A song of flowers

In Kinnaur, a tribal district in the Himalayas, Sonam is married to two brothers, Shankar and Nikku, as per local customs, and has three children. Their tiny apple orchard sustains the family, but when an unexpected hailstorm destroys the crop, they must find a new livelihood as the local festival of flowers approaches.

Shankar, pragmatic, proposes converting their ancestral home into a homestay to tap into the booming tourism. Nikku, the younger brother who often feels overshadowed, suggests crafting and selling traditional musical instruments. Sonam has to balance her strikingly opposite husbands yet again.

When she chooses Shankar’s plan, it causes a rift within this triangular relationship. As they try to make it work, a landslide washes their under-construction homestay too, and a secret Sonam has been harboring for years comes to light, threatening to break the family apart.

This is a story of Himalayan resilience, of tradition vs modernity, and of what it means to be a family.

  • Sourav Yadav
    Writer
  • Shubham Negi
    Writer
  • Neeraj Churi
    Producer
    Sabar Bonda (Cactus Pears), A Place of Our Own
  • Project Title (Original Language):
    Soma Helang
  • Project Type:
    Screenplay
  • Number of Pages:
    90
  • Language:
    Hindi
  • First-time Screenwriter:
    No
  • Student Project:
    No
  • Digital Cinema Package:
    Unavailable
Writer Biography - Sourav Yadav, Shubham Negi

Sourav Yadav (Writer, Director)
Sourav Yadav has been making films independently since 2014, wearing multiple hats, from directing and writing to cinematography, editing, and color grading. As a Cinematographer and Colorist, He worked on projects with Netflix, Discovery Channel, Bloomberg, Abbott, Cipla, and more. He was the DP on the “Tuition” Netflix's TakeTen grant project directed by Shubham Negi.
His feature 'Soma Helang' was a part of the NFDC Co-Production Market 2024 and The Writer's Ink Lab 2024.
His directorial debut short film, Malwa Khushan, produced after winning the KASHISH QDrishti Grant 2022. The film competed in 4 Oscar-qualifying festivals, including Tasveer and Uppsala, and BAFTA-qualifying IRIS Prize. In 2023. He was honored with the Riyad Wadia Award for Best Emerging Indian Filmmaker for the film.

Shubham Negi (Writer, Director)
Shubham Negi is a poet, writer, and director from Himachal Pradesh. He was one of the winners of Film Companion and Netflix's TakeTen grant, which led him to develop a web series pilot, 'Tuition'.
His feature 'Soma Helang' was a part of the NFDC Co-Production Market 2024. It was developed through his fellowship at the Writer’s Ink Lab and emerged as one of the winners, securing him a mentorship from Vikramaditya Motwane.
He is also a fellow of the QueerFrames Screenwriting Lab with a psychological horror ‘Things We Leave Behind’. His short film ‘Ghadoli’ was the runner-up in the QDrishti short film grant 2024. Another short, 'Makeup Room', developed under the Queerframes Screenwriting lab supported by Netflix, is in pre-production.
His Hindi stories and poems have appeared in many prestigious literature magazines. An English translation of his story has found a place in a Penguin book. In 2022 and 2024, he received the Hans Award for his stories and reviews.
Recently, Netflix sent him to the Busan International Film Festival as a part of its Fund for Creative Equity cohort.

Add Writer Biography
Writer Statement

Shubham is from a tiny village tucked into the mountains. Life here is simple, but it’s deeply connected to the land and seasons. Growing up, he saw how things revolved around nature—the festivals, food, livelihoods. But over time, climate change started shaking that balance. Strange weather patterns became more frequent, and suddenly, things didn’t feel as certain anymore. Soma Helang is his way of showing that mix of strength and vulnerability that life in the Himalayas is all about.

Kinnaur is like a second home to Sourav. He’s been staying with the community, learning about their life, and researching their rich culture. It started with his curiosity about marriage systems while questioning his understanding of love. This discovery shaped the story of Soma Helang. For Sourav, Nikku and Shankar’s characters feel like parts of himself—Shankar, the practical and stern person he used to be, and Nikku, the softer, artistic soul he’s becoming as he grows older.

Whenever the Himalayas appear on screen, they’re these dramatic drone shots. Beautiful, yes, but distant. We will zoom in on the lives of people who live there: the small joys, the tough choices of people who are facing a rapidly changing world.

For us, the small details matter a lot. The sound of a river at night, the rustling of leaves, the music during the festivals. Silence in the mountains isn’t really silence; it’s alive with these sounds. That’s the vibe we want —something real, something you can almost feel.

We hope to create a film that feels honest and heartfelt. While one director’s roots bring authenticity, another’s research brings an outsider’s admiration that has grown into a sense of belonging. Soma Helang is a tribute to the resilience and unbreakable spirit of the people.