Zindagi Dobara (Life, Again), is the story of Mahi, a 16-year-old South Asian teen, and her grandmother Dilreet. After Mahi’s parents die in an unfortunate car accident, she is forced to live with her distant grandmother she's never heard of or met.

Dilreet welcomes the chance to get to know Mahi and tries to connect with her through old Bollywood films. She feels as if Mahi may have secrets of her own, some she is hoping to help Mahi share. Mahi desperately wants to know why Dilreet has no pictures of her parents on the walls and discovers why her grandmother was secretly shunned by the family. 

Why this Story?

This film is my gift to my grandmother. The story itself is inspired by my own grandmother’s passing from ovarian cancer in March 2018. I never saw my grandmother in the flesh after I had left India as a 3-year-old and we became quite distant in the 19 years that followed before her departure. I could never come out to her as a queer femme and I kept thinking about all the stories and history that were left unspoken and scattered into the Earth alongside her ashes. Hopefully, this story transcends its physical nature and into the heavens for her. 

Zindagi Dobara (Life Again) - truly means these characters will get a second chance at living life and hopefully surviving. The grandmother (Dilreet) and granddaughter (Mahi) experience an aching to discover the truth about who they are instead of being confined within traditional South Asian gender roles. Together they begin a lifelong journey of unlearning many taboos in their culture and religion. Dilreet did get shunned from her family and community, but may have an opportunity at healing and breaking the lineage of trauma through the bond with her granddaughter. 

Surviving such life experiences and traumas is something many South Asian LGBTQ+ folks don't often get the privilege to live through. We often don't get the "Happily Ever After" endings. As a queer woman of color and filmmaker, I really hope people of all backgrounds, beliefs, and journeys empathize with Mahi and Dilreet through this film, without us listing the heartbreaking statistics of the harm and discrimination against these specific communities. 

The content definitely will be emotionally heavy but there will be so much beauty in the Punjabi and South Asian themed aesthetics that will weave a vivid film for our communities!

- Amrit K.

Check out our mood boards!

Our production dates are scheduled for mid-December of 2021 with a goal of starting post-production (editing video, sound, color, etc.) in early 2022. We are currently in pre-production locking in all of the pieces needed to make sure this project reaches its full potential and beyond. 

With the help of our amazing writer mentor and executive producer, D'Lo, we're nearly ready to lock the final script and also scout locations, hold casting auditions, and finalize our other exciting crew members! 

We could not do this work without our amazing Producers Mario & Marcos at La Producción!

What will the budget be used for?

For us, it is a non-negotiable that we fairly compensate the cast and crew especially as our team is composed entirely of underserved undocumented, LGBTQ+, disabled people of color like us. 

It is important for us to create a safe environment to make this film happen. We will follow all COVID 19 safety measures and provide our entire team with the proper equipment and resources necessary for the production dates.

By contributing and joining us, you'rere supporting work that is creating a more diverse representation on screen and helping uplift directly impacted storytellers. You're giving us the gift of space, time, and resources to focus on creating a healing experience for our community while exploring our craft as storytellers.

Creating a film is no small task and we need all hands on deck. If you’re excited to be part of the team, consider contributing to our campaign and follow our social media for exciting updates. Your support means the world to us!

Thank you so much!

- Amrit, Aman & Jazz

(Brown Girl Joy Productions Founders)

Please support our project by sharing our fundraiser on social media with this template!

I’m excited to announce my support for @browngirljoy new short film @zindagidobara! 

Zindagi Dobara (Life Again) is the the story of Mahi, a 16-year-old South Asian teen, and her grandmother Dilreet. After Mahi’s parents die in an unfortunate car accident, she is forced to live with her distant grandmother she's never heard of or met.

It’s a dope film made by undocumented, queer South Asian femme filmmakers and storytellers, with an amazing crew of magical BIPOC folks!

Please consider donating to their Fundraising campaign linked in @zindagidobara bio!

#browngirljoy #undocuartists #shortfilm #supportBIPOCartists