All-Women Crew Short Film ‘Chunni’ to Premiere at New York Indian Film Festival (EXCLUSIVE)

The all-women crew of the short film “Chunni” is all set to head to the Big Apple for the film’s world premiere at the New York Indian Film Festival on May 30. Set in Delhi, the film explores the fears, expectations and social pressures that women continue to face, which curb their freedom. The 15-minute-plus film, which is the official selection at the fest, is directed by Kaashvi Agarwal and produced by Jiya Bhardwaj. The cast includes Preeti Panigrahi, Kartik Phogat, Neha Khosla and Karan Chibber.

“Chunni” focuses on one transformative night in Avni’s (Preeti Panigrahi) life when she confronts the weight of conformity, the contradictions of freedom, and the unspoken fear that shapes how women have to learn to exist within boundaries and defend themselves from a young age.  

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About the film, Jiya Bhardwaj, who started her career as an assistant director with YRF, says, “When I read the first draft of the film, I immediately felt this was an important story to tell, and even more importantly, one that needed to be told by women. It’s time we tell our own stories. The power we felt when the 15 of us were out on Delhi roads at 3 am for our tech recce can’t be put into words. It’s something we would have never dared to do if we were by ourselves.”

Kaashvi Agarwal describes the film as deeply personal. “‘Chunni’ will always be my most special film. It began with a simple conversation with my mom, and after losing her, it felt like I owed it to her and myself to make it. Making this with an all-women team healed me in ways I didn't expect. Even my daadi, at 79, became part of our team as we shot this in my house. This film carries all of them in it,” she shares.

Bhardwaj and Agarwal, who have also written the film, point out that the title “Chunni” serves as a powerful metaphor anchoring the narrative.

Preeti Panigrahi feels that working with an all-women team was a unique experience. She says, “As a woman, it is almost therapeutic to work on an all-woman set. For me, the core memory of working on this film was eating aloo puri and drinking chai in the morning after we had wrapped shooting for three nights. It was such a simple thing, yet it gave me so much joy because I had a bunch of genuine and like-minded women sharing it with me. I made many girlfriends on this shoot, and some of these relationships are for sure for the keeps.”