Priyanka Chopra's Sikkimese film Pahuna unveiled at Cannes, premiere slated for TIFF

The first look of actress-producer Priyanka Chopra's Sikkimese film Pahuna was unveiled here at the ongoing Cannes Film Festival on May 21.

Priyanka is producing the film through her and her mother Madhu Chopra's banner Purple Pebble Pictures.

Priyanka couldn't make it to the fest, but Madhu along with her son Siddharth Chopra attended the "exclusive Cannes preview" (trailer and first look launch) of Pahuna, directed by Paakhi A Tyrewala, at the festival. 

Madhu said in a statement, "It was a huge honour for everyone associated with Pahuna to attend the prestigious festival and present the film's first look."

Tyrewala too missed out on all the action at Cannes, but she has no regrets. The director is now busy completing the post-production on Pahuna as the world premiere of the film is likely to happen at the prestigious Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF), which will be held in September.

"I've been away from home for four months. I just came back from the US. I was homesick. Plus, I have to get Pahuna ready for TIFF," she told IANS over phone from Mumbai. "The deadline is in June. I am hoping it happens at TIFF. There are 50-50 chances," Tyrewala added.

Her directorial short film Kajal premiered worldwide at the New York Indian Film Festival earlier this month.

Pahuna is a story about the love, strength and courage of three Nepali children who get separated from their parents, while fleeing the Maoist agitation from Nepal to Sikkim. The entire cast and many of the technicians are from Sikkim.

As the title of the film suggests, the poster of Pahuna (The Little Visitors) puts the spotlight on two local children giving intense looks. In the background, one can see the little girl cooking something in a pot and the boy looking after a baby. The film is also likely to be dubbed in Hindi for a wider audience.

Tyrewala said, "Thirteen years ago when I went to Darjeeling and Gangtok, I realized how easily I was accepted by the people as one of their own. Soon, I forgot that I was a guest and began to see the mountains as my home and that has never changed."

"In Pahuna, I wanted to capture not only the beauty of Sikkim but also the beauty of its people. Pahuna is the story of people of Sikkim. My vision is not to take Sikkim to Bollywood, but to bring Bollywood to Sikkim!"

Tyrewala had earlier told IANS, "It can be viewed by children, but it's not a children's film. It's about children. When you say a children's film, you see it as a simplistic film or just an entertaining film. We are dealing with issues like gender bias, idea of currency... Money is money, but there is a currency divide, impact of older people on children, our fear of the unknown."

Last year, Priyanka had announced that she had joined the jury for TIFFxInstagram Shorts Festival, a new digital shorts competition for which TIFF joined forces with Instagram. Priyanka's film Mary Kom had also had its world premiere at TIFF in 2014.