Anjali Patil, who co-produced “The Shadowbox,” which played at Berlin in 2025, is producing Sailesh Rathnakumar’s debut feature “Selvi,” a work-in-progress project selected for the 24th Hong Kong-Asia Film Financing Forum.
The Tamil-language drama centers on Selvi, a homecare nurse who takes on her best friend Kavitha’s shifts in addition to her own after Kavitha’s sudden collapse. Moving from one house to another caring for the elderly, rarely stopping to rest, Selvi begins to confront the weight of guilt, love and survival as long hours blur the boundaries between care and exhaustion.
Produced through Patil’s Anahat Films, the project is seeking funds, sales agents and festival screenings at the market.
Director Rathnakumar explained how the story originated. “The story of ‘Selvi’ came to me through Bargav Sridhar, our cinematographer and co-writer. A few years ago, his mother was in a critical condition and spent several months in the ICU. When I visited him during that period, we often discussed the medical system and the people whose lives are connected to it.”
“During this time, Bargav closely observed the homecare nurses who became part of their lives – women who cared tirelessly for patients while carrying silent struggles of their own,” Rathnakumar said. “Many were migrants from smaller towns in Tamil Nadu, living in modest hostels while working in homes very different from their own. They had aspirations for a better life, yet circumstances often made that growth uncertain.”
The director connected the material to his own experience. “I was immediately drawn to it because I saw reflections of my own life. Like them, I am also a migrant; I moved to Chennai, trying to grow beyond the limits of my circumstances. That tension between aspiration and endurance became the starting point of Selvi.”
Rathnakumar described the film’s approach. “‘Selvi’ is about the quiet act of perseverance. No matter how life pulls or pushes her, she keeps moving forward. The world continues, with or without you. Her struggle is not dramatic. It exists in small gestures, routines, and moments of silence that often go unnoticed.”
Patil outlined her reasons for backing the project. “When Sailesh shared the initial material for ‘Selvi,’ it immediately aligned with this vision. The film looks at the lives of homecare nurses, a community rarely represented on screen, with great honesty and sensitivity.”
“For me, ‘Selvi’ also became an important milestone as a producer,” Patil said. “Beyond acting, I was involved in every stage of the film’s creation, from shaping performances with the ensemble to building a thoughtful and sustainable production process.”
Patil outlined objectives for HAF24. “We are particularly interested in building collaborations with partners from Europe, Asia and North America who are drawn to intimate, character-driven cinema.”
She added: “At its core, ‘Selvi’ is a story about migration, perseverance, and the quiet resilience of everyday life. We believe these themes have the potential to resonate with audiences across cultures.”
Rathnakumar is a Prague Film School alumnus who began his career as a sound engineer and music supervisor under veteran Indian editor B. Lenin. He contributed to the Sri Lankan Tamil docu-drama “Scars of Tomorrow” in 2009.
Patil’s 15-year career spans over 45 films, including “With You, Without You” in 2013. She directed and produced the documentary “Neither a Girl Nor a Woman” in 2021, and co-produced “The Moogai,” which played at Sundance in 2024, and “The Shadowbox,” which played at Berlin in 2025.
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