The Hindi short film Anuja has been nominated for Oscars 2025 under the Live Action category. Directed by Adam J Graves and produced by his wife Suchitra Mattai, the film features a real-life orphan who was rescued from child labor. In an exclusive chat, Graves and producer Guneet Monga talk about their journey of making Anuja. The film highlights the importance of girl education and the grave realities of child labor.

Adam J Graves says he and his wife, producer Suchitra Mattai were not “entirely convinced” that they’d be able to make the film. Nonetheless, they found an on-ground team in Delhi for their “little passion project” and it helped them sail through the odds.

The director reveals that he met some of his biggest challenges while working on Anuja and also learned a lot from all of those. He recalls how he’d lock locations crossing troubles, only to be thrown off at the time of the shoot. “We reached an agreement with a mall for filming, but it fell through at the last minute. The person I talked to two days before the shoot, was not even working at the mall! So, we had to find a new space, a different mall. We even had a little chase and were actually chased by a real guard. Another one I recall is before the shooting of the scene where you see the sisters chatting about the bags the elder one makes. First, we didn’t have a location and then, I had initially written that they’d eat kulfis (Indian ice-cream).”

We even had a little chase and were actually chased by a real guard.

“After we set up the lights and the actors on the rooftop for the shoot, I ran to streets to get the ice creams. But it was so hot at that time of the year that the icea creams would all melt and I kept running back to the streets. We then found some jalebis (Indian sweets) for the kids to eat during that scene. That was actually fun,” he says adding that it was all part of the fun that making an indie film is.

Guneet reminds us that Graves wrote Anuja as a fiction film and it was been nominated in the Live Action category for the Oscars. “I just want to say that it’s so beautifully crafted that the film mixes formats as an experience. You almost feel like you are seeing something real, and it is such an engaging story in just 20-22 minutes. A major reason why I came onboard was the feeling I had when I watched the film. It felt beautiful, real and fiction…To articulate such an honest and pure film is incredible.”

Graves adds that Salaam Balak Trust refer to Anuja as a documentary. “That warms my heart because it makes me feel like they think of it as being an authentic and true kind of film that captures the world.. as opposed to some fabricated studio-created world.”

Talking about getting a rescued child from the environment that the film showcases, instead of casting an actor, the director says, “This is not Sajda’s first film. She was already working on the French film La Tresse when we got to her. She had more experience than I had in filmmaking!”

He adds on a serious note, “Her own background mirrors that of her character. We also felt it was important to work with organizations that were on the ground. The kind of have relationships they have with these communities was important to us. Sajda is also the most gifted. She has so much talent and she’s just so incredibly spectacular.” He reveals that the team went through hundreds of audition tapes from Mumbai (India) but Sajda fit the role most perfectly.

: Reactions to the Oscar nomination

Recalling the Oscar nominations announcement, producer Guneet Monga says, “We were in Los Angeles and were all on a Zoom call with Sajitha and the team across the world. We are very humbled and grateful, but also absolutely shocked and surreal.”

Graves reveals that it was a roller-coaster ride for him as the nominated films for the category were not announced in alphabetical order - the way they were when the shortlisted films were unveiled. “The first film announced for nomination in our category was not ours, so I had this moment of absolute like ‘Oh, gosh!’ but then as soon as I had that feeling, ours was the next one they announced. It was this kind of a little bit of a fraction of a second roller-coaster ride for me. And them seeing Sajda and Ananya celebrating on the other line and everybody freaking out in happiness and joy, that was a pretty special moment for us.”

“I think Sajda was the cutest because she at the first was like ‘What happened?’ as it happened so fast, and they announced it in English - a language she does not know. When she saw everybody celebrating, her smile was just amazing.”

Asked why he made the film in Hindi, Graves reveals he has a strong connection with the language having studied in India written a thesis in Sanskrit. He adds that Hindi is the language that his story’s lead speaks, thus the choice. “My academic work was focused on Sanskrit, which makes it easier to learn Hindi. I must also say that it just felt important to us that we make the story as you know, it was it is a film that wasn’t just made about a community, but it was really made with the community. Getting the language right and doing it in the language they speak made sense for us.”

He adds that the lead actor, Sajda Pathan, does not speak English and if they chose English as the film’s language, they’d have had to get someone else for the role. “It was important for us to make sure that we cast the kids from the community.”

Oscar win

Anuja is the fourth film that was nominated for the Oscars and has been produced by Guneet Monga. If the shirt film bags an Academy Award this year, it will be her third Oscar as a producer. Insisting that an Oscar win will mean a lot more for director Adams and producer Suchitra, Monga says, “They have full blown careers. Adam has been a professor, and Suchitra is a globally celebrated visual artist. They went on this tough journey to make the short film on their own. They maxed out their credit cards. I was not a part of the film when it started, it was a small indie project. I came onboard to support with the campaign, the fundraisers and the whole works only after it won qualifying festivals. That is how I am a producer on the project.

Graves reveals that his assistant directors and cinematographer Akash Raje have already received several calls about new offers ever since the Oscar 2025 nominations were announced. “Sajda and Ananya are little stars now! Right now, they both love acting and want to pursue acting. I hope the win will open doors for them. For me, my hope is that this will allow me to make more films. This film had the potential to be a vehicle for change and there’s no question a win will would provide us with a greater platform."

(This conversation has been edited and condensed for clarity.)