A resonant celebration of regional cinema and independent voices, WIFF’s May event brought powerful films, urgent conversations, and thoughtful community engagement to the heart of Mumbai’s evolving cultural landscape. Vinta Nanda reports from the scene…

The Waterfront Indie Film Festival (WIFF) continues its dynamic Stories, Screens, Solidarity series with a third successful pre-festival event in Mumbai. Featuring Mic Drop by Kallol Mukherjee and Tathagat by Manav Kaul, the May 23 screenings sparked powerful conversations on regional music, identity, and introspective cinema. As WIFF builds toward its inaugural edition in October 2025, these monthly events are establishing the festival as a vital platform for independent filmmakers, socially rooted storytelling, and culturally relevant cinema in India. With strong participation from audiences and artists alike, WIFF is fast emerging as a space where new voices meet bold narratives.

May 24, 2025 | As the Waterfront Indie Film Festival (WIFF) gears up for its inaugural edition this October, the third event in its monthly Stories, Screens, Solidarity pre-festival series unfolded on May 23 at Rangshila Theatre, Mumbai. Themed around the power of regional expression and cinematic introspection, the event drew a full house for the screenings of Mic Drop and Tathagat, followed by compelling conversations with the filmmakers.

The afternoon opened with Mic Drop, a short documentary by Kallol Mukherjee, which follows FPC ANK (Ankit), a Bundeli rapper from Madhya Pradesh navigating the harsh reality of transforming passion into livelihood. The film, shot with cinematographer Yash Dubey, who like Kallol hails from Jabalpur, was a deep dive into the region’s music culture. The duo shared how their familiarity with Bundelkhand allowed them to organically capture raw, intimate moments with Ankit—his musical frustrations, family pressures, and emotional burnout.

Ankit’s story stirred a wider debate during the post-screening panel, moderated by Deepa Gahlot, with filmmaker Kallol and Yash discussing the myth of social media as a democratic space. “Unless you're one of YouTube’s chosen ones or pay enormous sums for promotion, your work remains buried,” Kallol said candidly. “We imagine social platforms are free and fair, but they’re businesses driven by algorithms and profit.” The panel also touched upon the mental health implications for rural artistes struggling with obscurity, and how independent documentary filmmakers, too, face systemic underfunding when telling non-sensational stories rooted in real social issues.

After a lunch break and buzzing networking session at Sathe’s Café, the audience returned for Tathagat, a 90-minute philosophical feature by Manav Kaul. Visually poetic and emotionally restrained, the film blends memory, solitude, and renunciation against a stark Himalayan backdrop.

In the panel that followed, moderated by Deepa Gahlot and Avneesh Mishra, Manav offered rare insights into his creative process. “I don’t make films thinking about the audience,” he said. “I do it for the pleasure of making and the process of creativity that flows during the time. Often, I don’t even have a complete script—I write while shooting.” Actor Ghanshyam Lalsa, who has long collaborated with Manav in his theatre collective Aranya, echoed this improvisational energy. He shared how the shoot evolved organically, including the serendipitous casting of an eight-year-old local boy in the village where they filmed.

Both discussions were deeply engaging, with audience members such as Mohan Siroya, Rashmi Lamba, Varshaa Jain, and Panchali Chakraverty contributing thoughtful observations.

As WIFF continues its Stories, Screens, Solidarity series—first launched on March 20 with a screening of screening of two sharply observed short films — P for Paparazzi by Divya Kharnare and Thursday Special by Varun Tandon. Kharnare’s film explored the gritty, unseen world of celebrity photographers through the lens of a soft-spoken Nepali shutterbug named Manoj. Tandon’s Thursday Special was a slow-burn reflection on intimacy, aging, and longing, told with maturity and restraint.

On April 26 there was a double screening of Goolar Ke Phool (by Aronn Miitr, starring Sanjay Mishra) and Anaar Daana (by Nishi Dugar, fresh from Berlinale. Those sessions included robust dialogues with panellists Sanjay Mishra, Aronn Miitr, Nishi Dugar, Kabeer Khurana. The conversations explored themes ranging from caste and culinary symbolism to childhood grief and rural resilience.

WIFF’s pre-festival events are steadily carving out a space for independent voices to thrive—toward deeper, community-rooted storytelling. The fourth event in the series is expected in June. Until then, WIFF continues to hold space for stories that provoke, preserve, and powerfully connect.