Delhi: For producer-writer Jiya Bhardwaj, cinema has always been deeply personal. From assisting on large-scale Bollywood productions to premiering her own short film internationally, her journey has been shaped by instinct, collaboration, and a commitment to stories carrying emotional and social resonance.
Her latest project, Chunni, is set for its world premiere at the New York Indian Film Festival on May 30. Produced by Winlight Studios and directed by Kaashvi Agarwal, the over-15-minute short film follows one transformative night in the life of a young woman in Delhi, exploring fear, conformity, freedom, and the everyday pressures women face in public spaces. Mounted entirely by an all-women crew, the film marks an important milestone for Bhardwaj and her collaborators.
Reflecting on the international premiere, Bhardwaj says the recognition feels both emotional and symbolic. “It’s always such an honour to have your work showcased on an international stage where you can bring a part of your country to the forefront among celebrated films and brilliant filmmakers,” she says. “I have always seen festivals as an opportunity to learn, grow, and celebrate cinema.”
The premiere also carries personal significance because Bhardwaj and director Kaashvi Agarwal studied and met in New York. “To premiere the film at NYIFF feels like the perfect full circle,” she adds.
Rooted in city
Delhi plays a crucial role in shaping the emotional atmosphere of the film. Bhardwaj speaks candidly about the city’s troubling reputation and the everyday anxieties women experience there.
“Delhi, unfortunately, is known as the rape capital of the nation,” she says. “It pains me to even state this. But nothing is changing. Recent statistics continue to reflect the scale of violence women face in the city.”
She points to the burden society places on women rather than addressing systemic violence.
“We are told to be safe, move around in groups, be home before sundown, and cover ourselves with appropriate clothing,” she says. “Our whole cast and crew are from the city, and the reason we could pour so much of ourselves into the film is because we all have faced this.”
According to her, the fear women experience often begins long before they even start calculating precautions.
“The fear grapples you before you mentally negotiate measures of caution in your head,” she adds.
One of the defining aspects of Chunni is its all-women crew, a decision Bhardwaj describes as instinctive from the very beginning. Her experiences working as an assistant director on large productions strongly informed that choice.
She recalls working on an action-adventure film where the presence of three women assistant directors frequently raised eyebrows.
“People would ask, ‘Why three women ADs?’ ‘Can women handle action sets?’ ‘Shouldn’t you hire men for a film like this?’”
According to Bhardwaj, film sets, like many workplaces, have historically been male-dominated.
“No one ever asks, ‘Why so many men?’” she remarks.
During that same production, veteran actor Amitabh Bachchan publicly appreciated seeing women working across departments on set. Bhardwaj recalls his words fondly:
“A great delight to find so many women on set working harder than the men, in a job which one could never have dreamt about in our times.”
Beyond filmmaking
For Chunni, Bhardwaj says she wanted every woman on the crew to contribute part of her own lived experience to the filmmaking process.
“As a producer, I wanted all the women heading departments and working on the crew to bring a part of themselves to the table,” she explains. “Not just to make an honest film, but also to come together and create a memorable experience.”
The title itself carries layered meaning within the narrative. Bhardwaj describes the “chunni” not simply as a piece of cloth, but as a metaphor that ties the film together.
“It’s not about a piece of cloth that saves a woman from the male gaze or gives her the freedom she truly deserves,” she explains. “It helps question the larger problem.”
For Bhardwaj, the film interrogates whether women should continue conforming to restrictive social expectations or exist freely and comfortably in their own skin while demanding respect and dignity.
“Whether it’s traditional and deeply rooted parts of India or urban cities where safety is directly proportional to progress, the irony lies in the deep-seated layers of patriarchy,” she says.
The film, she adds, uses the motif of the chunni to provoke larger questions about gendered violence and conformity.
“Till when are the daughters of this nation going to conform to the monstrosity of sons who are let loose and ready for their next hunt?” she asks.
Before stepping into independent filmmaking, Bhardwaj worked on films such as Fan, Tiger 3, and Dum Laga Ke Haisha. She says one of the biggest lessons from those experiences was learning to trust conviction and intuition.
“One of my biggest learnings from working on these magnanimous films was surprisingly simple,” she says. “Stick to your conviction and build on your intuition.”
Her time at the NYU Tisch School of the Arts significantly shaped her understanding of storytelling and filmmaking.
“When you’re right out of college and want to become a film director, you are lost,” she says. “The first piece of advice almost everyone gives you is to become an assistant director and learn on set, and I completely agree with that.”
Working as an assistant director taught her discipline, collaboration, and the realities behind filmmaking.
“It teaches you the madness behind the magic,” she says. “It teaches you what real stakes look like and how to stay disciplined under pressure.”
But eventually, she realised she needed to create opportunities for herself rather than wait endlessly for them.
“You either continue working on sets and wait for an opportunity to eventually direct, however long that may take, or you create that opportunity yourself,” she says. “I chose the second path.”
Building Winlight Studios
Bhardwaj explains that although she always enjoyed writing, she later realised screenwriting demanded a distinct craft and discipline.
“Being a good writer and being a good screenwriter are two very different things,” she says. “Screenwriting is a craft — one that demands structure, precision, and practice.”
Today, she describes writing as a “superpower” because it allows filmmakers to create worlds independently.
“It allows me to build a film from scratch, to create the blueprint of a world before it exists, without being dependent on anyone,” she says.
She also believes understanding screenwriting benefits everyone associated with filmmaking.
“It gives you the ability to engage with material more meaningfully and make more informed creative choices,” she adds.
Alongside her younger brother, musician Dev Bhardwaj, Jiya co-founded Winlight Studios, which she describes through the “four Ms” — movies, music, and magic makers.
The studio aims to combine socially meaningful storytelling with entertainment, emotion, humour, spectacle, and music.
“We believe cinema can be both meaningful and deeply entertaining,” she says. “Stories carrying social impact do not need to sacrifice emotion, wonder, humour, or spectacle.”
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Their goal, she explains, is to “hypnotise audiences through storytelling” while reviving some of the timeless cinematic charm they feel has gradually been lost.
Their next project, currently entering pre-production, is a children’s and family feature film centred on empathy, animal welfare, and conversations around cruelty towards animals.
