Run Kalyani at Tyneside Cinema

Presented by Newcastle University and Gem Arts, Run Kalyani screens as part of International Women’s Day Celebrations 2026, with a post-film Q&A with director Geetha J at Tyneside Cinema.

LISTEN TO THE RADIO INTERVIEW WITH SAND – CLICK HERE

This poetic and realist drama about duties, dreams and desire, takes you into the world of a young cook. Hailed as a path-breaking film that has heralded l’cinema feminine in India, Run Kalyani explores women’s lives in a nuanced manner with sparse dialogue and evocative music, including the first ever Indian Bolero!

Kalyani lives with her ailing aunt and works in two households in Trivandrum, Kerala. Her life follows a pattern as she carries on with her life of duty as a cook and carer. Each day feels the same, but each day is not the same too.

As the romance of poetry ignites a passion, as the stories of other worlds stirs a desire, as sharks close in and death draws near, Run Kalyani builds into an intense crescendo of grief and grit, sorrow and strength.

This “mesmerising Malayalam film” with multiple layers of signification deals with nurturing and domestic violence, paid and unpaid care, love and poetry, class and gender, day-to-day routine and cyclical repetitions that change ever so slightly to give way one day!