Zoya Akhtar and Rana Daggubati on 'Shape of Momo' and the Indie Ecosystem: 'More People Are Going to Invest'

Filmmaker Zoya Akhtar — who has put her might behind the acclaimed indie Shape of Momo and previously backed the award-winning documentary Turtle Walker — believes the future of Indian independent cinema is exceptionally bright. Akhtar says, as these films consistently "pop" internationally, they are finally forcing mainstream decision-makers to turn their heads and invest in such titles for the future.

“What is happening right now is happening consistently,” Akhtar says, speaking with THR India to promote filmmaker Tribeny Rai's Shape of Momo. The feature, which counts Akhtar, Reema Kagti and Payal Kapadia as Executive Producers, released in cinemas this Friday via actor-producer Rana Daggubati’s Spirit Media.

Akhtar notes that the consistent global noise being made by indie voices is finally forcing mainstream Indian showrunners and investors to pay attention.

“These films are popping internationally and therefore gaining immense traction back home in India. People are beginning to take note. I have personally heard conversations in rooms that traditionally wouldn't even be discussing this (kind of cinema) — that there is something happening here.

"Slowly, I have a feeling that more and more people are going to invest in it, and are going to see that there can be a future here, and find a dedicated space for it. I am incredibly positive about this," she added.

For Daggubati — whose Spirit Media has distributed acclaimed, award-winning indie titles like All We Imagine As Light and Sabar Bonda — the digital age has democratised the festival pipeline, enabling a decentralised, borderless community of creators to represent the country on the world stage.

“We are present at a significant number of global festivals now. The internet has connected us so brilliantly that the exchange of ideas, links, and scripts happens constantly, long before a film even goes on floors,” Daggubati explains.

The actor says India’s cultural diversity is so vast that it is often hard to even position it to a global audience.

"The world looks at us and wonders, 'What does Indian cinema actually do?' because it ranges from massive, big-screen spectacles to deeply intimate indie gems. Furthermore, international audiences have never seen multiple thriving film industries operating out of a single country; they don't even understand what that infrastructure means.”

Featuring an ensemble cast of late Bhanu Maya Rai, Gaumaya Gurung, Pashupati Rai, Rahul Mukhia and Shyamashree Sherpa, Shape of Momo is set in a Himalayan village in Sikkim and traces the lives of women across generations within a single family, shaped by emotional inheritances, silences, and everyday negotiations.