The Backstory

It’s no surprise to anyone that the Indian film industry is heavily male dominated. Departments that are more technical or require physical strength, tend to skew even more male.

But when we started to build our women-led team for our film, Girls Will Be Girls, we were surprised to discover that we couldn’t find any women actively working the lighting department.

This is when we decided that we would create a training programme for women who were interested in departments but hadn’t had the opportunities to break in. Change comes from small actions accumulated over time and this is our small contribution.

Our Team

The core team of UnderCurrent is also the core team of the film GIRLS WILL BE GIRLS, a coming-of-age story set in a Himalayan boarding school. It is being produced by Pushing Buttons Studio, Crawling Angel Films and Dolce Vita Films (France) and will be shot in September 2022.

  • Tanya Negi

    Tanya Negi brings to UnderCurrent her experience of producing and designing over 130 events over 8 years. She is now a producer with Crawling Angel films where she brings her business and creative skills to films like GIRLS WILL BE GIRLS.

  • Richa Chadha

    Richa is an actor, producer and activist. She is known for essaying strong female characters and a career in socially conscious cinema. As a producer of GIRLS WILL BE GIRLS, she is focused on change and equity behind the lens as well.

  • Shuchi Talati

    Shuchi is the writer and director of GIRLS WILL BE GIRLS and her films challenge dominant narratives about gender and sexuality. She is also a climate activist and member of Brown Girls Doc Mafia and the Bitchitra Collective.

  • Claire Chassagne

    Claire Chassagne is the French producer of GIRLS WILL BE GIRLS. As a producer, she supports strong female voices. She brings her producing skills to UnderCurrent in the form of building cross-cultural partnerships.

  • Abhra Das

    Abhra Das is an independent Film Programmer and writer, who strongly believes in inclusivity. He was part of the selection process and programme coordination for UnderCurrent. He is also a Senior Manager at the Film Critics Guild.

  • Lakshya Nishad

    Lakshya Nishad is a novice screenwriter and filmmaker working with Crawling Angel Films. A film graduate from Srishti Manipal, Lakshya is also the assistant producer and director’s assistant on the GIRLS WILL BE GIRLS production.