New Delhi: Singer-songwriter Prateek Kuhad is set to make his feature film acting debut in Drowning (Doobna), a drama set against Delhi’s independent music scene. The film will be directed by filmmaker Dar Gai and marks the first fiction feature in South Asia from international production company Marginal MediaWorks.
Shot in New Delhi, Drowning follows Tarush (Kuhad), an independent musician whose career changes after a breakout hit but soon spirals as he finds himself trapped under the control of a powerful and criminal record label owner.
The film is being produced by Marginal MediaWorks in collaboration with Los Angeles-based D36 and Mumbai’s Jugaad Motion Pictures. Producers include Sanjay M. Sharma, Milan Chakraborty, Abhi Kanakadandila, Dheer Momaya and Dar Gai, who jointly developed the story.
Kuhad said the project grew from his long-standing creative relationship with Gai, who directed the music video for his hit song Cold/Mess.
“Ever since Dar directed the video for ‘Cold/Mess’ I hoped we would find more ways to work together,” Kuhad told Variety. “So when Abhi and Sanjay brought the idea for a film inspired by my song ‘Drown,’ I was immediately intrigued.”
‘Real, funny, tragic’
Gai described the film as a reflection of contemporary life.
“With Doobna, I wanted to make a film that feels like life right now: real, funny, tragic, chaotic, and impossible to escape, impossible to press a reset button,” Gai, a Ukrainian native long based in Mumbai, told Variety.
Marginal MediaWorks founder and CEO Sanjay M. Sharma likened the project’s tone to a mix of many directors.
“The film is like if the Safdie brothers mixed John Carney’s ‘Once’ and Lars von Trier’s ‘Dancer in the Dark’ in the blender that is the contemporary music scene in Delhi,” Sharma said.
Kanakadandila, whose company D36 represents South Asian artists across several countries, said the film explores a side of India’s music ecosystem that rarely finds space in mainstream cinema. According to him, while music has always been central to Indian films, contemporary independent artists often remain disconnected from traditional Bollywood storytelling.
The project also signals Marginal MediaWorks’ expansion into South Asia as part of its wider international slate, which includes films across East Asia, Europe and North America.
Kuhad, one of India’s best-known independent musicians, rose to prominence with songs such as Cold/Mess and Kasoor. Cold/Mess topped Spotify India’s charts and was included in former US President Barack Obama’s annual playlist, while its music video, directed by Gai, was named Rolling Stone’s Music Video of the Year. His latest album, Full Moon Chamber, was released in July this year.
Gai’s previous films include Three and a Half, which is streaming on Netflix after an international festival run, and Namdev Bhau: In Search of Silence, which screened at Busan, BFI London and Palm Springs. Jugaad Motion Pictures previously backed 2021’s Chhello Show (Last Film Show), India’s Oscar-shortlisted entry in the international feature category.