Dia Mirza’s production venture One India Stories has won Best Indian Short Film at the All Living Things Environmental Film Festival (ALT EFF) for its debut film Panha, a moving, intimate story about home, heritage, and the price of progress. Founded by childhood friends Dia Mirza and Ananya Rane, One India Stories was born from a shared belief that storytelling can build empathy and spark change. Panha marks their first film under the banner, and its journey has already touched hearts far beyond the mango orchards of Maharashtra where it was shot.

What is Panha about?

Directed by Sakshi Mishra, Panha follows a family of mango farmers facing eviction from their ancestral land due to a bullet train project. The story unfolds through the tender eyes of seven-year-old Vithu — inviting us into a world where loss is quiet, courage is fragile, and childhood carries the heaviest truths. The film offers neither judgement nor propaganda, but a rare, humane pause to feel what “development” means for those left in its shadow.