Filmmaking has been an integral part of Vikram Phadnis’s life in the past decade. The couturier turned director with the Marathi film Hrudayantar in 2017, following it up with Smile Please (2019). Now, his maiden Hindi directorial venture, Pal Bhar Ke Liye, is set to première at the Indian Film Festival of Melbourne (IFFM). “I gave up costume designing in 2007 after Salaam-e-Ishq, but to debut as a Hindi film director, it took me 19 years,” said Phadnis, talking to mid-day from Melbourne. 

“It has been worth the wait. I feel I am taking a story that needs to be told, as mental health is a global issue right now. Anything can happen in a moment, that’s why it is called Pal Bhar Ke Liye,” said the director of his Saiyami Kher, Tahir Raj Bhasin, and Viineet Kumar Siingh-starrer.