Anurag Kashyap to present India’s Venice Film Festival Selection ‘Songs of Forgotten Trees’

Filmmaker Anurag Kashyap has come on board as a presenter for the feature directorial debut of Anuparna Roy’s Songs of Forgotten Trees. The movie will premiere at the prestigious 82nd Venice Film Festival.

The human drama is the only Indian film to be selected in the esteemed Orizzonti section, a launchpad for innovative storytelling that has previously honoured films like Chaitanya Tamhane’s Court and Karan Tejpal’s Stolen, which recently dropped on Prime Video.

Starring Naaz Shaikh and Sumi Baghel, Songs of Forgotten Trees is produced by Bibhanshu Rai, Romil Modi and Ranjan Singh and follows the story of two women and how their lives get intertwined in Mumbai.

According to the official synopsis, the film follows the story of Thooya, a migrant and aspiring actress, who survives the city by leveraging beauty and wit, occasionally trading intimacy for opportunity.

When she sublets her sugar daddy’s upscale apartment to Swetha, a fellow migrant working in a corporate job, the two women—seemingly from different worlds— begin to share more than just a space. Amid the relentless pulse of Mumbai, they discover a silent empathy. But as personal histories, desires, and wounds resurface, their delicate connection is tested. What follows is not a rupture, but a strange and tender unfolding—of selfhood, of survival, of unexpected kinship.

“I have always believed in backing new talent, especially those who want to say something different, challenge the set norms by their ideas and beliefs,” Kashyap said in a statement about why he decided to present the feature.

“Ranjan and I have been associated with multiple such films over the years, and it’s amazing to see such raw talent continuously coming up. Anuparna is definitely one such voice and we feel proud and happy to back her first feature,” said Kashyap, whose own feature film Bandar, starring Bobby Deol and Sanya Malhotra, will have its world premiere at the 50th Toronto International Film Festival.

Director Anuparna Roy, who initially self-funded Songs of Forgotten Trees while juggling three corporate jobs in Mumbai, said she is drawn to stories that the mainstream “continues to ignore.”

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“Despite having one of the largest film industries in the world by volume, we rarely tell stories of the marginalized—of those excluded by class, caste, and gender. I want to change that. I want to speak of the miseries I’ve witnessed and lived through, not just as an Indian but as a global citizen. I believe that telling these stories might give voice to the unheard, offer solace to some, and perhaps even inspire others.

“My search for this story began with the search for my childhood friend, Jhuma Nath, whose child marriage was carried out under a man-made social order and a failed government scheme. This film carries her memories,” she added.

Ranjan Singh of Flip Films called Anuparna a “unique voice,” which compelled him to back the feature. “I had seen her short (Run to the River) and I remembered one line pitch to me at a film pitch event, and that stayed with me for the longest time.” Songs of Forgotten Trees is co-produced by Navin Shetty and Anuparna Roy.