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Footprints on Water, Nathalia Syam’s debut feature film, centers around an immigrant Raghu who struggles to make ends meet in Birmingham, London. The story dives into the complexity and rigor that the protagonist had to undergo to fulfill his dreams and aspirations in a nation that is away from his motherland. The story also sheds light on the societal barriers and prejudices that immigrants often encounter, highlighting the importance of empathy and understanding in fostering a more inclusive society. The filmmaker skillfully explores the universal themes of identity, belonging, and the pursuit of happiness. It serves as a poignant reminder that compassion and acceptance are crucial in building a harmonious multicultural society.

Raghu (Adil Hussain) is an immigrant in Birmingham, UK, lacking legal documents. Raghu was a successful businessman in Kerala, India, but due to betrayal from his clients, he fell into the gallows of debt with life-threatening consequences.

Exclusive: The UK has a new South Asian-focused film talk show.

UK-based film company ReelN, founded by Aman Dhillon, has teamed up with online entertainment website Filme Shilmy to launch The Filme Shilmy Show. The show will feature South Asian talent – both independent and established names – who will appear to promote projects and discuss their journeys as storytellers. The show’s producers said today that they aim for the show to bridge the gap between South Asian artists and UK audiences.

South Asian station Roq Raw has been set as the official radio partner, with sponsorship from the State Bank of India UK (Sbi) and Nashtaa Cafe. Rich Mix cinema in Shoreditch, East London, will be the venue of the show’s first edition, which takes place on September 22. Headlined as A Spotlight On British-Asian Filmmakers, the episode will feature filmmakers Pravesh Kumar (Little English), Nathalia Syam (Footprints On Water...

Exclusive: The UK Asian Film Festival celebrates its 25th anniversary this year, and today, Deadline can share the official lineup for the jubilee edition, running at venues across the UK from May 4 — 14.

The running theme for this year’s edition is ‘Celebrating Our Stories,’ which will see the festival screen a series of films that center on the British Asian experience. The festival will open with the UK Premiere of the Hindi-language pic Sanaa at BFI Southbank. The film follows the eponymous Sanaa, a 28-year-old financial advisor working in Mumbai, who discovers she is pregnant. Clear on her decision to terminate her pregnancy, the process of getting the abortion forces Sanaa to re-evaluate her life and if the choices she has been making have really been her own. Lead actor Radhika Madan (Pataakha) and director Sudhanshu Saria (Loev) will attend the screening.

The festival’s closing gala takes place on...

After “Sunrise” in 2014 and a double whammy with “The Wayfarers” and “Nirvana Inn” in 2019, Indian thespian Adil Hussain is back at the Busan International Film Festival this year with two more films – “The Storyteller” in the Jiseok section, and “Max, Min and Meowzaki” in the Open Cinema strand.

Hussain, best known internationally for “Life of Pi” and “Star Trek: Discovery,” also won global plaudits for “What Will People Say” and “Hotel Salvation.”

Both of the actor’s Busan films this year are by festival alumni – “The Storyteller,” is by Ananth Narayan Mahadevan, whose “Bittersweet” was in Busan 2020 and “Max, Min and Meowzaki” is helmed by Padmakumar Narasimhamurthy, who was at Busan in 2016 with “A Billion Colour Story.”

In “The Storyteller” Hussain plays Goradia, a Gujarati businessman who believes that once physical wealth is accumulated, happiness will follow, but this proves not to be the case. The film is based on a story by the late,...

London-based The Production Headquarters, founded in 2010 by Mohaan Nadaar, has unveiled an extensive slate of features that are complete or in production. The company focuses on U.K. and India centric projects.

Its most recent ventures include British filmmaker Nathalia Syam’s Birmingham-set immigration drama “Footprints on Water,” starring Adil Hussain (“Star Trek: Discovery”), Nimisha Sajayan (Venice title “Shadow of Water”) and Antonio Aakeel (“Slow Horses”), and Vivek Singh Chauhan’s thriller “Rat on a Highway,” starring Randeep Hooda (“Extraction”).

The slate was presented at the ongoing Cannes Market. Upcoming films include sci-fi film “G,” written by Swati Singha, with R. Madhavan, whose directorial debut “Rocketry” premiered at the market, attached to star; and Rajeev Jhaveri’s drama “Closure” starring Griff Furst, Hannah Arterton and Roxanne McKee.

