Draft:Uncombed Buddha Films
Indian film production company
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Uncombed Buddha Films is an Indian independent film production company based in Jabalpur, Madhya Pradesh, founded in 2018 by film producers Harsh Agarwal and Aditya Grover.[1] The company produces independent and regional-language feature films, documentaries and short films, and has been credited on films across more than ten Indian languages, including several underrepresented dialects.[2] Its productions have participated at Cannes, Sundance, International Film Festival Rotterdam, Locarno Film Festival, Busan International Film Festival and Asia Pacific Screen Awards.[1]
Submission declined on 16 July 2026 by RangersRus (talk).
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|  |
| Type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | Film production |
| Founded | 2018 |
| Founders | Harsh Agarwal, Aditya Grover |
Area served | Worldwide |
Key people | Harsh Agarwal Aditya Grover |
| Products | Feature films, documentaries, short films |
| Website | www |
History
Uncombed Buddha Films was founded in Jabalpur, Madhya Pradesh, in 2018 by producers Harsh Agarwal and Aditya Grover.[1][2] The company was established as an independent production house focused on regional storytelling, international co-productions and independent cinema, and describes its mission as amplifying independent and socially relevant voices from India.[3]
The company supported and co-produced a range of independent and regional-language films in its early years, working across multiple Indian languages and international festival circuits. Among the films it supported was Ghode Ko Jalebi Khilane Le Ja Riya Hoon (2018), directed by Anamika Haksar, which was the only Indian film selected for the Sundance Film Festival's "New Frontier" section in 2019 and went on to screen at more than 40 national and international festivals.[1] This was followed by Nasir (2020) and Nirvana Inn (2019), both of which premiered in competition sections at major international festivals — Nasir in the Tiger Competition at the International Film Festival Rotterdam, and Nirvana Inn in the New Currents competition at the Busan International Film Festival.[4][5] Nasir also went on to receive a theatrical release across Europe. The company followed these with further co-productions including Peepal Tree (2021), Moonlight Dreams (2021), Mic Drop (2024) and Memories of a Kiss (2025).[6][7]
The company co-produced Rapture (2023), directed by Dominic Sangma, alongside producers Anu Rangachar and Stephen Zacharias in India and Xu Jianshang and Sun Li in China, as part of a six-country co-production, which premiered in the Cineasti del Presente section of the Locarno Film Festival.[8][9] The film later screened at the Busan International Film Festival and the Festival des 3 Continents,[10] and won the NETPAC Award at the Jio MAMI Mumbai Film Festival, the Cultural Diversity Award at the Asia Pacific Screen Awards, a Special Jury Award at the Hainan Island International Film Festival, and the National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Garo at the 71st National Film Awards.[8][11][12][13] In 2024, the film received a theatrical release across Europe, opening in more than 100 theatres.[11][14] The project was developed through Film Bazaar, Berlinale Talents, Boost NL, Tokyo Talents and La Fabrique du Cinéma at Cannes, and received funding from the Hubert Bals Fund, Vision Sud Est and the Doha Film Institute's post-production fund.[1] The company has also stated that the film's European release spanned 37 cities, and that a community screening initiative reached more than 50,000 people in the Garo Hills.[citation needed]
The company has continued to develop and produce films in further regional languages, including the Garhwali-language Hunter's Moon (also known as Kaatti Ri Raatti), which won a Work-in-Progress award at the Film Bazaar in 2024 and a Best Screenplay Award at the Shanghai International Film Festival in 2026,[15] and the Malayalam-language Chevittorama (also credited as Chevvitorma – The Soul Whisperers), directed by Leo Thaddeus.[16]
In 2025, Uncombed Buddha Films was associated with the development project What Remains Unsaid, backed by filmmaker Devashish Makhija and presented at the WAVES Film Bazaar Co-Production Market.[17]
The company has also participated in film industry platforms such as the Film Bazaar Co-Production Market,[18] Berlinale Talents, Tokyo Talents, La Fabrique du Cinéma at Cannes, and the Hubert Bals Fund and Doha Film Institute development/production funds, in connection with several of its productions.[1]
Productions
Ghode Ko Jalebi Khilane Le Ja Riya Hoon
