Written and directed by AK Srikanth, the film is set in India and follows Eresha, who leads a prestigious arts institute that has come to define her public identity. Her relationship with a young exchange student sets off consequences that threaten her position, the institution she has built and her psychological stability.
Eminent Bharatnatyam danseuse Savitha Sastry plays the title role, with Indian classical dance forming an integral part of the narrative. The film features an almost all-woman cast and includes more than 100 classical dancers from India.
The film also marks the feature-film debut of Bengali actor Mayurakshi Sen. Mekha Rajan, known for Yuva, Jayam Kondaan and the Amazon Prime Video series Suzhal, and Arshya Lakshman, whose credits include Aayutha Ezhuthu and Suzhal 2, appear in supporting roles.
A Song for Eresha has been released in more than 30 countries and has completed 150 days in the UK and more than 100 days in the US. Its release in India took longer because the film was acquired by a US distributor and opened in overseas markets first.
Speaking about the India release, AK Srikanth said, “As an author-director, I was able to carry the inner conflicts I had written for Eresha into the visual language of the film without losing their complexity. Indian viewers will recognise the cultural setting and the place classical dance holds in her life, but I am most interested in how they judge her decisions. Watching Denzel Washington’s The Tragedy of Macbeth on Apple TV stayed with me for years, so seeing my debut feature on the same platform is an extraordinary personal moment. India is home for me and for this story, making this the release I have awaited most.”
Influenced by the classical filmmaking styles of directors such as Satyajit Ray and Balu Mahendra, the film uses measured storytelling, carefully composed frames and Eresha’s psychological progression to examine memory, identity, desire and emotional deterioration.
The soundtrack has been designed by Grammy-nominated musician Abhay Nayampally, a student of Mandolin U Srinivas. Nayampally recently collaborated with Tom Schuman of Spyro Gyra on the album I Am Schuman.
Srikanth’s previous directorial work includes Slow Rivers, which won him the Best Director Award at the Florence Film Awards in 2023, and Colors: White, which won the Best Director award at the New York International Film Awards in 2021. He has also directed 12 short films, several of which draw from Indian art, culture and philosophical thought.
The novel A Song for Eresha is available internationally in paperback, hardcover, ebook and audiobook formats. The book and its screen adaptation offer readers and viewers the opportunity to encounter Srikanth’s story through literary and cinematic forms.
A Song for Eresha is now available in India on Apple TV. The novel is also available through Amazon.
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