Fresh off his Cannes 2024 success with “In Retreat,” producer Thanikachalam S.A. is backing “Kurinji (The Disappearing Flower)” from debut feature director Payal Sethi at India’s Film Bazaar co-production market.
Sethi’s previous work includes the award-winning shorts “Leeches” (2016), which won the Grand Prix Internationale at Brussels Short Film Festival, and “Grant St. Shaving Co.” (2010). She studied at Vassar College and Tisch School of the Arts, and worked with Mira Nair on films including “Monsoon Wedding” and “The Namesake.”
The film follows Laly, a Kerala housewife whose migrant worker husband in the Gulf region suddenly stops calling home after years of separation. When a money-lender appears demanding repayment of an unknown debt, she embarks on a search for answers with help from an unexpected quarter – her lover who happens to be her husband’s brother-in-law.
“It feels like a very fun film to do, about a serious topic, and with an as-yet-untold story,” Thanikachalam tells Variety. Coming off his Cannes breakthrough, the producer notes the festival recognition has opened new doors. “Post-Cannes, films with greater ambition have been coming my way.”
“I first started thinking about this story when I came across the term ‘Gulf Wife’ in a news article,” Sethi says. “Digging into a Human Rights Watch report about Gulf migration in India, I learned these wives were all stuck in a unique type of long-distance relationship with their husbands.”
The project emerged from Sethi’s observation of a critical gap in media coverage. “The lack of interest in Gulf Wives struck me as most surprising. Almost no media attention is offered to these women who are deeply impacted by the migration process,” she says.
The film has already garnered international attention, having participated in Cine Qua Non Lab, Produire au Sud (Kolkata), and the Berlinale Script Station. Sethi received the Kompagnon Fellowship from Berlinale Talents in 2022.
The production team is targeting a winter 2025-26 shoot, contingent on co-production partnerships. “Film Bazaar is an important co-production market for us, as 90% of the film is shot in India,” Thanikachalam notes. “We hope to meet Indian and international potential producing partners for the film.”
Film Bazaar (Nov. 20-24) is the project market component of the International Film Festival of India (IFFI, Nov. 20-28) in Goa.
