Celebrating the beauty of female friendships, and the messy things that make them so - "Jooyein", directed by Vindhya Gupta

Interviewed and written by Sakshi Jadhav (@_alleycatz)

Photos are stills taken from the film.

I recently caught up with the creative minds behind Jooyein—director Vindhya Gupta and actor Priyanshi Sharma—as their short film makes its India premiere at MAMI 2024, fresh off its world premiere at Tribeca Film Festival. We dove into everything from the film’s inspiration to the challenges of bringing it to life. Here’s a peek into the journey of Jooyein and the passion that shaped it!

Firstly, big congrats on the film—seriously, it’s amazing. Beautifully done, and honestly, so powerful, at least for me. I’m not sure what the audience reactions have been like so far. Also, huge congrats on Tribeca! That’s major. Has the Indian audience gotten a chance to watch it yet, or is MAMI the first time it’s being shown here?

Vindhya - No, it has been to a few festivals already, like the Indian Film Festival of Melbourne, so it has had some exposure to an Indian audience. But this—MAMI—is the real homecoming. This is the India India premiere, the first time it’s being shown on home turf.

What was the energy like at the festival, and how did the audience vibe with Jooyein? Any reactions that stood out?

Vindhya - Yeah, it’s been really nice. We had four screenings, and the turnout was different each time. The first one was packed, but then it started tapering off. Still, one thing I’ve consistently noticed is that a lot of people—especially parents and teachers—come up to me afterwards with their own stories. Like, “Oh, I have this kid who has lice,” or they’ll share some funny anecdote. It’s really interesting and kind of cute. I always have at least three to five people come up and say, “Yeah, I totally get what you’re talking about!”

Right? Something that really stood out to me in the film was the portrayal of female friendship. It’s interesting because there’s always this narrative that female friendships aren’t as tight or solid as those stereotypical male bonds, you know? And I was like, okay, but here, you’ve captured this gossip or chugli that happens at a younger age, yet the relationship itself feels so pure. Was that something you intended? What’s the story behind it? And where did the whole "lice" concept come from?

Vindhya - Honestly, if you ask me, the concept came from exploring relationships built on a foundation of lies. It’s like achieving something in the moment, but you’re left wondering if it’s truly pure or not. A lot of relationships have that duality; they can be beautiful, but there’s often an underlying issue. The idea of lice came from a personal experience I had as a child. Back in third grade, I had a friend, and honestly, I have no idea what happened to her—I even tried to find her on social media! Our friendship was unique; we would literally pick each other’s lice. It was this downtime that allowed us to talk and really connect, creating a space where two people who might not typically be friends could bond. And on top of that, it’s something that’s dirty, which plays into that “shitty pretty” aesthetic I find so intriguing. I’m really excited by that idea!

I’d love to hear how the film came to life! How did you bring the cast together, and what was the process of assembling your whole team? Also, the locations were stunning! Everything—from the school uniforms to the colors of the building—just fit together so beautifully.

Vindhya - Thank you so much! Firstly, I’ll take up the casting process. Casting Priyanshi was an interesting experience. I don’t know what Priyanshi thinks about it, but here’s how it went down. I spent two or three days at this school, just hanging out with the kids, observing, and then this one girl comes up to me and says, “Do you want to go to the canteen with me?” At first, I was like, “No, I don’t want to go to the canteen with you.” But eventually, I gave in and went. She was eating and even offered to pay for me, and I was like, “Why would you pay for me? I’ll pay for myself.” Slowly, we started building a connection, and that girl turned out to be Priyanshi.

I auditioned a lot of people—I even held auditions at the school and worked with casting directors—but I was pretty set on Priyanshi from the start. I remember watching the audition tapes with my DP and considering other options, but when it came to Priyanshi, I was like, “This is the one.” Even though my DP was a bit skeptical at first, I just knew she was the right fit.

Priyanshi - First of all, I didn’t say anything! You were the one who asked me, “Where’s the canteen?”

Vindhya - But anyway, Priyanshi had such a strong personality that I ended up rewriting the character to match her energy. To be honest, the Chakor I originally wrote changed a lot. A lot of the actions and initiations that were supposed to come from Roshani shifted to Priyanshi’s character. I was kind of obsessed with the casting process. My DP was like, “Yeah, she’s definitely a character,” and then said, “Bhai, there’s no point in overthinking it—this is your girl. Just cast her.”

