to become allies; and prevent GBV through education and social narrative change.' More from Deadline Mindy Kaling's 20-Somethings Hulu Comedy Gets Series Order As She Re-Ups Warner Bros. TV Group Overall Deal 'Anuja' Director Adam J. Graves On Creating An Empathetic Tale Of Two Sisters In Oscar-Nominated Short 'Rabbit Trap' Review: Dev Patel Tampers With Ancient Magic In Bryn Chainey's ASMR Folk Horror - Sundance Film Festival The vision for #StandWithHer is built on what the campaign identifies as 'four integrated pillars': Public Awareness and Mobilization, Political Advocacy, Education and Prevention, and Media and Social Media campaigns. To Kill a Tiger, executive produced by Priyanka Chopra Jonas, Dev Patel, Mindy Kaling among others, tells a story of remarkable courage from a rural part of India's Jharkhand state. Ranjit, a farmer, and his wife Jaganti bravely stood behind their 13-year-old daughter Kiran (a pseudonym used to protect the teenager's identity) after she became the victim of a violent sexual assault by three young men. Kiran's parents refused to bow to intense pressure from their neighbors who demanded the couple marry their daughter to one of her attackers and drop their case against the assailants. In a statement, Pahuja said of the #StandWithHer campaign, 'For the past few years, my team and I have been working tirelessly toward this moment-supported by partners, organizations, and thinkers who've been at the forefront of gender rights for decades. As filmmakers, we understand the power of story, especially documentary, and its singular ability to unite people around an issue. The eradication of sexual violence and GBV needs the commitment of all of us. And, it needs those sparks around which we can all gather – first, to simply envision a different world, and then, the roadmap to help create it. With To Kill a Tiger, we have a powerful tool – the power of Ranjit's love and the wisdom and courage of his daughter Kiran, are those rare elements around which movements can form and the seeds of change planted.' #StandWithHer will kick off with at least 40 in-person screenings of To Kill a Tiger around the U.S., a tour that will include stops in New York, Chicago, Dallas, Austin, Houston, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Boston, and Washington DC. 'Each event will be followed by conversations with Pahuja, the film's participants, gender rights activists, legal and political experts, and Executive Producers,' notes a release. 'The courage and resilience shown by Kiran, her father, and their family in their fight for justice—despite the odds stacked against them—shine a light on the deep-rooted inequalities that still exist worldwide,' E.P. Priyanka Chopra Jonas said in a statement. 'Gender-based violence is a global crisis, yet too often, it remains hidden in the shadows. I am honored to support the #StandWithHer campaign, inspired by Nisha's powerful documentary To Kill A Tiger, to help drive meaningful change. This campaign is a reminder that love, when fearless and unwavering, has the strength to transform the world.' Fellow E.P. Dev Patel said, 'I am so proud to see the impact of To Kill A Tiger grow beyond the screen with the launch of the #StandWithHer campaign. This is one of the most important stories in modern Indian history, and with this campaign, we can really start to see and understand its capacity to empower and serve as a catalyst for change.' E.P. Mindy Kaling commented, 'The #StandWithHer campaign embodies what has always been at the heart of Ranjit, Jaganti, and Kiran's mission, when they fought for justice for Kiran in the wake of her sexual assault, and the incredible filmmaker Nisha Pahuja's mission when she amplified their story of bravery and hope on-screen. This campaign is one crucial step towards a world free from gender-based violence, a world we deserve and will fight for to see in our lifetimes. I am so proud to support this campaign and the survivors across the world who inspire us every day by risking their lives to fight for justice for themselves and to advocate selflessly for others.' The #StandWithHer campaign will move internationally in September, with over 75 in-person screenings now planned. 