NYIFF 2026-Early Days and Chunni

Early Days
Director: Priyankar Patra
Starring: Manasi Kaushik, Sarthak Sharma
Run time: 1 hour 41 minutes
Language: Hindi

Synopsis:
Preeti and Samrat, a young couple, become social media influencers soon after they move to Mumbai with the hopes of making it big. But the demands of an influencing lifestyle, personal branding and the constant need to create in the costliest city in the country ruptures their personal relationship.

Priyankar Patra, is a writer, producer and now a director with Aditya Vikram Sengupta's For Films. His credits include producing Once Upon A Time In Calcutta (2021, Venice International Film Festival) and The Daughter (2022, Palm Springs International ShortFest). He is also producing two shorts currently - the UK/Indian co-production The Good Life and US/Indian co-production Moti.

Chunni
Director: Kaashvi Agarwal
Starring: Preeti Panighari, Kartik Phoghat, Neha Khosla, Karan Chibbar
Run time: 15 minutes
Language: Hindi

Synopsis:
Set in contemporary Delhi, Chunni follows Avni, a young woman eager to attend her school party, whose excitement is stifled when her conservative family forbids her from wearing what she wants. Forced to cover up with a chunni, a symbol of modesty, Avni’s quiet rebellion unfolds over one night as she steps out into the city on her own. What begins as an act of defiance turns into a confrontation with fear, perception, and the deep-rooted conditioning that shapes how women navigate freedom.

Kaashvi Agarwal is a writer, director, and producer and a recent graduate of NYU Tisch School of the Arts (BFA Film & Television). Based in New York City, her work explores themes of memory, grief, identity, and the uncanny through narrative-driven storytelling. Her films have screened at notable platforms including the Chicago South Asian Film Festival and Soho House Mumbai. She has also worked in post-production on the documentary Nocturnes, which received the 2024 Sundance World Cinema Documentary Special Jury Award for Craft.

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Host or Publisher Indo-American Arts Council