First Ray Films, the Mumbai-based production company founded by actor and director Anshuman Jha, has six films scheduled for 2020 covering the period 2026 to 2028, and the slate is scheduled to be screened at the Cannes Film Market in May this year.
Two titles are scheduled to be released theatrically in India this year. Directed by Harish Vyas and starring Jha, Raghubir Yadav, Soni Razdan and Ayesha Kapoor, ‘Om Ka Hari’ is scheduled to release in June. Jha himself directed “Lakadbagga 2: Monkey Business,” an expansion of the vigilante series he launched in 2023, which also includes Adil Hussain and Sarah Jane Dias. It is scheduled for November.
The pipeline for 2027 consists of ‘Bajrangi’, directed by Parth Saurabh and currently in post-production, and ‘Badia’, directed by Pramod Parashar, which is currently being shot. Two more titles are planned for 2028. ‘But First, The Burning’ is directed by Devashish Makhija and is an international co-production between Roh Films and Lamas Productions. “Dhuli” directed by Rumana Molla.
First Ray was founded in 2016 in the wake of director Shashi Sudigala’s “mona_darling,” a social media thriller that strayed far from the mainstream. In the more than 10 years since then, we’ve built a reputation for championing an independent voice in filmmaking while simultaneously strengthening our distribution clout. The company says its marketing partnerships exceed those of other independent companies in India. Marketing company Max’s latest release ‘Lord Curzon Ki Haveli’ is set to premiere next month on streamer JioHotstar.
“The first decade was about discovering our voice. The next decade is about amplifying it, supporting stories that matter, filmmakers who take risks, and films that can travel across borders without losing their soul. Rather than following trends, we are building a space where authenticity leads. At the heart of this is an eye for building an ecosystem for young filmmakers. It’s about empowering young filmmakers and educating them about the importance of marketing and distribution so that not only are great stories made, but they really reach out. Having actors like Abhinav Jha and Samta Sudiksha, who bring integrity to their work, is just as important as supporting the story itself,” Jha said.
Makhija, whose “Bat First the Burning” represents the banner’s most ambitious international play to date, added, “What First Ray represents in today’s scene is rare: a producer who not only does everything in his power to protect the voice of a filmmaker, but also builds wings to push it higher and further. Something is becoming increasingly difficult to find. Our collaboration is about telling stories that are stubbornly rooted, yet resonate globally.”
“There’s a kind of fearlessness in the way First Ray approaches storytelling. It’s not about pigeonholing, it’s about building something original. That trust encourages filmmakers to take creative leaps,” Vyas said.
The Cannes Film Festival marks the company’s most significant market foray to date, as independent Indian film companies increasingly seek co-production partners and theatrical footholds beyond the subcontinent.
