Directed by Sakshi Mishra, Panha follows a family of mango farmers facing eviction from their ancestral land due to a bullet train project
Dia Mirza’s production venture One India Stories has won Best Indian Short Film at All Living Things Environmental Film Festival (ALT EFF) for its debut film Panha, a moving, intimate story about home, heritage, and the price of progress.
Founded by childhood friends Dia Mirza and Ananya Rane, One India Stories was born from a shared belief that storytelling can build empathy and spark change. Panha marks their first film under the banner, and its journey has already touched hearts far beyond the mango orchards of Maharashtra where it was shot.
Directed by Sakshi Mishra, Panha follows a family of mango farmers facing eviction from their ancestral land due to a bullet train project. The story unfolds through the tender eyes of seven-year-old Vithu — inviting us into a world where loss is quiet, courage is fragile, and childhood carries the heaviest truths. The film offers neither judgement nor propaganda, but a rare, humane pause to feel what “development” means for those left in its shadow.
The actress shared a post on Instagram and wrote- “Our film Panha has won Best Indian Short Film at All Living Things Environmental Film Festival
@alt.eff. A story born in the mango orchards of Maharashtra, about home, heritage, and the quiet courage of those who live closest to the land.
Thank you, ALT EFF, for creating a space where gentle, meaningful stories are seen, celebrated, and protected — just like the world we are all trying to hold together.”
Mirza was also quoted saying, “Panha was made with love, trust, and a deep respect for the lives it portrays. This win is for the farmers who opened their homes and hearts to us, and for every child whose story deserves to be seen and felt. Cinema, to me, is at its most powerful when it reminds us of our shared humanity.”
Director Sakshi Mishra added, “Panha was never about spectacle — it was about stillness, intimacy, and listening. The farmers of Maharashtra didn’t just lend us their orchards; they trusted us with their lives. This award belongs as much to them as it does to our team.”
Made on a modest budget, Panha was brought to life by a committed cast and crew alongside indigenous farmers from rural Maharashtra, whose generosity shaped the film’s truth and texture.
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