'To ensure the long-term sustainability of the impact campaign,' a release says, 'Blueshift Education and Roco Films will create and distribute a comprehensive curriculum inspired by To Kill a Tiger. In two years, the curriculum will reach 1.2 million students in 25,000-50,000 schools across the U.S.' The impact campaign is being led by much of the same all-women team who spearheaded To Kill a Tiger's awards push, which culminated with an Oscar nomination despite the film having no U.S. distribution until Oscar Sunday last March, when the documentary made its debut on Netflix. #StandWithHer will be collaborating with over 60 partners, including Equality Now, Equimundo, MenEngage Alliance, ValorUS, the Ramesh and Kalpana Bhatia Family Foundation, Sakhi for South Asian Survivors, South Asian SOAR, BlueshiftEducation, Roco Films, Object&Animal, Prism Entertainment, and Product of Culture. The campaign is produced by Notice Pictures Inc. According to UN Women, the United Nations entity dedicated to gender equality and empowerment of women, an estimated 736 million women 'have been subjected to physical and/or sexual intimate partner violence, non-partner sexual violence, or both at least once in their life (30 per cent of women aged 15 and older)… 'Most violence against women is committed by current or former husbands or intimate partners. More than 640 million women aged 15 and older (26 per cent) have been subjected to intimate partner violence.' Among those voicing strong support for the #StandWithHer campaign is Ziauddin Yousafzai, co-founder of The Malala Fund, and father of Nobel Peace Prize winner Malala Yousafzai. 'To Kill a Tiger is an inspiring real-life story with the power to shake the foundations of deeply-rooted patriarchal norms,' he said. 'Against all odds, Ranjit's unwavering conviction to support his daughter in the face of political and social pressure, is remarkable. He represents the kind of man all men should be proud of, and the kind of father all men should aspire to be. Kiran—true to the meaning of her chosen pseudonym—is more than a ray of hope; she is the sunshine of a new dawn of equality and human dignity as she shifts the burden of blame and shame from the victim to the perpetrators.' Alluding to the family's successful attempt to prosecute Kiran's assailants, Ziauddin Yousafzai said, 'The historic court decision reinforces a vital truth: rape is not a stain on the innocent victim but an ugly mark on an unjust society. Kiran and her father wield the tools of social, political, and legal systems against the tiger of ruthless patriarchy.' Best of Deadline How Jon Gries' Return To 'The White Lotus' Could Shape Season 3 Which Colleen Hoover Books Are Becoming Movies? 'Verity,' 'Reminders Of Him' & 'Regretting You' Will Join 'It Ends With Us' 'The White Lotus' Season 3 Release Schedule: When Do New Episodes Arrive On Max?
Boston Globe
26-02-2025
- Entertainment
- Boston Globe
‘A Complete Unknown,' ‘Nosferatu,' and more 2025 Oscar nominees with New England ties
'Anuja' Still from 'Anuja,' a nominee for the 2025 Academy Award for best short film, live action. ShortsTV Nominated for 'The Apprentice' Advertisement From left: Jeremy Strong and Sebastian Stan in 'The Apprentice.' Briarcliff Entertainment Boston native ( 'A Complete Unknown' From left: Elle Fanning and Timothée Chalamet in "A Complete Unknown." Searchlight Pictures Up for eight Oscars this weekend, including best picture, the Bob Dylan biopic 'Inside Out 2' A still from "Inside Out 2." © 2023 Disney/Pixar. All Rights Reserved. Pixar's hit sequel 'Nickel Boys' From left: Ethan Herisse stars as Elwood and Brandon Wilson as Turner in director RaMell Ross's "Nickel Boys." Orion Pictures Nominated in two categories, including best picture, Advertisement 'Nosferatu' Lily-Rose Depp stars as Ellen Hutter in director Robert Eggers's "Nosferatu." Courtesy of Focus Features / © 2024 FOCUS FEATURES LLC 'The Six Triple Eight' From left: Susan Sarandon as Eleanor Roosevelt and Sam Waterson as President Roosevelt in "The Six Triple Eight." Bob Mahoney / Perry Well Films 2 / Courtesy of Netflix/BOB MAHONEY/PERRY WELL FILMS 2/COURTESY NETFLIX 'The Six Triple Eight' from director and writer Tyler Perry is nominated in only one category, best original song, but the war drama has a pair of ties to New England. 'Law & Order' legend and Cambridge native Sam Waterston plays President Franklin Roosevelt in the movie, while Harvard alum and former Hasty Pudding Theatricals member Dean Norris plays General Halt. Additional nominees with (small) New England ties John Lithgow stars as Cardinal Tremblay in director Edward Berger's "Conclave." Philippe Antonello/Focus Features Oscar nominee Advertisement Matt Juul can be reached at
Yahoo
