Actor Alia Bhatt has congratulated filmmaker Anuparna Roy for her best director win at the Venice International Film Festival.

Anuparna became the first Indian to win the award in the Orizzonti section at the festival for her debut feature Songs of Forgotten Trees.

Alia shared a sweet message for Anuparna on her Eternal Sunshine Productions Instagram handle on Monday.

"A huge congratulations to Anuparna Roy for her win at Venice for Songs of Forgotten Trees. What a beautiful moment for Indian cinema,” read the production house’s post.

Alia reposted the story on her own Instagram account and added, "Historic. Congratulations @annieroy09".

Songs of Forgotten Trees was presented by filmmaker Anurag Kashyap.

The film premiered in the festival's prestigious Orizzonti Competition section and is produced by Bibhanshu Rai, Romil Modi and Ranjan Singh, the cast also includes Bhushan Shimpi, Ravi Maan, Pritam Pilania and Lovely Singh.

Alia will next be seen in Sanjay Leela Bhansali's Love and War alongside Vicky Kaushal and Ranbir Kapoor as well as Yash Raj Films' next Spyverse film Alpha with Sharvari.

According to the official synopsis, Songs of Forgotten Trees follows the story of Thooya, a migrant and aspiring actress, who sublets her sugar daddy’s upscale apartment to Swetha, a fellow migrant working a corporate job. The two women—seemingly from different worlds— begin to share more than just a space. Amid the relentless pulse of Mumbai, they discover a silent empathy.

The Orizzonti section of the Venice Film Festival has previously honoured films like Chaitanya Tamhane's Court (2014) and Karan Tejpal's Stolen (2023).