'Ruhani & Dolma' to Premiere at Tasveer Film Festival in Seattle
Ruhani & Dolma , produced, written and directed by Chandni Varma , will have its world premiere at the 21st Tasveer Film Festival & Market in Seattle, where it will screen as part of the festival’s Moonless Ghamelas programme.
The Tasveer Film Festival celebrates bold and diverse stories from South Asia and its diaspora, establishing itself as an important international platform for filmmakers seeking to bring culturally rooted narratives to global audiences. It is also the world’s only Oscar-qualifying South Asian film festival.
Ruhani & Dolma follows Dr Ruhani Rolani, a celebrated quantum physicist on the verge of proving the controversial theory of parallel universes . At a pivotal moment in her life, however, her professional ambitions and personal world begin to unravel, compelling her to question not only the science to which she has devoted her life but also her own understanding of existence.
The film explores two seemingly opposing ways of understanding the universe: one rooted in scientific inquiry and the other in spiritual contemplation. Starring Kalki Koechlin and Namit Das, it examines the space between what science can prove and what the human spirit continues to question. At its core, the film is a story of love, loss, identity, faith and the search for meaning.
Speaking about the film’s world premiere at the Tasveer Film Festival & Market, writer, producer and director Chandni Varma said, “Having Ruhani & Dolma premiere at Tasveer, a festival that has created such a unique space for South Asian filmmakers and stories, is tremendously special to me, particularly because it gives the film an opportunity to meet a global audience.
“This film comes from a very personal curiosity about the unseeming similarities between science and spirituality, and the questions about the universe, existence and what may lie beyond what we can see that continue to fascinate us. Through Ruhani’s journey from a celebrated physicist to Dolma, a Buddhist nun, I wanted to explore two entirely different ways of looking at the universe and what happens when science and spirituality begin to speak to each other. I am excited to see how audiences in Seattle respond to the film.”
Kalki Koechlin said, “Ruhani & Dolma is a film about what happens when ego is replaced by curiosity, and about the delicate balance between proof and faith, knowledge and intuition, new discoveries and ancient practices. It is also a film about love and the nonlinear ways in which we can fall back into feeling deeply, without warning and with no regard for the passage of time.
“Writer-director Chandni Varma approached these themes with sensitivity and worked to create a genuine atmosphere on set. She connected us with real nuns and monks from monasteries in Dharamshala. We learnt how to make sand mandalas, and her research brought depth and authenticity to the script.
“When she approached me with a script about parallel universes, she caught my attention very quickly. I grew up in a house where we had Isaac Asimov and Carl Sagan on the shelves, so these ideas were often discussed and explored. Then there was the character of Ruhani, who later becomes Dolma—a character who undergoes both visible and psychological transformations throughout the film. As an actor, I simply couldn’t resist that challenge.”
Namit Das said, “Chandni Varma is one of the most sensitive directors I have worked with in recent times. I mean, this story could only have come from her. I’m not saying it is her personal story, but at some level, she has lived it, and that is what made me feel so connected to her writing.
“Being directed by her felt like being an instrument through which she could express her words. I’m so happy when I get to collaborate with artists like her—artists who bring such honesty, sensitivity and lived experience to their work.”
The Tasveer Film Festival celebrates bold and diverse stories from South Asia and its diaspora, establishing itself as an important international platform for filmmakers seeking to bring culturally rooted narratives to global audiences. It is also the world’s only Oscar-qualifying South Asian film festival.
Ruhani & Dolma follows Dr Ruhani Rolani, a celebrated quantum physicist on the verge of proving the controversial theory of parallel universes . At a pivotal moment in her life, however, her professional ambitions and personal world begin to unravel, compelling her to question not only the science to which she has devoted her life but also her own understanding of existence.
The film explores two seemingly opposing ways of understanding the universe: one rooted in scientific inquiry and the other in spiritual contemplation. Starring Kalki Koechlin and Namit Das, it examines the space between what science can prove and what the human spirit continues to question. At its core, the film is a story of love, loss, identity, faith and the search for meaning.
Speaking about the film’s world premiere at the Tasveer Film Festival & Market, writer, producer and director Chandni Varma said, “Having Ruhani & Dolma premiere at Tasveer, a festival that has created such a unique space for South Asian filmmakers and stories, is tremendously special to me, particularly because it gives the film an opportunity to meet a global audience.
“This film comes from a very personal curiosity about the unseeming similarities between science and spirituality, and the questions about the universe, existence and what may lie beyond what we can see that continue to fascinate us. Through Ruhani’s journey from a celebrated physicist to Dolma, a Buddhist nun, I wanted to explore two entirely different ways of looking at the universe and what happens when science and spirituality begin to speak to each other. I am excited to see how audiences in Seattle respond to the film.”
Kalki Koechlin said, “Ruhani & Dolma is a film about what happens when ego is replaced by curiosity, and about the delicate balance between proof and faith, knowledge and intuition, new discoveries and ancient practices. It is also a film about love and the nonlinear ways in which we can fall back into feeling deeply, without warning and with no regard for the passage of time.
“Writer-director Chandni Varma approached these themes with sensitivity and worked to create a genuine atmosphere on set. She connected us with real nuns and monks from monasteries in Dharamshala. We learnt how to make sand mandalas, and her research brought depth and authenticity to the script.
“When she approached me with a script about parallel universes, she caught my attention very quickly. I grew up in a house where we had Isaac Asimov and Carl Sagan on the shelves, so these ideas were often discussed and explored. Then there was the character of Ruhani, who later becomes Dolma—a character who undergoes both visible and psychological transformations throughout the film. As an actor, I simply couldn’t resist that challenge.”
Namit Das said, “Chandni Varma is one of the most sensitive directors I have worked with in recent times. I mean, this story could only have come from her. I’m not saying it is her personal story, but at some level, she has lived it, and that is what made me feel so connected to her writing.
“Being directed by her felt like being an instrument through which she could express her words. I’m so happy when I get to collaborate with artists like her—artists who bring such honesty, sensitivity and lived experience to their work.”
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