26-02-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Mindy Kaling and Adam J. Graves Unpack Their Oscar-Nominated Short ‘Anuja': 'You Don't See Stories Like This'
Within 28 minutes of sending Mindy Kaling their short film about the lives of two young girls in India, Adam J. Graves and wife Suchitra Mattai heard back. 'Even though, tonally, this is so different than other projects I've worked on,' Kaling tells The Hollywood Reporter of boarding the short as a producer, 'I just felt like there is a spiritual link between me and these kinds of female coming-of-age stories that Anuja is.' More from The Hollywood Reporter Ozzy Osbourne Doc on Paramount+ to Follow Star's Parkinson's Battle: "I Thought My Number Was Up" Terracotta Warriors, Regulation, Philosophy, Rom-Coms: China Partnerships in MIP London Focus David Beckham Says Netflix Doc on Wife Victoria Shows Her "in a Different Light": "She's Very Witty" Alongside the likes of Priyanka Chopra Jonas and Guneet Monga, Kaling signed up and put the film on the front foot this awards season. It's worked: Netflix nabbed the film, and the team are heading to the Oscars this year as nominees for best live action short. Anuja, directed by Graves and co-written by Mattai, is the story of a gifted nine-year-old girl (Sajda Pathan) who works in a garment factory in New Delhi. When she is offered a once-in-a-lifetime chance to attend school, she is forced to make a heart-wrenching decision that will determine her and her sister Palak's (Ananya Shanbhag) fate. Pathan was cast with the help of the performing arts program at an Indian NGO, the Salaam Baalak Trust, which provides education, basic literacy, schooling and full-care facilities for children. 'I'm happy,' the young star told THR about the film's international recognition. 'I never knew what the Oscars were — it was only after the [crew] told me that it's huge. I'm very happy to represent India at the Oscars. It's a beautiful story of two sisters and the love they have for each other. I think the audience connects with that.' Anuja was borne out of Graves and Mattai's own shock at child labor statistics around the globe. But there is also a vital, childlike playfulness when it comes to a coming-of-age story, says Kaling. 'So often, when we see children in India in these really challenging circumstances, viewers make big generalizations about India. I loved how nuanced this was. I love how it's not grim.' Kaling and Graves unpacked Anuja's Oscar hopes for THR, bringing celebrity names on board their 'scrappy,' shoestring-budgeted project and their interpretations of its ambiguous ending: 'We couldn't have a Hollywood or Bollywood ending. That's not the point of the film.' Mindy, Adam: congratulations on your Oscar nomination. How did arrive at your door? MINDY KALING Suchitra [Mattai], who is a visual artist I had been following for years, I just emailed her out of the blue because I saw her work and I wanted to buy one of her pieces. And we sort of struck up an online friendship. She emailed me because I had contacted her before and she said, 'Hey, I made this film with my husband. Would you watch it? It's a short film.' And she told me the log line and I mean, it did not seem comedic to me! So when I watched I was like, I don't know how helpful I can be when I come on board. And when I saw it, it was so beautiful and it was just so well made. The performances… I love coming of age stories, and even though tonally, this is so different than the other projects that I've worked on, I just felt like there is a spiritual link between me and these kinds of female coming-of-age stories that Anuja is. ADAM J. GRAVES It's funny because now we have all these incredible people like Mindy Kaling and Guneet Monga and Priyanka [Chopra Jonas] as EPs attached to it, and with Netflix and everything, it feels like this big thing. But really, it was just me, my wife, and a group of small friends of friends of ours in Delhi. It was a small, little scrappy thing that we put together over the course of five days on a shoestring budget. It's a showcase of love between sisters, the fight for female education in India. What themes did you want to highlight on an international stage? KALING Obviously, something that's very important to me is this plight of girls' education around the world, but particularly in India. Seeing something like this, stories about personal ambitions versus duty and loyalty are very fascinating to me. You don't see [stories like this] that often for girls who are 9, 10, 11 years old. I just love the focus on this choice she