"I couldn’t believe that we had made it this far."
Shivani Mehra’s short film Me, Raani has qualified for ‘Best Live Action Short Film’ at the 2025 Oscars.
The film centres on Anju, a single mother who works as a maid to provide for her daughter Raani.
Anju dreams for Raani to become an engineer and move away from the patriarchal society that sees a girl’s marriage as her only victory.
Amid the persistent hardship and financial turmoil, Anju wishes to get Raani a carrom board for her 10th birthday.
Raani then goes on a quest to make her mother’s wish come true but in her own way.
The story was inspired by an incident that had occurred in a remote Indian village that went viral after business tycoon Anand Mahindra tweeted about it.
After coming across his tweet, Shivani said that a positive story was needed in the world and Me, Raani was born.
The short film was her directorial debut and at the Best of India Short Film Festival 2024, Shivani was awarded the grand jury prize.
Me, Raani went on to have a theatrical release in San Francisco.
It subsequently qualified for ‘Best Live Action Short Film’ at the 2025 Oscars.
Speaking about the qualification, Shivani said:
“When I received an email confirmation, I couldn’t believe that we had made it this far.
“The story that was once a little fragment in my head somewhere was now part of something so big.”
Shivani is no stranger when it comes to Oscar-qualifying projects.
Her writing debut short story Highway Nights, directed by Shubham Singh and starring renowned director/actor Prakash Jha was an Oscar qualifier in 2022.
Producer Sachin Srivastava added: “From a dream to the Oscars – this journey is a testament to the power of stories, passion and perseverance.
“Here’s to everyone who believed in the magic we created, and to the endless possibilities that lie ahead.”
Former beauty queen Priyanka Zemse plays the lead role of Anju. She is known for her roles in TV series like Bang Bang and Cartel as well as films like Amhi Befikre.
Priyanka stars alongside the rising young talent Bhavika Parde, who plays the free-spirited dreamer Raani.
The film has been winning praises and accolades at various film festivals, which included Shivani winning the top prize in the Women’s Collective category at the Oscar-qualifying Bengaluru International Short Film Festival.
The 97th Academy Awards will take place in March 2025.
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