Exclusive | Sayani Gupta Launches Production Banner of Sayani Gupta Movies; Sets ‘Aasmani’ as First Project
Headlined by Revathy, 'Aasmani' has been written, directed and produced by Sayani Gupta.
Actor Sayani Gupta is stepping into a new phase in her career with the launch of her production house, Sayani Gupta Movies (SGM). The actor's debut directorial short film, Aasmani, will become the maiden project under the banner.
"The reason I have always wanted to produce was so I could build a community of like-minded people and, together, create an enabling, nourishing space for collaboration," said Gupta, who has built her 14-year career across several acclaimed feature films and streaming titles.
An alumna of the Film and Television Institute of India (FTII), Pune, Gupta’s varied body of work ranges from films such as Margarita with a Straw, Jolly LLB 2 and Article 15 to the Prime Video series Four More Shots Please, which concluded last year.
"I have always believed that casting the crew is the most important thing. With the right collaborators, film sets can be magical. I constantly meet filmmakers who are looking for a home where they feel seen, and for partners they can trust, who will enable them to tell stories their way. It has been a long dream to one day create a space for that to happen. Hopefully, this is the first baby step in that direction," she added.
Headlined by Revathy, Aasmani has been written, directed and produced by Gupta. The film also stars Daria Bedi and Abhay Kaul.
Although she had previously co-produced feature films like Where the Winds Blow in 2018 (shot in Nepal), Upar Neeche (2019), and several short films, backing Aasmani, she said, was the "first step towards that intentional path of creating stories that I want to put out into the world, and most importantly, films that I would like to watch."
The actor said that as her first production, it was a mammoth task because of the sheer scope and scale of the shoot across distant locations. The team conducted a recce for over a year and found incredible locations across Maharashtra, with Pune becoming their base as it felt like her "second home from my alma mater, FTII."
"I was managing a set while also directing my first film, which was absolute madness, but in hindsight, deeply gratifying. We lucked out with a fantastic crew and a marvellous cast. I had incredible producing partners in Nikkhil Advani (Sumitra Gupta Foundation for Arts), and Dia Mirza and Ananya Rane (One India Stories). I am also currently producing two films through foreign co-productions, both in completely different genres," she added.