has to make. But I also love that it's joyous. So often, when we see children in India in these really challenging circumstances, viewers make big generalizations about India. I loved how nuanced this was. I love how it's not grim. These girls are so scrappy and funny. Even the guy who runs the garment shop is very funny. There's something very nuanced about the execution of the short and the script, which is so well written and elegantly underwritten. I thought Adam and Suchitra did an amazing job with it. GRAVES Issues of labor have always been pretty central to my wife and I. Her grandparents and great-grandparents were brought from Uttar Pradesh to Guyana by the British to work the sugar plantations. After slavery was abolished, the British looked around to the colonies, especially in India, for people to replace that labor source. So her family was brought as indentured laborers to Guyana. I have a background in South Asian Studies. There was a five-year period where I spent a lot of my time in India, studied at the Banaras Hindu University. So when we were thinking about a coming-of-age story, we were thinking about these labor issues. We encountered a statistic that my wife just happened upon and it was like the spark: one out of 10 kids globally is engaged in child labor. It struck us as an insanely high number. One hundred and sixty million is half of the population of the United States … So that led us into some research. We started off by reading scholarship about child labor in the garment sector in particular and in South Asia. The next thing you know, we were doing site visits in Delhi and meeting with kids who were either still engaged in work or who are now attending school. Adam, can you go into more detail about the amazing story of how your two young actresses were cast? GRAVES We were very lucky in that regard. We felt like we would be able to portray a more authentic picture of this world if we could cast from the community itself, but we also knew that that presented certain problems, because a lot of the NGOs are working with kids whose parents are reluctant to send them to school because they depend upon the income that their kids make. We didn't want to disturb the work of the different NGOs. So the Salaam Baalak Trust was unique because it was founded by the family of Mira Nair — the famous, distinguished, international film director who made the movie Salaam Bombay! in the 1980s. Her mother then established this foundation to help street children. Because of that background, they have themselves a very robust performing arts program. They had a lot of kids who were interested in auditioning for the part. We had a casting director in Mumbai who was getting all these professional kid actors. But then we were also collecting audition tapes from the Salaam Baalak Trust and one or two other nonprofits and residential homes for kids. And Sajda's came in and it just blew our minds. As soon as we saw it, we didn't watch a single tape after that, because it was just so different from everything else. We could just feel her past experience, in her eyes and in the way she moved and in her body. We knew that she was the right person. Anaya had never acted before. But she is a Bharatanatyam dancer, a form of classical Indian dance. That form of dance is very expressive, the moves that one performs with the eyes, as it were. … We were just blown away by what she was able to express with her face. Their portrayal of sisters is so convincing. GRAVES Ananya has a younger brother, Sajda has an older sister. When we brought them together a few days before filming to bond and develop that relationship, from the moment they met, they were just inseparable. We all lived together at a hotel in Delhi for eight or nine days. They always traveled in the same van, they would take naps, sleep in each other's arms. It was very, very cute, I have to say, to see them bond like that. I wondered if I could ask you both about your interpretations of the ending. Anuja is caught between her sister and taking this exam, and Palak injures herself while sewing. How do you imagine what happens next? KALING I mean, one of the delicious things about this is as someone who is a filmmaker and someone who creates TV is like, my imagination starts going with all of the different possibilities. I love that kind of ending. Because to me, as a writer, I love thinking: 'Where could this go?' Of course, I have asked Adam, 'Would you turn this into a feature? Would you turn this into