Hosted by the ever-vocal and vibrant Richa Chadha, the event brought together some of the sharpest minds in the industry — Shoojit Sircar, Rajat Kapoor, Deepa Gahlot, and Sridhar Rangayan — for a thought-provoking discussion on the changing landscape of indie cinema in India. From raw storytelling to the challenges of distribution, the panel laid bare both the triumphs and tribulations that define independent filmmaking today.
Richa Chadha, known for her bold choices and advocacy for meaningful cinema, spotlighted Sabar Bond, a recent Marathi indie gem, as a symbol of storytelling that transcends budgets and formulas. Her words hit home: “Indie films may not always have big marketing budgets, but they have big hearts — and that’s what stays with you.” Her passion echoed throughout the night, energizing the audience and igniting hope for the future of grassroots cinema.
The discussion didn’t just celebrate success — it dove into the nitty-gritty: budget constraints, limited platforms, and the struggle to get noticed in a sea of content. Yet, the tone was anything but grim. Instead, it was an energizing, solutions-oriented exchange. Festival founder Vinta Nanda perfectly summed it up, calling WIFF “a movement” — one that brings together diversity, innovation, and the raw power of stories that matter.
With the full festival scheduled for October 2–6 at Rangshila Theatre, Versova, excitement is building fast. Supported by the Tuli Research Centre for India Studies (TRIS), Applause Entertainment, and other key partners, WIFF is set to feature curated indie screenings, masterclasses, and rich conversations — a true playground for film lovers and emerging storytellers.
About Newshelpline
News Helpline is a Brand in the world of daily Bollywood Content. We are a team of Innovative, Hard working and Creative people working in media since last 15 years. We were the first to sense the changing phase of News Industry with the progress of IT industry. Hence in the year 2008 we came up with a first of its kind Bollywood News Application, a website where we uploaded Bollywood news on daily basis and our client could download this news from anywhere in the world on the same day of the event. Then with the passage of time we improved and evolved. The result is today our client in any area of the world receives their Bollywood news (HD quality) within 2-3 hrs. post event. The value of News is very Time dependent and we at News Helpline deliver the News before thay become rumors.