Pooja Pandey, Vineet Kumar Singh star in Manish Mundra’s Siya

After Aankhon Dekhi (2013), Masaan (2015), Newton (2017) and the yet-to-be-released Aadhaar, Manish Mundra’s Drishyam Films is now all set to present another human story, Siya. 

The producer will be making his directorial debut with the film, which stars Pooja Pandey as the titular character and Vineet Kumar Singh. The latter played the lead in Drishyam Films’ highly acclaimed Aadhaar. 

Although the plot is currently kept under wraps, the makers have said that the film deals with crimes against women. “Day after day, year after year, the cases of crime against women escalate,” said Mundra in a statement. “Siya is an attempt to depict the abject inhumanity that powerless, innocent women are subjected to in a world that treats sex as taboo and women as sex objects.” 

In an exclusive interview with Cinestaan.com in 2020, Mundra spoke about his idea of turning director, saying, “I have this idea that in life — let’s try new things,” he said. “Somehow, I have this gut feeling that I can tell stories very well. I don’t know how far that will be true, but I want to jump into it and create cinema of my liking. The good thing about filmmaking is that it’s about teamwork, so if you have a good team and a good story to tell, I will probably be able to tell stories.”

Reacting to being a part of Siya, Pandey said, “As a woman, this narrative to me felt like an important one. It’s a story that deserves to be told and one that echoes the sentiments of countless victims.”

Singh feels that it takes a great deal of skill to walk the fine line between entertainment and impactful messaging. “Drishyam Films takes a leap of faith here and aims to do just that with Siya. The film is power-packed, hard-hitting and commands your attention,” he said. 

Siya will be released in theatres on 16 September.