As for Perry, who played Roshani, that was also an interesting process. She was actually the first person I loved for the role, and I did a lot of chemistry reads with other actors to make sure it all clicked. She’s a fantastic actor, really mature for her age—super sorted and professional. Working with her was great fun because she asked all the right questions and fully understood what she was stepping into. I learned a lot from her as well. She’s worked on way more projects, and that experience really showed.

The location is this historic all-boys school in Lucknow. Funny enough, I used to date a guy who went there, so I knew the place pretty well. That’s how I thought of it for the shoot. It hasn’t been featured much in films, but they were incredibly supportive and let us use the space for free, which was super generous of them. We shot there in January 2023, and the whole shoot took just four days. Honestly, everything just came together in a way that  really shouldn’t have, but somehow, it all worked out perfectly.

I’m sure throughout the process, there must’ve been moments where things didn’t go as planned—like something malfunctioned or unexpectedly shifted, but ended up coming together beautifully. Was there anything like that? Or even how the story evolved from the way it was originally written to how it actually turned out on screen?

Vindhya - Oh, definitely. Right from the start, things changed once we got to the location. My DP and I spent over a week visiting the location every day for about six hours, just figuring out how the script could fit with the space. We’d look at the scenes and ask, “What can we shoot here?” So the script started to evolve based on the location. We’d work on the blocking, then rewrite the dialogue, come back and block again with the new dialogue—it became a very fluid process. A lot of scenes that were supposed to happen in one area ended up shifting and changing because of the location.

The next round of changes came when Priyanshi joined the cast. I rewrote the script quite a bit to suit her character. Before handing it to her, I did a few redrafts to really tailor the role to her personality. And then, of course, on set, more changes happened. Two of my friends from NYU, along with my DP and DAC, would have these post-shoot baithaks (meetings) where we’d discuss the dialogues and fine-tune things based on it went. And by the end of each day, everyone was just passing out! But still, we’d gather to discuss the changes so far, watch the dailies, and figure out what we needed—what worked, what we missed, and what had to be changed. You imagine one thing, but what you actually get on camera can be completely different. Then came the massive rewriting during the edit.

There was this whole sequence about an Eiffel Tower keychain that Roshani gets for her friends, which then gets lost, stolen by Chakor, and eventually returned to Roshani. But no matter what we tried, that sequence just didn’t work. I spent six months trying to make it fit, but in the end, it had to be cut entirely. That slowed down the editing process a lot, but it was necessary to keep the flow of the story.

Priyanshi, how was it stepping into acting for the first time? What was the experience like for you?

Priyanshi - It was a great experience! When I first tried to convince my dad to let me act, he was like, “No, why would you want to do that?” But then my class teacher, Neeta Ma’am, called him and encouraged him to support me. I was shocked when I found out I was selected for my first role! I knew that Vindhya Didi was with me, so I felt like I could do anything. On my first day, I was crying at home, wondering how I would manage. My mom told me to just go and see what happens. When I got there, Vindhya Didi supported me a lot, which really helped.

That’s adorable! Back to you Vindhya have you worked with younger actors before? If so, how many? I can imagine it can be a bit tricky—like managing crowd control but with added challenges!

Vindhya - Before Jooyein, I worked on a small application film for NYU with kids, but it was on a much smaller scale. Jooyein was my first time working with so many young actors, and honestly, it was a lot of fun. It felt nostalgic—sometimes they’d have a hot mic on, and the kids wouldn’t realize it. They’d say things like, “Zyada bolna mat, Didi sun legi,” and I’d just laugh because I wanted to hear it all! I was curious about what they were talking about. Working with Priyanshi, Perry, and everyone else was great. The excitement and energy they brought to set was incredible, which really helped since the shoot was intense. It wasn’t easy on anyone, and by the end of the day, we were all exhausted, but having kids around kept the energy up and made the whole process so much more enjoyable.

I wanted to ask, based on what I know of your work, how does Jooyein fit into your overall body of films? And how does it align with your vision of a complete film?

