Anjali Patil on Sailesh Rathnakumar’s ‘Selvi’: ‘Women characters have more space in regional cinema’
Actor-producer Anjali Patil discusses her new independent Tamil film 'Selvi', which focuses on the lives of migrant nurses. The film received recognition at the 31st Busan International Film Festival.
Why it matters
The interview highlights the growing visibility and creative space for women-led narratives in regional Indian cinema.
Anjali Patil on Sailesh Rathnakumar’s ‘Selvi’: ‘Women characters have more space in regional cinema’ Interview left Actor-producer Anjali Patil at the 31st Busan International Film Festival. Stephanie Cornfield Stephanie Cornfield https://th-i.thgim.com/public/incoming/5eusuo/article71591735.ece/alternates/FREE_1200/DSC_9626_A1%201.jpg Patil, who calls herself ‘an accidental actor’, and director Rathnakumar discuss their Tamil indie on migrant nurses which won two awards at 2026 Busan International Film Festival When Anjali Patil walked in at the 31st Busan International Film Festival, people recalled her as the actress from With You, Without You (2012), Prasanna Vithanage’s Sri Lankan film that had premiered there too. This week, she was both the titular actor and producer of her independent Tamil film, Selvi, on the invisible lives of migrant home-care nurses. Directed by debutant Sailesh Rathnakumar, Selvi premiered in the Vision-Asia section and picked up two awards: Hylife Vision Award and the Taipei Film Commission Award.
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