From festival screenings to public platforms, WIFF Mumbai celebrates a defining moment as its films travel wider. Vinta Nanda reflects on Varun Tandon’s Thursday Special and the growing resonance of Indian independent cinema.  

As Indian independent cinema finds increasing visibility beyond festivals, WIFF Mumbai emerges as a key platform nurturing meaningful storytelling. With films like Humans In The Loop, Victoria, Nukkad Natak, and Thursday Special reaching mainstream and public audiences, the festival’s curatorial vision stands validated.

The year has begun on a quietly triumphant note for us at WIFF Mumbai. Films that were showcased at the Waterfront Indie Film Festival Mumbai 2025 are no longer just festival memories or proud footnotes—they are now part of the larger public conversation around Indian independent cinema. Humans In The Loop by Aranya Sahay, Victoria by Siva Ranjini, Nukkad Natak by Tanmay Shekhar, and now Thursday Special by Varun Tandon—all of them have moved beyond the festival circuit into mainstream or public platforms. Some are already streaming, others are on the cusp of wider release. For an independent festival committed to nurturing honest voices, this is no small achievement. It is, quite simply, a feather in our cap.  

Released today, 29 January 2026, Thursday Special feels like a gentle but assured affirmation of why spaces like WIFF Mumbai matter. At its heart, the film is an intimate tale of Ram and Shakuntala, an ageing couple bound by years of marriage, a shared love for food, and a cherished Thursday ritual. On the surface, it is about something deceptively simple—a weekly routine. But as the film unfolds, it becomes a tender exploration of love, companionship, and the quiet changes that creep into long-term relationships.

Set in a small town in India, Thursday Special reflects ideas that are deeply universal. We all seek escape from the mundaneness of daily life, often through small, familiar rituals. For Ram and Shakuntala, food becomes both anchor and language—an expression of care, memory, habit, and, sometimes, unspoken tension. The film never raises its voice. Instead, it listens closely, allowing silences, glances, and routines to tell the story.

Varun Tandon and the Poetics of the Ordinary

Varun Tandon, a National Award-winning writer-director based in Mumbai, has long been drawn to deeply humane storytelling. His short film Syaahi earned him the Special Jury Award at the 63rd National Film Awards, and his documentary Dribbling Dreams was widely appreciated for its sensitivity and clarity of gaze. With Thursday Special, that same poetic instinct finds perhaps its most distilled form.

In a brief conversation I had with Varun, his connection to the film felt immediate and personal. When I asked him what made him want to make this film, he said: “This is a story that’s lived in my heart for years and I really wanted to tell it. I was fascinated by these characters and I was excited to see their lives unfold on screen. That was my primary reason for wanting to make the film. I knew I wouldn’t be at peace till I told this story.”

That sense of lived-in intimacy shows in the film’s craft. Varun spoke about the long gestation period of the script, developed with his co-writer and sister, Krati Tandon. “We spent a lot of time developing the script. By the time we went into production, we had lived with the material for so long that we really knew what we wanted.”

This clarity carried into production and post-production, where collaboration with the actors further shaped the film into what it eventually became—something close to how the makers had first imagined it.

The response so far has been deeply heartening. “The film has been received wonderfully well. At screenings, we get a strong audience reaction… After the film, people come up and personally tell me how much they enjoyed it,” Varun shared.

What stands out is that the film’s emotional truth has travelled across cultures. International audiences, too, have connected with its simplicity and sincerity.

From Global Festivals to Esteemed Champions

That global resonance is reflected in the film’s festival journey. After premiering at Mecal Pro in Barcelona, Thursday Special went on to win over 25 awards worldwide, including Best Narrative Short at the New York Indian Film Festival and Best International Short Film at the Adelaide Independent Film Festival. Most notably, it won the Most Poetic Film Award at the Küstendorf Film Festival 2025, personally chosen by Emir Kusturica.

The film’s journey took another significant turn when filmmakers Shoojit Sircar and Vikramaditya Motwane came on board to present it. Sircar described being moved by the film’s simplicity and gentle storytelling, while Motwane spoke about how it brings attention to lives and stories we often overlook—calling it special not just aesthetically, but emotionally and narratively.

For Varun, this support feels like a quiet validation of years of dedication to short-form storytelling. For us at WIFF Mumbai, it reinforces something we have always believed: that independent cinema, when made with honesty and patience, finds its way—slowly, steadily—into the hearts of audiences.

Thursday Special, now streaming on the Humans of Cinema YouTube channel, is not a loud film. It doesn’t announce itself with spectacle. Instead, it invites you in, asks you to sit down, share a meal, and observe a relationship shaped by time. And in doing so, it reminds us why these small, human stories matter—on screen, at festivals, and far beyond.

Watch it here: