📅 05th December 2026
📍Jayamahal Palace Hotels - Indoor Auditorium
Cinema has immense power to shape societal narratives around mental health; meaningful, accurate portrayals are not yet mainstream. At Manotsava 2024, a panel discussion explored how Indian cinema is beginning to move beyond stereotypes, shifting from sensationalism to more empathetic, everyday depictions that normalize therapy, emotional vulnerability, and recovery. Meaningful, intentional representation on the silver screen can encourage open conversations, challenge stigma, reshape public perception, and become a force for social change.
At the third edition of Manotsava, we will be screening six films that will explore mental health through contemporary Indian cinema, offering audiences a view into diverse psychological experiences and societal perspectives
6:45 PM
Toyaj
22 mins | Hindi and English (English subtitles) | 2026 | Jayamahal Palace Hotels - Indoor Auditorium
Director and Writer, Zoon Talkies: Abhijeet Srivastava
Kaveri is a celebrated mountaineer and the very picture of fearlessness. But she hides tokophobia, a crippling fear of pregnancy and childbirth. When an unexpected pregnancy tests her relationship, she flees into the night, and a breakdown on a deserted road forces a reckoning. An intimate psychological drama about fear, autonomy, motherhood and what it means to be whole.
6:45 PM
Things I didn't Tell Amma
11 mins | Tulu (English subtitles) | 2026 | Jayamahal Palace Hotels - Indoor Auditorium
Megha J Shetty, Artist and Filmmaker
Sonu is ten. He wets the bed, struggles at school and is seen as a ‘problem child’. But what if his behaviour is the only language he has? Born from the filmmaker’s grief after losing her brother, this short film looks at the quiet spaces in a family where a child’s distress becomes ordinary and pain is mistaken for bad behaviour.
6:45 PM
Orange
15 min | English and Hindi (English subtitles) | 2026 | Jayamahal Palace Hotels - Indoor Auditorium
Suchita Bhhatia, Filmmaker, Podcaster and Mental Health Advocate, Metaphysical Lab
An intimate short documentary about caregiving, family and the invisible emotional weight carried by those who care for a loved one. Through a father-daughter relationship, ORANGE looks past caregiving as duty to the exhaustion, tenderness, frustration and quiet resilience that live behind closed doors, and asks a simple question: who takes care of the caregiver?
6:45 PM
IRL
25 min | Hindi (English subtitles) | 2026 | Jayamahal Palace Hotels - Indoor Auditorium
Gurleen Grewal, Khoj International Artists’ Association and The Third Eye
Reshma, a domestic worker from Noida, and Nidhi, a beautician from Bhopal, log into BGMI every day to slip out of their real lives. Through their avatars they explore anonymity, friendship, flirting and transgression with strangers across cities and class lines. A documentary about how women find connection, pleasure and risk on a virtual battlefield.
6:45 PM
Vajood Rahe Majood
9 min | Hindi (English subtitles) | 2026 | Jayamahal Palace Hotels - Indoor Auditorium
Keigan Pinto, Creative Chief, Writer and Director, Tata Trusts
A son writes a birthday poem for his mother, and as he reflects on their bond, small changes surface: forgetfulness, hesitation, struggles with once-familiar tasks. This Tata Trusts film offers a human look at dementia, urging families to notice early signs rather than dismiss them, and to remember that a person is more than their diagnosis.
6:45 PM
Krishna's Waiting Room
45 min | Hindi (English subtitles) | 2026 | Jayamahal Palace Hotels - Indoor Auditorium
Director: Kavita Bahl, Top Quark Films
Vrindavan is home to thousands of destitute women who come seeking salvation in the land of Krishna. Most of its 20,000 migrant women beg on the streets, facing loneliness and depression with no support. The film asks why they came and why they stayed, questioning the inheritance politics that shortchange women. Commissioned by the Public Service Broadcasting Trust.