The September Chapter of Talk Cinema On The Floor turned Harmony House, SACAC, into a vibrant hub of cinematic dialogue, bringing together filmmakers, students, and cinema lovers. With celebrated screenwriter Ashok Mishra and internationally experienced sound designer Siddharth Sadashiv as the key guests, the session highlighted the art of research in screenwriting and the invisible power of sound in cinema.
On Sunday, 21st September 2025, the Talk Cinema On The Floor (TCOTF) initiative of the New Delhi Film Foundation (NDFF) once again transformed Harmony House at SACAC into a vibrant confluence of ideas, creativity, and cinematic passion. From 3:00 to 5:00 pm, the event drew filmmakers, writers, students, sound professionals, and cinema lovers from across Delhi-NCR, united by the spirit of dreaming and discourse.
A Stage Set for Perspectives
In contrast to mere lectures, the September Chapter wove together two essential elements of filmmaking: sound and screenwriting. While many conversations focus on visuals, this edition placed emphasis on how what we hear often shapes what we feel.
NDFF, in partnership with SACAC, MESC, and IICS, curated this session as part of a monthly tradition that champions meaningful cinema — and importantly, it remained free for all participants, ensuring that access is never a barrier to creativity.
Craft & Crew: Siddharth Sadashiv Speaks Sound
The first segment, Craft & Crew, featured Siddharth Sadashiv, a distinguished sound designer and mixer whose portfolio includes work on films like Pushpa 2: The Rule, Indian 2, Lucifer 2: Empuraan, TEST, and Aabeer Gulaal. With professional stints across Canada, China, and India, Siddharth offered an insider’s look at production sound, design, and mixing workflows.
He explained that beyond music, every ambient rustle, reverberation, and silence is crafted. Using visual-audio clips, he demonstrated how even minor changes in sound layering alter a scene’s emotional impact. For aspiring sound enthusiasts, he emphasized foundational practices—noise control, mic placement, and the harmony between diegetic and non-diegetic sound.
Answering questions from the audience, Siddharth Sadashiv explained how films like Oppenheimer, The Zone of Interest, and the Hindi film Animal have made creative use of sound and silence. He also pointed out that in smaller-budget films, sound design often does not get adequate attention, which ultimately affects the quality of the film. Offering advice to young filmmakers, he urged them not to ignore the sound aspect or take it on themselves due to budget constraints.
As a former faculty member at SVFS Shanghai and current instructor at IICS, he also shared personal stories: which mixer’s technique astonished him, how he had to rework soundscapes in adverse conditions, and how blogging about his craft helps him stay connected to learners globally.
Spotlight: Ashok Mishra Writes With Purpose
In the Spotlight session, the audience met Ashok Mishra, a revered screenwriter and two-time National Award winner. He holds awards for his scripts in Naseem (1996) and Samar (1999), and has worked with legends like Saeed Akhtar Mirza and Shyam Benegal. His recent success, Kathal (Netflix), took home the Best Film in Hindi award at the 71st National Film Awards this tuesday (23rd September, 2025) — a perfect moment for his TCOTF appearance.
With gentle authority, Mishra talked about the alchemy between research and imagination. Quoting examples from his films, he showed how even small factual details (places, dialects, anecdotes) anchor narrative authenticity. According to him, a script must respect both heart and reality. He encouraged young writers to read newspaper archives, oral histories, and region-specific stories.
Ashok Mishra, meanwhile, traced his journey from his association with Doordarshan’s cult television series Circus and it’s directors Kundan Shah, Aziz Mirza to co-writing the recent Netflix hit Kathal. He shared fascinating insights into the stories behind many of his scripts, explaining how a real-life incident in Delhi became the seed for Kathal. He further noted how new characters and narratives discovered during research shaped the film’s final storyline in unexpected and exciting ways.
Furthermore, he reflected on writing Kathal in parallel with award season — noting that being in Delhi during the event added symbolic weight to his presence at TCOTF.
During his interaction with the audience, Ashok Mishra recalled the making of his first National Award–winning film Naseem. He shared how it took nearly three years to write and bring the film to life. He narrated fascinating anecdotes about the search for the right actor to play Naseem’s grandfather – a journey that began with Amitabh Bachchan, went through Naseeruddin Shah, and finally reached the legendary poet Kaifi Azmi. Despite being partially paralyzed, Kaifi Azmi delivered a remarkable performance in the film. Mishra’s recollections reflected the hard work, patience, and persistence required of a writer, offering an inspiring lesson for emerging storytellers.
Take The Floor: Voices Find Space
In the Take The Floor: The 5-Minute Window segment, select participants pitched story ideas and performed short excerpts. Notably, Ved Kumar Sharma, a Hindi translator known for rendering Russian literature into Hindi, presented a story he conceived for film adaptation. The enthusiasm in the room — from the peers, the guests, and new faces — reaffirmed TCOTF’s promise: to be a platform where ideas find collaborators.
Make Cinema: From Vision to Momentum
During the evening, Ashish K. Singh, NDFF’s founder, updated the audience about the Make Cinema campaign, which aims to nurture six short films in the next six months, under the banner “Small Films, Big Voices.” He reiterated NDFF’s commitment to giving emerging filmmakers a serious, structured platform for execution — not just talk.
Closing & Community Over Tea
The official session concluded, but the night extended into Chit-Chat over Tea & Light Bites. Ms. Daljeet Wadhwa (Director, SACAC) reiterated SACAC’s belief in collaborative spaces like TCOTF. Vaibhav Maitreya, NDFF’s Executive Director (Branding & Marketing), emphasized the importance of sustainability and community in creative initiatives. Harinder Kumar, NDFF Treasurer, offered warm thanks to all contributors, speakers, and attendees.
The event was hosted by Mehak Anand and Priyanshu Kumar. On behalf of Team NDFF, production control was managed by Krish Gupta, while media and coordination responsibilities were handled by Priyanshu Chandra, Roshan Ram, and Anurag Kumar.
Before dispersing, the hosts invited participants to linger — to continue conversations over a cup of tea and light bites, fortify connections, and deepen the network of storytellers and makers. Because TCOTF’s magic never truly ends when the session does.
Media Coverage
