About Us

A company born out of love for cinema, Drishyam Films aims to offer a platform for the unique voices of independent cinema and create global content with rich Indian flavours.

Our filmmaking journey started with the award-winning film Ankhon Dekhi (2014) directed by Rajat Kapoor. Its success was followed by Umrika (2015) directed by Prashant Nair, which premiered at Sundance Film Festival 2015 and bagged the Audience Choice Award. Soon after, Dhanak (2015) directed by Nagesh Kukunoor won the Grand Jury prize at Berlinale 2015 and Best Children’s Film Award at the 64th National Film Awards. Waiting (2015) directed by Anu Menon, premiered at the prestigious Dubai International Film Festival 2015. Masaan (2015) directed by Neeraj Ghaywan picked up two big awards at Cannes 2015 and Award for Best Debut Director at 63rd National Film Awards.

Our biggest hit was the highly acclaimed Newton (2017) directed by Amit Masurkar, starring Rajkummar Rao which was selected as India’s official entry to the 90th Academy Award. It premiered at the Berlin International Film Festival winning the CICAE Art Cinema Award followed by the Hong Kong International Film Festival where it won the Jury Prize for Best Film and was awarded Best Feature Film at the 65th National Film Awards. The film also had its North American premiere at the Tribeca Film Festival.

Newton was followed by Atanu Mukherjee’s Rukh (2017) and Nila Madhab Panda’s Kadvi Hawa (2017) that won Special Mention at the 64th National Films Awards. Our anthology project Tryst With Destiny (2021) by Prashant Nair won the Best Screenplay at Tribeca Film Festival 2020. Kaamyaab (2020) directed by Hardik Mehta which premiered at the Busan Film Festival 2017 and Love Hostel (2022) are co-produced with Red Chillies Entertainment followed with Ram Prasad Ki Tehrvi (2021) directed by Seema Pahwa.

Our latest release Siya (2022) directed by Manish Mundra has been making waves across the globe. Siya was selected at the International Film Festival of India, the New York Indian Film Festival, the UK Asian Film Festival, the Ottawa Indian Film Festival, Chicago South Asian Film Festival and The Indian Film Festival of Melbourne.

Our Philosophy

Drishyam Films has been formed keeping in mind the changing trends of the independent cinema industry. We envision nurturing fresh content and quality driven films that are not only culturally rooted but have an international appeal. The idea is to create a pool of fresh and talented filmmakers who have unique Indian stories to share with the world. Our inspiration comes from the fact that the Indian film industry is changing and exploring new forms of storytelling, paving the way for us to back strong content driven films that will not only work at premiere film festivals worldwide but also win hearts and the box office back home.

Founder

Drishyam Films is a global motion-picture studio set up by corporate leader and film producer Manish Mundra, who was named one of Variety Magazine’s Top 10 Producers to Watch Out For in 2017. Manish Mundra is the producer, filmmaker, director, and founder of Drishyam Films.

After an interaction with Rajat Kapoor on Twitter in 2013, he agreed to finance Ankhon Dekhi (2014). The film went on to win three Filmfare Awards and three Screen Awards. Since then, there has been no looking back for the corporate leader-turned-film producer. Manish Mundra has produced multiple international award-winning & critically acclaimed films – Masaan (2015), Umrika (2015), Waiting (2015), Dhanak (2015), Newton (2017), Rukh (2017), Kadvi Hawa (2017), Kaamyab (2022), Tryst with Destiny (2021), Ram Prasad Ki Tehrvi (2021), Love Hostel (2022) and Siya (2022).

In 2022, Manish Mundra donned the director’s hat with his debut film, Siya that won the Best Director & Best Film at the Jagran Film Festival 2023. It also won the Best Feature Film Award at the Chicago South Asian Film Festival & Best Debut Director at the UK Asian Film Festival 2023.

Manish Mundra is known for establishing the Drishyam–Sundance Institute Screenwriters Lab for aspiring Indian screenwriters.