Archive · 11 Sep 2026
Anuparna Roy Returns to Venice With Ambiguous Mumbai Drama
Anuparna Roy has made a new movie called “Lovers in the Blue Night.”
It will be shown in an important competition at the Venice film festival.
The story follows four people living difficult lives in Mumbai.
They want to survive, feel loved and be accepted.
One character, Kareem, hides his sexuality from his family.
Another character, Ameena, remains dependent on men throughout the story.
Roy chose not to make Ameena suddenly rebellious because she felt that would be too predictable.
The film does not give viewers a simple happy or sad ending.
Instead, each person must decide how much hope they see in the story.
Anuparna Roy’s second feature, “Lovers in the Blue Night,” has been selected for the Orizzonti Competition at the 83rd Venice International Film Festival.
The film follows Kareem, Ameena, Omi and Sukka as their lives intersect across Mumbai’s restless nights.
The characters’ shared desire to survive, belong and be seen connects stories involving migration, sexuality, work and identity.
Roy says Ameena’s continued submission was deliberate, rejecting a predictable transformation into a rebellious heroine.
The director leaves the film’s hope and ending open to interpretation, locating possible hope in Kareem’s decision not to kill Sukka.
- Who
- Filmmaker Anuparna Roy and the four central characters Kareem, Ameena, Omi and Sukka.
- What
- Roy’s second feature, “Lovers in the Blue Night,” has been selected for Venice’s Orizzonti Competition.
- When
- At the 83rd Venice International Film Festival; the articles do not specify the festival dates.
- Where
- The film is set in Mumbai and will be presented at the Venice International Film Festival.
- Why
- Roy explores survival, migration, identity, desire and the effects of social marginalization without offering easy conclusions.
Conventional Interpretation
Roy’s Deliberately Ambiguous Interpretation
The film’s ending
Conventional Interpretation
Ameena’s love, intimacy and marriage can be read as a hopeful resolution, while the film’s conclusion may offer some optimism.
Roy’s Deliberately Ambiguous Interpretation
Roy says hope only matters alongside hopelessness and refuses to provide a neat happy ending; viewers must decide how much hope remains.
Ameena’s remarriage
Conventional Interpretation
Ameena’s marriage to a man who wants her could be viewed as an achievement for a woman living in constrained circumstances.
Roy’s Deliberately Ambiguous Interpretation
Roy sees the remarriage as another repetition of the same cycle of dependence, not a genuine breakthrough.
Ameena’s character arc
Conventional Interpretation
A conventional drama might have made Ameena more perceptive, resistant or rebellious after learning about Kareem’s sexuality.
Roy’s Deliberately Ambiguous Interpretation
Roy deliberately keeps Ameena submissive and trapped in familiar patterns, arguing that turning her into a rebel would be predictable and clichéd.
- Film
- “Lovers in the Blue Night”
- Director
- Anuparna Roy
- Festival
- 83rd Venice International Film Festival
- Section
- Orizzonti Competition
- Setting
- Mumbai
- Languages
- Hindi, Sylheti Bengali and Marathi
- Central characters
- Kareem, Ameena, Omi and Sukka