Badiger Devendra’s Vanya, now chosen for the Indian Panorama at the Goa International Film Festival from November 20 to 28, arrives quietly. It unfolds like sunlight filtering through dense leaves, inviting you to pause and notice the small details, the heartbeat of a forest and the rhythm of a life intertwined with the land.
“The story begins where ambition ends. Here, in these haadis, life was measured not by what you owned, but by how you lived,” says Badiger Devendra. The film follows an elderly man who will not leave the forest he calls home. His quiet defiance stands out in a world that measures progress in numbers rather than human presence. Through this steadfastness, Devendra examines what we lose and what we gain when development moves forward without looking back.
Vanya presents contrasts. Civilisation intrudes, but the forest remains, patient and observant of human choices. “The forest has memory,” Devendra notes. “Sometimes memory is the only form of justice left.”
The narrative gently explores the fragility of values, the slow decline of traditions, and how the pull of money alters even the simplest lives.
The performances strengthen the film’s subtle power. Vijanath Biradar leads with quiet depth, embodying a silence filled with history and resistance. Prakash Belawadi adds a poetic touch in his key role, while Meghana Belawadi, Ashwin Hassan, and Yashwanth Kuchabal enrich the story with the textures of daily life, blending the forest and its people. “The cast embodies the landscape. They are the forest in flesh and thought,” says Devendra.
Produced by Pallavi Ananth Poomagaame under Ideaworks Motion Pictures, Vanya has finished its technical screening and will travel through international festivals before its theatrical release in March 2026. Devendra’s message is clear: “I wanted to hold up a mirror, not to blame but to ask what we have given up in the name of progress.”
