Director Arun Karthick (Rotterdam selection “Sivapuranam”, Rotterdam winner “Nasir”) returns to Film Bazaar with “Aanaikatti Blues”, a story of young love set against the backdrop of rural gang culture in an Indian mountain village.

The film follows Gopi, 22, and Vishnupriya, 20, as they navigate a controversial live-in relationship while Gopi becomes increasingly entangled with a local gang. The story follows Gopi’s descent into drug addiction through his involvement in “The 46 Gang”, a group of young men engaged in drinking, smoking, hunting and betting on cricket. As his addiction deepens and paranoia sets in, the story traces the impact on his relationship with Vishnupriya, culminating in a series of events that threaten their future together.

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“I was initiated into the subculture of small town gang life which led to some devastating personal consequences. The rush of love, the thrill of addiction and the crushing weight of responsibility is why I want to tell this story,” says Karthick Amount.

The film examines the intersection of tradition and modernity through the lens of youth culture in rural India. “The film is an exploration of a vibrant relationship between two young lives and the consequences of being swept into a vortex of village gossip and drug addiction,” says Karthick.

The project is supported by the production company Manvasanai, whose name translates to “fragrance of the earth.” Producer Madhu Mohan explains their commitment: “We started Manvasanai to tell stories of root, nature and indigenous realities. Arun’s previous works, with their authenticity and depth, have always embodied these values, and ‘Aanaikatti Blues’ takes it further with a deep personal yet universal resonance that we could not ignore.”

Producer Mathivanan Rajendran, who earlier collaborated with Karthick on ‘Nasir’, sees ‘Aanaikatti Blues’ as a continuation of their creative partnership. “This story celebrates the raw, unfiltered joy of living. When I first heard it, I thought, ‘What a life!'” – a feeling I knew I had to share, says Rajendran.

At Film Bazaar, which is the project marketing component of the International Film Festival of India (IFFI) in Goa, the team tries to connect with potential co-producers and sales agents. “We aim to evangelize ‘Aanaikatti Blues’, connect with co-producers who align with our vision, and partner with sales agents and festival programmers who can help us secure wider distribution channels to take this rooted, universal story to a global audience, ” Mohan says.

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