Chayachitram

Synopsis

Chayachitram is a tender tale of memory, loss, love, and the innocent yearning of a child to know the face of the person he came from.

In a quiet riverside village, 11-year-old Suri is the neighborhood troublemaker—stealing mangoes, breaking pots, and stirring up chaos. Behind his mischief lies a deep emotional void: he has never seen a photo of his late mother, Chaya. Raised by his stern but loving grandmother Lakshmamma, Suri’s longing remains buried until one day, after a scolding, he finds solace with the kind-hearted shopkeeper Siva, who hints at Suri’s resemblance to his mother.

Driven by curiosity and pain, Suri questions his grandmother and learns the tragic story of Chaya—widowed young and lost in a flood, her memory washed away with her photographs. Suri’s desire to see her face becomes an obsession. He scours the village for any trace of her—a school, a childhood friend, government records—but every path leads to a dead end. Even a damaged photo negative brings no results. His heartbreak grows until one day, overwhelmed by grief, Suri shouts at the river that took her away, questioning why it didn’t take him too.

In that moment of despair, Siva silently carries the boy back home. At the shop, just when hope seems lost, Siva offers him something priceless: one half of a torn photograph—of him and Chaya. For the first time, Suri sees his mother’s face. Overcome with emotion, he embraces Siva, who had silently loved Chaya for years. In a flashback, we see Chaya leaving for her wedding, unaware of Siva’s unspoken feelings.

The torn photograph, now whole in spirit, bridges generations and hearts—offering Suri the closure he never thought he’d find, and Siva a healing he had long buried. Crew

✍️ K Sai Sreenivas Chowdary - Writer & Director

🎥 Yeshwant Kumar A - Director of Photography

✂️ Snehith Pamarathi - Editor

🎧 Radha Yadwadkar - Sound Designer + Sound Mixing Engineer

👩‍💼 Priya Lahoti - Executive Producer + Production Designer

🎬 V Sai Harini - Associate Director

📸 Karthikeya Choudhary - Associate Cinematographer

💡 Shubhankar Rao K - Associate Cinematographer + Gaffer

📸 Lakshya Sharma, Om Kalamkar, Swastik Ray, Jorryn Morais Ruben - Assistant Cinematographers

✂️ Aryan Panwar - Assistant Editor

🎧 Maitri Jain - Assistant Sound

✂️ Sourav Rajput - Onsite Editor

📢 Samya Jaswal, Shivapriya Jayadeep, Abhiram Kurella - Public Relations

Cast

🎭 Kaliyug - Suri

🎭 Akhil Bhaneshwar - Shiva

🎭 G Tarun Teja - David

🎭 Mrinali Darwesh - Chaya

🎭 Jyothi Pasumarthy - Ammamma (Lakshmamma)

🎭 Shankar - Balloon Seller

🎭 Vineela Aradhi - Padma

🎭 B K Kiran Kumar - Principal

🎭 Vinay Kumar - Panchayat Officer