a series about these girls, a mini-series?' I've never flat-out asked Adam what he thinks. But it's posing this question of, wow — can you believe that this girl has to make this choice? He can probably speak about the ending way more elegantly than I can. GRAVES One of the things that we kept on hearing in our research is that so many kids and their families are put in this terrible position of having to choose between, on the one hand, pursuing an education and possibly enhancing their prospects in life and their futures and on the other, contributing to the material wellbeing of their families who often live in abject poverty and depend upon that contribution. To me, that seems like an impossible choice. It seems like a choice that no kid should ever have to face. I felt like if our film could bring the audience to that point and feel that existential dread that those kids have to endure, I think that would be the most powerful thing we could possibly do. I knew from the beginning, as soon as I started writing the screenplay, that we couldn't have a Hollywood or Bollywood ending. That's not the point of the film. And I do want to ask about your Oscar nomination. I know it's not what you do this job for, but it must be a lovely cherry on top. Were you expecting it or has the reception come as a surprise? GRAVES Let me put it this way: When we made the film, I knew that we were capturing something really special. These kids were just giving us such an incredible performance. It was like capturing lightning in a bottle. But you also have very low expectations. You don't know if people are going to watch this film. You don't know if you're making it just for your kids and your parents. [If it doesn't perform], then it's just practice. It's me growing as a filmmaker and learning about the craft. When we started off in the festival run, we didn't get into the first, top festival that we submitted to. We thought, maybe this is just something we're gonna enjoy ourselves. I don't think anybody anticipated that we'd be getting this kind of attention. I think these kids and their performances deserve the attention, but you never expect it. It's frustrating, but getting names such as Mindy or Priyanka on board makes people pay attention. GRAVES Yeah, and I will say with Mindy, celebrity attachments are a thing because you do anything you can to amplify the story to garner a little attention. But in her case, she's been so much more. She's really rolled up her sleeves and gone all in on the film, making sure it gets distribution, seen by the right people, shouting from the mountain tops. And that has been huge. … These are people who have incredibly busy lives. She's got at least two shows simultaneously running right now, one about to come out. But if my memory serves me well, the film is 22 minutes and I think we got an email back [from Kaling] after 28 minutes. I think anybody who makes it in this business is just tremendously lucky. There's so many talented people out there making incredible things that, quite frankly, will probably not get noticed because it's really hard to break through. So to have a champion like Mindy and Guneet and now Priyanka Chopra is really huge. Mindy, as you pointed out, this is quite different to what you're known for. You're a comedy queen. Would you like to do more in this vein? KALING I'm a member of the Academy so I have the Academy app, and I was watching, I'm Still Here with Fernanda Torres and … I'm like, this could not be more different. I find so much inspiration from drama and from stories told outside of this country and yes, I would love to explore writing a drama. What really gets me inspired [is] seeing things like Anuja and being a part of it, and watching Adam and Suchitra's process. I feel like my job is to just constantly learn. I have access now to so many amazing artists, and can literally just ask them questions. And that's what I've been doing with Adam, who went with not very much money to India and shot something like this, cast it. Finding all the location scouts when you're based in Los Angeles, I found it incredibly inspiring. Will you be repping at the Oscars come March? KALING I would love to. We haven't quite talked about it yet. But either way, it will be a really exciting night at the Dolby. Best of The Hollywood Reporter The Best Anti-Fascist Films of All Time Dinosaurs, Zombies and More 'Wicked': The Most Anticipated Movies of 2025 From 'A Complete Unknown' to 'Selena' to 'Ray': 33 Notable Music Biopics
