PNN

Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], August 31: From thrillers and romance to stories driven by scale, authenticity and emotion, Mini Films, led by Mansi and Varun Bagla, is entering a bold new phase with Miraya - The Devi Universe. The project is an ambitious, technology-driven mythological cinematic universe rooted in India's cultural and spiritual heritage. Having explored distinctly different cinematic worlds through Forensic and Aankhon Ki Gustakhiyan, Mini Films is now expanding its creative horizon with a larger vision - to bring together storytelling, technology, emotion and scale to create cinema that is both deeply Indian and globally relevant.

Conceived as a franchise with interconnected films, Miraya -The Devi Universe will combine the timelessness of Indian mythology with the creative language of contemporary cinema- bringing together advanced hybrid live action animation, emerging technologies, AI-assisted filmmaking capabilities, world-class visual artistry and character-driven storytelling.

For Mansi Bagla, this evolution is not simply about making larger than life films, but about rethinking the process of filmmaking itself. She believes cinema cannot become a factory-like process driven by pressure, politics or compromise. The passion and purpose behind a film must remain intact from its inception to the screen. This is the time for visionaries as cinema is changing. The people who understand where it is headed will be the ones who create what comes next.

Guided by four eternal forces - Saraswati, Lakshmi, Kali and Durga, at the heart of this universe is Miraya, a young girl through whose eyes audiences will discover the extraordinary world of Indian mythology, rituals, festivals, traditions and spiritual thought. Designed to be relatable, curious and emotionally accessible, Miraya is envisioned as a character with whom young audience and families across cultures can connect.

For Mansi, technology is a creative tool that can expand the possibilities of storytelling. Mansi adds, 'I want to adapt and evolve when the language of cinema is changing. Technology can give us the ability to create worlds that were once extremely difficult to realise. But the ambition is never technology for technology's sake. It is technology in the service of imagination - creating spectacle without losing emotion, scale without losing soul, and technology without losing the essence of Indian cinema.'

Rather than approaching mythology as a lesson, this universe aims to make these stories experiential, contemporary and emotionally engaging for audiences, while preserving the cultural richness that have kept these stories alive for generations.

The larger ambition is to create a property that can transcend geographies and introduce audiences across the world to India's stories.

Mansi adds, 'The films that stay with us are the ones that leave something behind- a thought, a feeling, a piece of ourselves. With Miraya, I want to create something that our generation grew up knowing, but present it in a way that a child today would want to discover. Our traditions, culture, our stories and our spiritual thoughts are incredibly rich, but we cannot expect the next generation to inherit them simply because they existed before us. We have to make them relevant and exciting. Miraya is our attempt to do exactly that. 'I want Miraya to feel like a little girl the world can fall in love with. If we can make the young audience anywhere in the world curious about India through Miraya, we would have achieved something far greater than simply making a film,' Mansi says.

For Mansi, the creative philosophy behind Mini Films is equally important as the films themselves.

Today, the industry has a scarcity of directors who can truly think beyond & bring the right emotions. And when there is a scarcity of good directors, the industry often has little choice but to work with what is available. A director who only knows how to say 'action' and 'cut' may execute a scene, but that alone does not mean creating cinema. Or the moment a director exits a project or is removed, there cannot be a mad rush to simply replace him with another director and assume the job is done. A director has to own the film. Everyone attached to the film has to own the film. Only then can the film become what it is meant to become. For her, some of the most enduring cinema comes from filmmakers who understand both sides of the equation. They understand the craft, the discipline, the seriousness of the process and, equally, the Value of the Money behind it.

For Mansi, this is where her own auteurship becomes important - a producer with a director's vision, creative sensibility, financial understanding and an intense emotional investment in the film. A producer's investment is not just money; it is years of trust, relationships, effort and belief in a story. That value needs to be understood at every stage of filmmaking.'

The filmmaking process, has to be enjoyable, collaborative and pure in its craft. A producer eventually becomes responsible for everything from protecting the film, selling it, marketing it, releasing it and carrying it through out, it is almost like being a parent. And when the people supporting the film are not aligned with its vision, the producer's passion and emotion can eventually take a secondary seat to noise, politics, manipulation and outside interests.

'You can give someone the entire platter, but if they don't know how to use what has been given to them, the opportunity itself gets wasted.' The best fit happens when the creative and business sides understand each other deeply.

Mansi's own journey has also expanded beyond filmmaking, with her presence extending across cinema, fashion, luxury and international platforms- from becoming a jewellery brand ambassador and walking for designers such as Shaina NC and Neeta Lulla, to making appearances at the Cannes red carpet and shooting a music video in France. But today, her priority is different. 'Like being a mother is a full-time job. For me, building this next phase of Mini Films is my full-time job.' The glamour may take a back seat but the vision does not.

For Mansi and Varun Bagla, the next phase of Mini Films is building a production house that can move between genres, embrace technology and create Indian stories with a truly global canvas and contribute to our country, its citizens and our culture. From thrillers and romance to mythology and epic spectacle, Mini Films is no longer looking only at what cinema has been. It is stepping into a new era to build what cinema can become.

Company Website: www.minifilms.co.in

Filmfare Announcement: Mini Films, Mansi Bagla & Varun Bagla Collaboration:

https://www.instagram.com/reel/DcsZyOLsN-i/?igsi=MTc4ejl3aTZyaGZzOQ==

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