‘Abhinetri’ Dives Into The Strange Business Of Becoming The Person You Dreamed Of

Tanmay and Tanya Chowdhary made the film after meeting Pranjal Asha, who had left Delhi for Bombay at twenty, much like the woman she plays.

Inspired by actor Pranjal Asha’s own move from Delhi to Bombay at twenty, the film uses a poetic, non-narrative form to explore ambition, self-perception and the inheritance of dreams. Tanmay and Tanvi Chowdhary

Published on:

08 Sep 2026, 10:00 am

2 min read

Summary

Tanmay and Tanvi Chowdhary’s new short film 'Abhinetri', follows a 20-year-old aspiring actress navigating auditions and life in Mumbai, blurring the line between the roles she performs and the life she is trying to create. Inspired by actor Pranjal Asha’s own move from Delhi to Bombay at twenty, the film uses a poetic, non-narrative form to explore ambition, self-perception and the inheritance of dreams. The film will have its world premiere at the 74th San Sebastián Film Festival, where it is the only Indian film selected this year.

The boundless imagination of the human mind — fortunately or unfortunately, depends on how you see it — also loves imagining the hell our selves: as a character in our own stories, tying our identities and existence to arcs and themes bigger than ourselves. Abhinetri, a new short film by siblings Tanmay and Tanvi Chowdhary, explores the similar and strange dream within a dream that is ambition.

The film follows Pranjala, a 20-year-old aspiring actress in Mumbai, as she moves from audition to audition, performing different versions of herself for casting directors. She has left school behind, doesn't know how to cook, and carries with her the half-borrowed memory of a grandmother she never met but is constantly told she resembles, a woman who, family lore insists, could have been an actress herself.

Through its non-narrative, poetic logic, the film becomes a gently-knit allegory of dreams in both its meanings — we see Pranjala audition for the woman on the screen that sells us the perfect acne cream or the perfect loan plan that can help us ‘achieve our dreams.’ Off-camera, she’s playing another role — of a young, budding actress with the aspirational inheritance of her grandmother — till the line between performing a life and actually living one gets thinner, and she begins to feel like she is inside a film, both playing the part and watching herself from outside.

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The Chowdharys made the film after meeting Pranjal Asha, who had left Delhi for Bombay at twenty, much like the woman she plays. For Tanmay and Tanvi, the film came from watching her navigate the tragedy, excitement and mundanity of life in the city. Abhinetri is essentially a portrait of Pranjal and the spirit of many like her. Tanmay’s previous work has travelled through Sundance, Berlinale, TIFF and Rotterdam, while Tanvi is a directing fellow of the National Film and Television School in London; together, they run Peru Films, a production house focused on socially driven stories and underrepresented voices.

Abhinetri will have its world premiere at the 74th San Sebastián Film Festival in the Zabaltegi-Tabakalera section, making it the only Indian film selected at this year’s festival. With a 12-minute runtime and a dream-work style of filmmaking that makes one really appreciate the form, Abhinetri dives into the shimmering waters of self-perception and how unreal (pun intended) being here and trying to belong feels like.

Follow Tanmay here, Tanvi here and watch the trailer below: