Issued: 19/May/2026, Variety. Online. United States.
Anuparna Roy, the Indian filmmaker who won the Horizons award for best director at Venice, has completed her second feature, “Lovers in the Blue Night,” targeting an international festival run in the second half of 2026.
Set against the margins of Mumbai, the film follows four migrants – a gay husband, his wife working in a bar, a thief, and a pimp – whose lives converge around love, survival, and longing. Roy wrote and directed the film. It is produced by Vikas Kumar and Sharib Khan of Khan & Kumar Media, who co-produced Roy’s debut, “Songs of Forgotten Trees,” with co-producers Bibhanshu Rai and Romil Modi continuing their creative collaboration with Roy from that film.
“‘Lovers in the Blue Night’ began as a quiet thought I carried within me for years, a desire to explore the illusion of love, and the longing of marginalized people searching for identity, belonging, and a place within society,” Roy said. “Completing this film feels deeply emotional and fulfilling for me, especially as it marks my second feature as a writer and director.”
Joining the production as executive producer is Neeraj Churi of Lotus Visual Productions (U.K.), whose “Cactus Pears” took the World Cinema Dramatic grand jury prize at Sundance 2025 – the first Indian fiction film to claim that honor – before a theatrical run across North America, India, and the U.K.
“Anuparna’s filmmaking has an emotional honesty and cinematic confidence that immediately draws you in,” Churi said. “‘Lovers in the Blue Night’ is sensual, intimate, and deeply atmospheric, while still remaining accessible to audiences beyond India. I’m excited to support the film alongside Vikas, Sharib, Bibhanshu, and Romil as it begins its international journey.”
