3 min readJul 24, 2026 05:15 PM IST
Writer-director Anuparna Roy’s relationship with the Venice International Film Festival is proving to be more than a one-off success. A year after winning the Best Director award in the Orizzonti section for her debut feature Songs Of Forgotten Trees last year, the filmmaker will return to the festival with her sophomore outing, Lovers In The Blue Night, which has been selected for the same competitive section.
Set against the backdrop of Mumbai’s restless nights, Lovers In The Blue Night follows the intertwined lives of four migrants—a closeted husband, his lonely wife who works at a bar, a small-time thief and a pimp—whose paths cross through unexpected love, survival and forbidden desire. Told in Hindi, Sylheti Bengali and Marathi, the film explores longing, migration, identity and the search for belonging in a city that leaves little room for vulnerability.
“Overwhelmed” by the Venice selection, Anuparna Roy says: “The film draws from my own life as a migrant, watching working-class lives slowly dissolve into the restless pulse of the city. It is about people who dare to desire in a world that punishes feelings—a gay man bound by duty, a woman yearning to be seen, and a thief craving acceptance.”
Roy admits she has always been drawn to stories that are deeply personal as well as political. She traces the origins of the film to a childhood memory from her hometown of Purulia. “As a child, I knew a woman named Ameena, who worked as a bonded labourer in my hometown. She became my constant companion. One day, I innocently asked her why she and her husband Karim never slept together. She quietly replied, ‘He doesn’t take me with him.’ I did not understand what she meant then, but the moment stayed with me,” the writer-director recalls.
With Lovers In The Blue Night, Anuparna Roy imagines an alternate life for Ameena in Mumbai. In the metropolis, she chooses her own freedom and desire, living life on her own terms—even if that freedom leads her into another kind of loop, one that is ultimately of her own choosing. The ensemble cast includes Neelima Sharma, Pritam Pilania, Bhushan Shimpi, Jatin Sarin, Kajal Keshav and Vinod Suryavanshi.
Vikas Kumar, co-founder of production company Khan and Kumar Media and one of the film’s lead producers, says the Venice selection is a proud moment for the team. “At Khan and Kumar Media, Sharib Khan and I have always believed that powerful stories deserve to travel beyond borders. Seeing Lovers In The Blue Night invited to the Orizzonti Competition at Venice, following Songs Of Forgotten Trees last year, is an incredibly humbling moment for us.”
Calling Roy “one of the most distinctive filmmaking voices of her generation”, Kumar also thanked the Venice programming team, fellow producers Bibhanshu Rai and Romil Modi, and the cast and crew for helping bring the film to life.
Story continues below this ad
Following its Best Director win at Venice last year, Songs Of Forgotten Trees travelled to several major international film festivals, where it picked up multiple awards, further cementing Roy’s emergence as one of the most exciting new voices in Indian independent cinema.
Click here to follow Screen Digital on YouTube and stay updated with the latest from the world of cinema.
