Bhardwaj and Sen launch 40L seed fund for indie filmmakers
Acclaimed directors Vishal Bhardwaj and Shaunak Sen are serving as mentors with Humans of Cinema and Safarnaama Pictures to launch a ₹4 million fund for indie filmmakers.
The goal? To give fresh, original voices in Indian cinema a real shot, plus Sen will step in as executive producer on one of the chosen films.
Khan and Kadav on fund jury
"Independent cinema survives because some people choose to believe in voices before the world discovers them. I'm happy to support an initiative that hopes to find and nurture the next fearless generation of filmmakers from India," while Sen calls the fund "Avenues for independent cinema today are rapidly wilting, and I'm delighted that Humans of Cinema is instating a filmmaker-forward seed fund. I'm excited to work with the chosen scripts."
If you're an Indian citizen 18 or older who's made at least two shorts or one feature, you can apply.
The jury features actor Imran Khan and filmmaker Arati Kadav, and selected projects get not just funding but also industry mentorship and festival support.