Sundance Winner Neeraj Churi Joins Busan-Bound Bengali Drama

Sundance-winning producer Neeraj Churi has boarded "About an Intimate Matter" (Ekanto Byaktigoto Bishoy), a Bengali-language queer drama that will world premiere at the 31st Busan International Film Festival.

Churi, of Lotus Visual Productions, produced Rohan Parashuram Kanawade's "Sabar Bonda" (Cactus Pears), which won the World Cinema Grand Jury Prize: Dramatic at the 2025 Sundance Film Festival.

The film marks a first for its production company. "About an Intimate Matter" is the debut Bengali-language production from Awedacious Originals, the company co-founded by International Emmy-winning "Delhi Crime" producer Apoorva Bakshi and Monisha Thyagarajan.

What is the film about?

Written and directed by first-time feature filmmaker Sandeep Kumar Paul, the psychological drama screens in Busan's A Window on Asian Cinema section. Sreya Bhattacharya, Shimlli Basu and Sanjita Das lead the cast.

The story follows Swarna, a high school science teacher, and her partner Driti, who relocate to a quiet suburban town to start over. Their plans collapse when one of Swarna's students finds intimate images of her online and circulates them among his classmates. Gossip hardens into something official: fellow teachers and school authorities begin treating her personal life as a disciplinary matter. With her job and relationship under strain, Swarna must decide how far she will go to reclaim control of her own life.

"Having 'About an Intimate Matter' start its festival journey at Busan is deeply meaningful to me," Paul said. "I did not want to look at queer lives from the outside or treat them as exceptional. I wanted Swarna and Driti to have the same contradictions, desires, vulnerabilities and dignity as anyone else."

How did the project develop?

The film has its roots in Paul's photography. In 2016 and 2017 he shot Pride walks and other gatherings in Kolkata, but came to feel that still images could not carry the emotional weight of the lives he was documenting. A close friend's struggle to reconcile his identity with others' expectations made the story personal. Paul wrote the screenplay in close collaboration with queer friends, whose experiences shaped the characters and dialogue.

The visual design tracks Swarna's state of mind. Paul deliberately keeps the sky out of the frame early on, letting it return as she finds her footing. He shot in the 1.66:1 aspect ratio to press in on her, and set the story in winter, when bodies stay covered and movement is restricted.

Raised in Kolkata, Paul trained in engineering and business before working in Bengali theater, then illustration and street and documentary photography.

What does the producing team say?

Bakshi said Awedacious Originals was drawn to Paul's understated handling of identity, intimacy and social prejudice. "There is a remarkable restraint to the film; it never announces its politics, but allows them to emerge through its characters, their relationships and the world they inhabit," Bakshi said. "We could not imagine a more meaningful home for its world premiere."

Bakshi and Thyagarajan produce alongside Churi and Abid Aziz Merchant of Lotus Visual Productions, with producing partners across India, the U.K. and the U.S. Jenisha Dave is associate producer. Churi, a queer cisgender man, contributed his perspective during development and production.

"Swarna's circumstances are specific, but the desire to live and love without being made answerable to public judgment is universal," Churi said. "Busan gives us the opportunity to carry her story beyond its geographical setting and into a larger international conversation."

Awedacious Originals, with offices in California and India, previously produced Netflix's documentary series "The Hunt for Veerappan," Prime Video's documentary feature "Womb," and the hand-drawn animated feature "The Glassworker," which premiered at Annecy in 2024. Its slate also includes "Madina," a Kazakhstan co-production that premiered in Tokyo, and the short "Aman," a trans pregnancy drama that was a Toronto Short Cuts finalist this year and screens at the BFI London Film Festival. The Busan premiere now positions Paul's debut for the international career Churi's presence signals.