Story of Pagglait comes from a deep personal experience, says director Umesh Bist

The trailer for Pagglait (2021), released on Tuesday, tells us a bit more about young widow Sandhya (Sanya Malhotra), whose emotions are blocked after the death of her husband. As the rest of the family watches, it turns out that Sandhya will have a comfortable future after all, thanks to her husband’s insurance policy.

Writer-director Umesh Bist, who previously directed O Teri (2014), has a special connection with this feature film. “The story of Pagglait comes from a deep personal experience and I hope viewers would be able to relate to it,” he said. “It’s a simple story dealing with complex emotions of life and death, told through the unique lens of a young widow who is surrounded by a family that is eager to take decisions for her.

“Our talented cast brings these nuanced moments of joy and happiness, confusion and chaos together,” he added. “This film has been made with a lot of passion, love and affection and we hope viewers across the world would relate with this endearing story of Sandhya.”

Co-producer Guneet Monga said, "Pagglait is rooted deep in the family ethos and captures Sandhya's internal journey. I'm in awe of the incredible work of Umesh Bist, [music composer] Arijit Singh and each actor who has lent depth to their characters in this film. Humbled to have empowering partners in Balaji and Netflix. Pagglait will have at least one family member for everyone to relate with."

Ekta Kapoor, who is producing Pagglait through Balaji Telefilms Limited, had previously collaborated with Netflix for Dolly Kitty Aur Woh Chamakte Sitare (2020) and was keen to work again with them. "Pagglait is a heartfelt story of a girl who finds new meaning to life once she discovers herself," Kapoor said. "The film will take viewers through a multitude of emotions while falling in love with the characters in spite of all their flaws."

Malhotra is backed by an ensemble cast that includes Sayani Gupta, Shrutii Sharma, Ashutosh Rana, Raghubir Yadav, Sheeba Chaddha, Meghna Malik and Rajesh Tailang.