Vindhya - I’m really interested in narratives that focus on class dynamics, especially from my own experiences growing up in UP. Priyanshi, feel free to jump in if you see it differently, but when I was in school there, it felt like we matured very quickly. We were very aware of our surroundings—who came from where, who had what, and those unspoken things influenced so many decisions, consciously or not. I enjoy exploring how the world around us—whether political, social, or class-based—impacts children and how these influences carry through life. Watching my nieces and nephews, I often wonder what behaviors are innate and what classifications we’re taught. It’s fascinating to observe that. With children, you can see this resistance to societal norms, whereas adults tend to be more in tune with them. That nascent, rebellious phase in kids is something I love to explore. It’s an interesting observation, and it’s what drives me to question the long-term repercussions of these dynamics. That’s why, even the next few films I have in mind center around children and explore how certain ideas and influences shape them. It’s a theme I’m really drawn to—examining the impact the world has on kids and how they absorb or resist these ideas.

I’ve seen your impressive range of work—radio shows, commercials, and now a film—so I have no doubt in your judgment! But I’m curious about your writing process. How do you decide what to write about, and how does it all come together? Personally, I enjoy reading, but when it comes to writing, I’m often stuck, not knowing where to start.

Vindhya - Yeah, it’s a soul-crushing process, not gonna lie. I hate myself during it—it’s a lot of sitting around, doing nothing. But I’ve realized writing is often about combining different stories to answer some kind of question. Whenever I have an idea, I’m like, "But why?" And that’s what drives the writing process forward for me. I have a weird relationship with Word docs. I don’t really finalize a draft until the very end because I hate doing it. I’m superstitious, too-some docs are “lucky,” where I get all my ideas, and then there are the “unlucky” ones I avoid opening because they feel like a waste of time. I even color-code them!

Yeah, I mean, I try to stick to a routine, but my process is pretty chaotic. As a person, I feel like I bring a lot of chaos to it. I know I’ll dedicate 5 hours to it every day, but what actually happens during those 5 hours is complete madness.

The film really took me back in time, especially because it focuses on female relationships in such an interesting way. How did the connection through lice come about, and how did that idea of bringing two people together in this unique way fit into the story?

Vindhya - It’s about exploring the idea of two people who are like parasites, feeding off each other through something that’s also parasitic. That’s the more intellectual angle, but honestly, it’s about how something so small, annoying, and messy can create something interesting and beautiful, with all its complexities. I find this particularly fascinating in children because, like I mentioned, we grew up feeling jaded and aware of our surroundings. Delving into that through this lens made sense to me. As for female friendships, I owe a lot of who I am to the women in my life. Every relationship has its unique dynamics, whether it’s my friendship with my mom or my sister. These female friendships are some of the most meaningful connections I have.

I have a couple of questions for Perry, even though she’s not here right now. What can you share about her process? 

Vindhya - Working with her was really interesting because I felt like she was the only trained actor on set. Everyone else, including the teacher (who was my mom) and the other girls from Priyanshi’s school, were non-actors. Having her there felt like a solid support system for me. There were many moments when, with the non-actors, especially my mom and Priyanshi's friends, she and I would have conversations in the canteen to draw out reactions from them. I saw her as my partner in crime, which made the experience enjoyable. She was incredibly professional, mature, and patient. We tried different approaches, and I felt her focus and understanding throughout. It didn’t feel like I was working with a child; it felt like I was working with a true actor, regardless of age. I genuinely believe she has a bright future ahead of her because she’s so dedicated and just a pleasure to collaborate with.

What was your favorite scene or shot to capture in the film?

Vindhya - We got it painted, and that became the poster for the film. Everyone keeps asking me what this short is about, and honestly, it feels like everything to me. My mom was on set, and when she saw it, she said, "Wow, this really looks like a professional film." So, I think subconsciously, I feel like I made my mother proud with this shot. This one really stands out for me.

What’s next for Jooyein after MAMI? Are you planning to submit it to other film festivals or showcase it elsewhere?

Vindhya -I definitely want to keep it going. We've had a solid run in America with a few festivals, and I'm still awaiting a European premiere, so fingers crossed for that. The plan is to release it sooner rather than later, but I’d like to wait around six to eight months before putting it out there. For now, we're really hoping for that European premiere to come through, which would be fantastic!

That covers all my questions! Is there anything interesting you'd like to share about the film? Any backstories or behind-the-scenes details would be amazing!

Editing was a blast! My best friend from NYU, who's Turkish, was the editor for the film. At one point, he got really annoyed with me because he couldn't understand the language. His goal was to edit the film without relying on dialogues, but there I was, sitting right beside him, trying to translate every word as it played out. I would talk over him, and eventually, he kicked me out of the editing room! He told me he wanted nothing to do with me for a while, and honestly, we almost reached a point where we might not be friends anymore if I kept hovering around. It was quite the experience!