Also in the works are Syam’s self-discovery drama “Salted Caramel”; Sangeeth Sivan’s psychological thriller “The Alter Ego”; Ayush Raina’s paranormal...

Acclaimed Indian actor Adil Hussain will headline “Blue: The Colour of Guilt,” one of the projects being introduced at the Film Bazaar virtual co-production market. It is to be directed by first-time feature director Nilakshi Sengupta.

The India-u.K. co-production is set in Newcastle upon Tyne in England. It is a modern-day story set against the backdrop of the 1859 Indigo Rebellion in Bengal, east India, where indigo farmers crippled by debt began an uprising against indigo planters. The revolt was suppressed by the British colonial rulers and many of the farmers lost their lives.

The historical event has been depicted on stage and screen a handful of times to date. Dinabandhu Mitra’s play about the uprising, “Nil Darpan,” was written in 1859. Meanwhile, an episode of Shyam Benegal’s epic historical television series “Bharat Ek Khoj,” produced for Indian state broadcaster Doordarshan in 1989, also dealt with the movement. However, it...

Mumbai, March 2: Filmmaker Nathalia Syam, who has directed the film Footprints On Water, says that realistic cinema is the need of the hour. However, she adds that realistic films also need to be entertaining.

"I believe that when you watch a film, it sticks with you if you can relate to the character. There are two ways that people watch a film, one is when it is larger-than-life and people enjoy it and then they don't think about the film. And the next is films based on stories that need to be shown like our film. There are a lot of people who are scammed, who sell their houses and go to the UK and have no paperwork. They don't exist. Even if they get murdered, no one will know. So I felt this was a very important story to be told," informed Nathalia.

She further adds, "I think...

Actor Adil Hussain has opened up on his recent shoot in Birmingham amid Covid protocol post lockdown, for the British-Indian film Footprints On Water. The film tells the story of an illegal immigrant in the UK who is frantically searching for his missing daughter while evading the police.

"Keeping the backdrop of the story aside, the emotion of a father and his responsibility towards his daughter are universal. Here, in the film, the predicament is such that this father cannot go to the police to seek help because he is an illegal migrant. He is helpless and cannot take legal support. It is interesting how his emotion plays out and how desperate he feels," Adil told Ians.

A directorial venture of Nathalia Syam, the story is by Neetha Syam.

"Nathalia is a delight to work with. She has a clear vision and close connection with the story of the film.

London, Oct 30 (Ians) Indian actor Adil Hussain features alongside British actor Antonio Aakeel in the upcoming British-Indian film Footprints On Water.

The film is about an illegal immigrant father in the UK who desperately searches for his missing daughter, while trying to avoid getting noticed by the police. While Adil Hussain plays the father, Malayalam actress Nimisha Sajayan plays the daughter.

"The dreams, the hope, demolition of the dreams, the realisation as to what are the most important aspects in life, are very engagingly interwoven in the narrative," Adil Hussain told variety.com.

Directed by Nathalia Syam, the film also features Malayalam actress Lena Kumar as the missing girl's stepmother. British actor Aakeel essays an Afghani refugee.

"As immigrants of Indian origin brought up in Britain, we've had a ringside view into the lives of various people, their cultures and ethnicities. Through the plot of an illegal immigrant father's search for his missing daughter,...

Indian thespian Adil Hussain and British actor Antonio Aakeel will headline British Indian feature film “Footprints on Water.”

Written by Neetha Syam (“Thaara”) and to be directed by Nathalia Syam, “Footprints on Water” will tell the story of an illegal immigrant father in the U.K. who is frantically searching for his missing daughter while trying to avoid the police radar. Through this search, the film will portray the lives of immigrants of various nationalities who arrive in the U.K. hoping to turn their lives around.

Hussain will play the father, and Indian actor Lena Kumar (“Anveshanam”) will portray his wife, who is the missing girl’s stepmother. Another Indian actor, Nimisha Sajayan, who was the lead in 2019 Venice Film Festival title “Shadow of Water,” will play the daughter. Aakeel plays the role of an Afghani refugee.

The film is produced by Mohaan Nadaar’s London-based outfit The Production Headquarters,...