Vishal Bhardwaj and Shashank Sen team up to mentor India co-production fund

Humans of Cinema and Safarnaama Pictures have launched a landmark feature film co-production fund—of Rs 40,00,000—designed to back an emerging filmmaker with a distinct voice and a clear vision.

In a boost to the independent ecosystem, Academy Award-nominated filmmaker Shaunak Sen (All That Breathes) and globally acclaimed auteur Vishal Bhardwaj, have joined the initiative as mentors. Sen is also attached to the selected project as an executive producer.

The high-profile jury for the fund includes actor Imran Khan, filmmaker Arati Kadav (Cargo, Mrs), producer Aman Mann (All That Breathes), and renowned author and festival director Aseem Chhabra.

Harshit Bansal, Founder of Humans of Cinema, shared that the idea took shape when Nazim Momin of Safarnaama Pictures—a US-based engineer and producer—reached out via Instagram with a shared vision to back independent Indian cinema. Together, they aim to support a film that is both festival-ready and engaging for local audiences.

Commenting on the initiative, mentor Vishal Bhardwaj said, “Independent cinema survives because some people choose to believe in voices before the world discovers them. Happy to support an initiative that hopes to find and nurture the next fearless generation of filmmakers from India.”

Shaunak Sen, who will executive produce the chosen script, added, “Avenues for independent cinema today are rapidly wilting, and I’m delighted that Humans of Cinema is instating a filmmaker-forward seed fund. I’m excited to work with the chosen scripts.”

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The jury also expressed a collective urgency for such a platform. Imran Khan stated, “Initiatives to discover and nurture the next generation of filmmaking talent are sorely needed, and I am thrilled to support the HOC Film fund.”

The fund is open to all Indian citizens aged 18 and above who have directed at least two short films or one feature film. Interested applicants can submit their projects for a non-refundable fee of ₹1499.