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Anuparna Roy Returns to Venice With Migrant Drama
Lovers in the Blue Night is a new movie by Indian director Anuparna Roy.
It follows four working-class migrants living in Mumbai.
They are trying to survive while looking for love, identity and acceptance.
Ameena works at a phone-sex call centre, while her husband Karim kills rats for the municipality.
Karim becomes involved with Sukka, a thief.
The story also includes Omran, who works as a pimp.
Roy said she wanted to show the characters as survivors rather than simply as poor people.
The movie uses Hindi, Sylheti Bengali and Marathi.
It will be shown at film festivals in Venice and Busan.
Anuparna Roy’s second feature, Lovers in the Blue Night, is selected for Venice’s Orizzonti section.
The multilingual film follows four working-class migrants navigating survival, identity, desire and sexuality in Mumbai.
Its characters include Ameena, a phone-sex call-centre worker; her husband Karim, a municipal rat killer; thief Sukka; and pimp Omran.
Roy said the film explores sexual complexity, love and the inner lives of people living on society’s margins.
The film will also screen at the Busan International Film Festival after Roy’s 2025 Venice success with Songs of Forgotten Trees.
- Who
- Director Anuparna Roy and the cast and producers of Lovers in the Blue Night.
- What
- A multilingual drama about four working-class migrants dealing with survival, identity, desire and sexuality.
- Where
- The story is set in Mumbai, and the film was shot in the city’s distant suburbs.
- When
- The film is scheduled for Venice from September 2-12 and Busan from October 6-15; the article identifies it as a 2026 film.
- Why
- Roy wanted to explore sexual complexity, love, identity and the inner worlds of people living on society’s margins.
Key facts
- Director
- Anuparna Roy
- Film
- Lovers in the Blue Night
- Venice selection
- Orizzonti section, Venice International Film Festival
- Other festival
- Busan International Film Festival
- Languages
- Hindi, Sylheti Bengali and Marathi
- Setting
- Mumbai
- Previous achievement
- Roy won Best Director at Venice in 2025 for Songs of Forgotten Trees, described as the first such achievement by an Indian filmmaker.
Quotes
Anuparna Roy
Director and writer of Lovers in the Blue Night
“I wasn’t trying to emphasise the poverty in Lovers in the Blue Night – all of the characters are survivors. They are framed in such a way that a lot of the outside world is cut out so that we can explore their inner worlds.”
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“You really want to get your second film out as soon as possible. You’ve just won something at a very big festival. You have a sense of validation. Why not try again?”
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Sources
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