BY KAUSHIK NATH
An Assamese film centred on an eight-year-old girl’s longing for a mother she never knew is heading to New York this month for its world premiere.
Aakuti, which translates to Longing, has been selected for the 2026 edition of the New York Indian Film Festival. The premiere is scheduled for May 30. The 1 hour 34 minute film is the debut feature of Snigdha P Roy, who has written, directed and edited the project herself. It has been co-produced by Tanuja P Roy under the banner of PKR Films.
The film was made on a modest budget with a small crew. By the director’s own description, the project leans on minimalistic storytelling and raw human connection rather than production scale.
Before the New York selection, Aakuti had already drawn attention within the industry. It was picked for the Film Bazaar Recommends section at Waves Film Bazaar 2025, a selection that carries weight given how competitive that programme tends to be.
The film follows Lakhi, a young girl who lost her mother as an infant and has grown up carrying that absence without fully understanding it. She fills the gap the only way she knows how, by sketching imaginary portraits of a woman she never got to know. Her father Bishnu tries to reach her, but her silence and inner confusion keep a distance between them that care alone cannot close.
As the story moves forward, Bishnu grows close to another woman who helps him work through his own grief. The two see a possible future together, but circumstances get in the way. Lakhi remains unaware of this thread in her father’s life, and the film holds both stories alongside each other without forcing them into easy resolution. Aakuti sits with grief and longing and the quiet difficulty of a father and daughter trying to rebuild something neither of them has a clear name for.
Child actor Kavisha Mahanta carries the lead role of Lakhi. The cast also includes Nilim Chetia, Anisha Hazarika, Arun Hazarika and Ananya Hazarika.
Cinematography has been handled by Chida Bora. Sound design is by Debajit Gayan and the background score by Ashutosh Sohoni.
Snigdha P Roy is not a newcomer to filmmaking despite this being her first feature. She previously made The Gift in 2013 and Hands of A in 2022. Aakuti represents a step up in scale and ambition, though the approach she has chosen keeps the film firmly in personal, intimate territory.
For an Assamese debut feature to land a world premiere at the New York Indian Film Festival is not a routine outcome. The festival has been a consistent platform for Indian independent cinema, and the selection of a film this quiet and this specific in its emotional focus says something about what the programmers responded to.
Northeast Indian cinema has been finding more international footing in recent years, with films from the region appearing at festivals across the world with increasing regularity. Aakuti adds to that momentum, arriving in New York with a story rooted entirely in one family’s private grief.
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