The film follows an unhoused wanderer through the lanes of Old Delhi, blending past and present as it moves between waking life and dream. Uncombed Buddha Films supported Ghode Ko Jalebi Khilane Le Ja Riya Hoon (2018), directed by Anamika Haksar. The film was the only Indian title selected for the Sundance Film Festival's New Frontier section in 2019, screened at more than 40 international film festivals, and had a theatrical run of over six weeks in India.[1][19] It also screened at the Mumbai Film Festival (MAMI), the Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival, the Melbourne International Film Festival, IFFSA Toronto, and MoMA's Doc Fortnight in New York.[1][19] It was additionally reported to have screened at the Indian Film Festival of Los Angeles (IFFLA) and the Toulouse Film Festival in France.[citation needed]
Nasir
The film follows a middle-aged garment shop worker in a crowded Tamil Nadu neighbourhood over the course of a single day, amid rising local bigotry.[20] Uncombed Buddha Films was associated with the production of Nasir, directed by Arun Karthick. The film premiered in the Tiger Competition section at the International Film Festival Rotterdam and received the NETPAC Award at the festival.[21] It also received the Hubert Bals Fund award in 2018[22] and won the Grand Prix at the 14th Andrei Tarkovsky Zerkalo International Film Festival in Russia.[23] The film was released theatrically in the Netherlands, including a run of 21 screens, and also had a further theatrical run across Europe. It has also been reported to have screened at Lincoln Center and MoMA in New York, to have been recognised by Variety as one of the best independent films globally, to have won "Best Film" at the "We Are One" Film Festival, and to have received MAMI Gold.[citation needed]
Nirvana Inn
The film centres on a boatman who becomes caretaker of a Himalayan guesthouse after a suicide attempt, framed around cycles of birth, death and reincarnation. The company produced Nirvana Inn, directed by Vijay Jayapal. The film premiered in the New Currents competition section at the Busan International Film Festival.[5] It received a post-production grant from the Asian Cinema Fund, a Busan-affiliated fund, and was one of 29 projects selected for the Busan Asian Project Market in 2018.[24][25] It has also been reported that the film was graded at the same Seoul studio that worked on Snowpiercer, and that it screened at Fantaspoa in Brazil, the Indian Film Festival of Melbourne, and the UK Asian Film Festival.[citation needed]
Peepal Tree
Uncombed Buddha Films co-produced Peepal Tree (2021), directed by National Award-winning filmmaker Kranti Kanade, alongside Kanadé Films and the Baithak Foundation.[26] The film, about a family's campaign to stop the illegal felling of sacred peepal and banyan trees near a police academy in Pune, received a limited theatrical release in India and the United States. It was nominated for a Best Political Film award from the US-based Political Film Society,[1] and has also been reported to have won several environmental awards.[citation needed]
Moonlight Dreams
The film follows a pregnant teenager who returns to her village in rural West Bengal and challenges her younger sister's arranged marriage.[citation needed] The company served as producer on Moonlight Dreams (2021), a short film written and directed by Souvid Datta and shot in the Sundarbans delta of West Bengal. The film premiered in the United Kingdom at the Raindance Film Festival in 2020 and received more than 30 official selections, including at Oscar- and BAFTA-qualifying festivals.[27][28] It was also an official selection at the New York Indian Film Festival and the London New Indie Film Festival, won a jury award at the Cannes Short Film Festival in 2021, and screened at the Rhode Island International Film Festival and Interfilm Berlin.[citation needed]
Rapture
Set in a Garo Hills community awaiting a church-prophesied period of darkness, the film follows a night-blind ten-year-old for whom the village has never felt more frightening. Uncombed Buddha Films co-produced Rapture, directed by Dominic Sangma, alongside producers Anu Rangachar and Stephen Zacharias in India and Xu Jianshang and Sun Li in China, as part of a six-country co-production.[8] The film premiered at the Locarno Film Festival, later screened at Busan and the Festival des 3 Continents,[9][10] and won several awards, including the NETPAC Award at MAMI and the National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Garo.[9][12]
Mic Drop
The documentary short follows a young rapper working to bring the Bundelkhandi language into his music.[citation needed] The company co-produced the short film Mic Drop (2024), alongside the Public Service Broadcasting Trust (PSBT), directed by Kallol Mukherjee, which screened at the Dharamshala International Film Festival and more than 100 other international festivals, including IFFSA Toronto and the Rome International Documentary Festival.[29][30] It has also been reported to have had its premiere at the DokuBaku International Documentary Film Festival and to have screened at the Bengaluru International Short Film Festival and the New York Indian Film Festival.[citation needed]
Memories of a Kiss
Directed by Harsh Agarwal, Aditya Grover and Aakash Prabhakar, Memories of a Kiss (2025) is a romantic drama shot in Jabalpur, Madhya Pradesh, following two former partners who reconnect in their hometown years after their relationship ended. The film premiered at the 25th New York Indian Film Festival.[31]
Hunter's Moon
Set in the Dhauladhar mountains, the film follows a hunter whose season's catch is stolen by a devotee of the local forest goddess.[citation needed] Uncombed Buddha Films is among the producers of Hunter's Moon (also known as Kaatti Ri Raatti), a Garhwali-language film directed by Ridham Janve. The film won a Work-in-Progress award, supported by Prasad Labs, at the Film Bazaar in 2024, and a Best Screenplay Award at the Shanghai International Film Festival in 2026.[15] It has also been described as an India–Australia co-production, shot entirely on solar power, with experimental filmmaker and FTII alumnus Amit Dutta, known for Nainsukh (2010) and The Seventh Walk (2013), serving as editor.[citation needed]
Chevittorama (Chevvitorma – The Soul Whisperers)
The company is a co-producer, alongside Stop Whinging Productions and Tournage Productions, of Chevittorama ("The Soul Whisperer"), a Malayalam-language, India–Australia co-production directed by Leo Thaddeus.[16] The project was selected for the Film Bazaar Co-Production Market and, in a later iteration, the Netflix-supported Work-in-Progress Lab.[16]
What Remains Unsaid
What Remains Unsaid, backed by filmmaker Devashish Makhija and directed by Kallol Mukherjee, was presented at the WAVES Film Bazaar Co-Production Market in 2025.[17] The Haryanvi/Hindi-language crime drama follows a journalist who returns to her ancestral Haryana village to investigate an honour killing, confronting her own family's past as her investigation unfolds. Makhija is a National Film Award-winning filmmaker known for directing Ajji (2017), Bhonsle (2018) and Joram (2023).[citation needed]
Awards and recognition
- National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Garo, 71st National Film Awards (2025) – Rapture[12]
- NETPAC Award, Jio MAMI Mumbai Film Festival (2023) – Rapture[8]
- Cultural Diversity Award, Asia Pacific Screen Awards (2023) – Rapture[8]
- Special Jury Award, Hainan Island International Film Festival (2023) – Rapture[11]
- NETPAC Award, International Film Festival Rotterdam – Nasir[21]
- FIPRESCI International Critics Jury Award – Ghode Ko Jalebi Khilane Le Ja Riya Hoon[1]
- Best Screenplay Award, Shanghai International Film Festival (2026) – Hunter's Moon (Kaatti Ri Raatti)[15]
Films associated with Uncombed Buddha Films have also screened at the Busan International Film Festival, the International Film Festival Rotterdam, the Locarno Film Festival, the New York Indian Film Festival, the Festival des 3 Continents, Sundance, and, according to the company, at Lincoln Center and MoMA in New York.[32]
Filmography
| Year | Film | Director | Language | Role | Festival / recognition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | Ghode Ko Jalebi Khilane Le Ja Riya Hoon | Anamika Haksar | Hindi | Support | Sundance ("New Frontier"); FIPRESCI Award |
| 2019 | Nirvana Inn | Vijay Jayapal | Hindi, Assamese | Producer | Busan International Film Festival (New Currents competition) |
| 2020 | Nasir | Arun Karthick | Tamil | Co-producer | International Film Festival Rotterdam (Tiger Competition); NETPAC Award; theatrical run in the Netherlands and wider Europe |
| 2021 | Peepal Tree | Kranti Kanade | Hindi, Marathi | Producer | Limited theatrical release, India/USA |
| 2021 | Moonlight Dreams (short) | Souvid Datta | Bengali | Producer | Raindance Film Festival 2020; 30+ official selections |
| 2023 | Rapture | Dominic Sangma | Garo | Co-producer | Locarno Film Festival; NETPAC (MAMI); APSA Cultural Diversity Award; National Film Award; European theatrical release |
| 2024 | Mic Drop (short) | Kallol Mukherjee | Bundelkhandi, Hindi | Co-producer | Dharamshala International Film Festival; 100+ festival selections |
| 2025 | Memories of a Kiss | Harsh Agarwal, Aditya Grover, Aakash Prabhakar | Hindi, English | Director / Producer | New York Indian Film Festival (25th edition) |
| 2026 | Hunter's Moon (Kaatti Ri Raatti) | Ridham Janve | Garhwali | Producer | Film Bazaar Work-in-Progress Award (2024); Best Screenplay Award, Shanghai International Film Festival (2026) |
| 2026 | Chevittorama ("The Soul Whisperer") | Leo Thaddeus | Malayalam | Co-producer | Film Bazaar Co-Production Market; Work-in-Progress Lab |
| 2027 | What Remains Unsaid | Kallol Mukherjee | Haryanvi, Hindi | Producer | WAVES Film Bazaar Co-Production Market (2025) |
See also
- Cinema of India
- Film Bazaar
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