'Sahela' to have South Asia premiere at Mumbai International Film Festival

Filmmaker Raghuvir Joshi's feature Sahela is set to have its South Asia premiere at the Jio MAMI Mumbai International Film Festival in the Focus South Asia section.

An Australian production, the English-Hindi language film is set within the vibrant Indian community of Western Sydney. Shot in Australia, the movie is a love story between a gay man and his wife.

It is produced by Tayyab Madni of Picture Works Australia and Radhika Lavu of Ellanar Films in India in association with "Pushpa-The Rise" producer Mythri Movie Makers, co-produced by AB International films and executive produced by Dev Patel and Jaspreet Kaur.

The film stars Antonio Aakeel and Anula Navlekar in the lead along with Sheeba Chaddha, Vipin Sharma, Harish Patel, Anita Patel, and Nicholas Brown in prominent roles.

"The film is an intimate portrait of love and self-discovery that challenges the weight of familial expectations and entrenched gender roles in our society. It's a story that redefines our notions of love, exploring the complexity of sexuality and the freedom that comes from breaking conformity. With 'Sahela', I would also like to underscore that the most profound act of love is the power to let go," Joshi said in a statement.

Focus South Asia is a non-competitive section of feature and short films by South Asian and South Asian Diaspora Filmmakers. This section spotlights talent from the region, highlighting the wealth of narratives and styles that make our experiences manifest.

Sahela boasts of an impressive international crew which includes the sound designer Wayne Pashley, editor Scott Gray, production designer Michael Turner, DOP Michael McDermott, music composer Piers Burbrook de Vere, and sitar maestro Niladri Kumar.

The Jio MAMI Mumbai International Film Festival will be held from October 27 - November 5, 2023.