For Neelima Sharma, Lovers in the Blue Night has been quite the ride—from not even knowing if she’d landed the role to now seeing the film head to the Orizzonti Competition at the Venice Film Festival. Written and directed by Anuparna Roy, the film follows four migrants in Mumbai whose lives intersect through love, survival, and longing. Neelima, who plays one of the leads, admits she was completely caught off guard by the Venice news—and is now understandably over the moon.
“I honestly didn’t know how to react. Anuparna called me and said, “Our film has been selected for Venice.” I was like, “What are you saying? We just shot it!” I was completely in disbelief. I thought she was joking. But I’m over the moon and extremely thrilled about it because I didn’t see it coming.”
Ask what made her say yes to the project, and pat comes the reply, “This happened to me last year. I got a call from the casting director of the project. He told me there was a film and that I had to audition for it. I sent the audition and didn’t hear anything for about a week. I was at rock bottom because nothing was working out. Then, randomly, one morning, Anuparna texted me on Instagram. She said, “Would you be interested in this film?” I asked if we could get on a call so she could tell me the story, and she said, “Yeah, absolutely.” She narrated the story to me, and I loved it. It was such a beautiful piece of work. I was stunned by the sensibility she had while narrating it. This was before she won at Venice the previous year. We met a couple of times, and then Songs of Forgotten Trees was selected for Venice the following year, and she won the Best Director award. That’s when I suddenly realised that there was a huge responsibility on me. So many eyes were now on her, and I had to do justice to the film.”
Asked about her experience working on the film, she says, “It was very easy, especially in terms of comfort. I felt completely at ease on set, and everyone felt like family. Anuparna took great care of me. I think a female director and a female-driven set bring a different kind of sensitivity. It was a surreal experience, and I looked forward to going to set every morning. Even when the story was emotionally devastating, I remained excited about the process."
She adds, "The film explores migrants, their connection to their origins and the question of where one truly belongs. In a city like Bombay, migrants are constantly searching for acceptance and a sense of identity, something I can relate to myself. There’s also a strong sense of desire and nostalgia in the story, as the characters’ pasts intersect with the lives and relationships they are trying to build in the present. That intersection is what makes the film very special to me.”
As for her character, Neelima says, “My character is from Assam, so I had to learn a new language. It’s also a language that is slowly becoming extinct, which is why Anuparna wanted to retain it, especially in the scenes between my character and her husband. With the other characters, I speak Hindi with a strong Assamese accent. That was one of the most challenging parts because the sound of the language is so different. But I really enjoyed it because I love learning new languages and accents. We also had workshops with the other actors, especially the actor who played my husband. We had a wonderful teacher from Assam and NSD. She taught us about how people live there, what they eat, how they speak and the little nuances that you don’t necessarily notice. The research was a lot of fun and made the entire process incredibly interesting.”
Did her experience as a model help her in front of the camera? “When I was little, I was bullied throughout my childhood because I was a tough girl, I was into sports, and I was several shades darker. It wasn’t a problem for me, but it was a huge issue for other people. So I grew up very underconfident and not knowing whether I could fully accept myself. I don’t understand why this mindset still exists. Half the population is brown. We are brown people. We are supposed to be brown. When we talk about beauty, especially with children, why do we have to feed so many stereotypical ideas into their heads? Society tries to trap you inside a box, and if you try to escape it, there are tags and labels attached to you."
However, modelling had a surprise in store for her. "With modelling, something interesting happened. When I was studying design, I realised that my complexion was something people actually found interesting on camera. I wondered if they were serious or just trying to make me feel better. While modelling, I realised that I could do so much more in front of a camera. I had this urge to move around, tell a story and talk. I didn’t know that was inside me because I had never fit conventional beauty standards. My parents are doctors, so acting was never something I had imagined for myself. But modelling gave me access to so many different things, which eventually led me to acting. I never wanted to become an actor, and now I’m sitting here giving an interview about a film I’ve acted in. It’s strange how life works.”
And what kind of stories does she want to explore? “If you have a great story, I’m on board. If there’s substance in the story, if it’s something I can relate to and if I feel empathy for it, I’ll be there. I don’t mind doing the hard work, learning new languages or learning about different ways of living. I actually love hard work. I love the high that I get from it. That’s what I’m chasing.”
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