Shoot begins Nov 12 Kolkata, India · Nagarkot, Nepal #mentalhealth #threegenerations #logoff #headofthesky A short film by Sanjeev Chatterjee

Vol. 1 · November 2026

@sagarmathafilm

Sagarmatha

The universe is not someplace else

Logline

After losing his job, Sundar, a veteran journalist, hits the road with his influencer granddaughter, Noyoni. Both are haunted by Pradipta, Noyoni’s mother. As memories collide, three generations are forced to face old wounds, forgiveness, and the journey to healing.

A psychological drama with magical realism · Filming in Kolkata & Nagarkot, November 2026

Lead story · Kolkata

The last newspaperman and a girl with thousands of followers

Three generations · one road north · a psychological drama with touches of magical realism

Sundar's book-lined study with a typewriter on the desk
Sundar’s office, Kolkata. The paper has closed; he never meant to retire. Photo: Kanchan Gupta

Sundar Saha, a veteran journalist in his late 70s, once vowed never to retire. The closure of his beloved newspaper leaves him suddenly adrift. A lifelong liberal committed to freedom of speech and choice, he has never stopped thinking about his daughter, Pradipta.

His granddaughter Noyoni is a vibrant social media influencer in her 20s with thousands of followers. Her bubbly, camera-ready persona hides a far darker reality that she has never shown her audience.

Between them is Pradipta, Noyoni’s mother. For Sundar, a source of solace. For Noyoni, an open wound.

In memoriam · The making of Sagarmatha

Portrait of Nirmal Purja in a climbing cap

Nirmal “Nims” Purja 1983–2026

Nims Purja was cast to play himself in Sagarmatha. A former Gurkha and the first Gurkha to serve in Britain’s Special Boat Service, he climbed all fourteen of the world’s 8,000-metre peaks in six months and six days in 2019. In January 2021 he was part of the Nepali team that made the first winter ascent of K2.

On July 30, 2026, he was killed with members of his expedition team in an avalanche on Broad Peak, in Pakistan. He was 43.

His protégé, the emerging climber Kabita Nepali, now takes his place in the film.

This film is dedicated to his memory.

Headlines & hashtags

Mental health

Navigating deep personal loss.

#itsoknottobeok

Generations

Tradition against modernity, acceptance against resistance.

#dadu&me

Burnout

The pressure of constant performance and online identity.

#logoff

Nature

Environmental immersion as a path forward.

#touchgrass

Etymology

Sa·gar·mā·thā सगरमाथा

noun · Nepali · Mount Everest

Coined in the 1950s by historian Baburam Acharya as Nepal’s own name for the world’s tallest mountain. In classical Sanskrit sāgara means “ocean,” which gives the reading “Forehead of the Ocean.” In Nepali, sagar also means sky or heaven, and Nepal’s accepted meaning is “Head of the Sky.”

Mount Everest at night above a lit base camp

so it’s not the ocean, it’s the sky??

Why this film? Why now?

“The harm that endless scrolling does to young minds is no longer a matter of opinion; it is now being paid for in courtrooms. Technology will keep racing ahead. Sagarmatha asks whether we can still stop, look up, and let the natural world remind us who we are.”
Sanjeev Chatterjee, Director

Profiles

Three generations · one mountain

Portrait of Dhritiman Chatterjee

In print

Dhritiman Chatterjee

as Sundar Saha

Made his debut in Satyajit Ray’s Pratidwandi (1970) and went on to work with Mrinal Sen, Aparna Sen and Rituparno Ghosh. Known for quiet intensity and emotional restraint.

Portrait of Pujita (Gini) Banerjee
On the feed

Pujita (Gini) Banerjee

as Noyoni

A 19-year-old Kolkata actor and model, currently studying psychology. She played Surama in Birsa Dasgupta’s Byomkesh O Durgo Rohasya and Rumi in Joydip Banerjee’s micro-series Sweet 16, trained under Sudipta Chakraborty at SCAA, and has modelled for Ananda Bazar Patrika and Sananda.

Portrait of Pradipta Ray

The mother

Pradipta Ray

as Pradipta, Noyoni’s mother

Award-winning filmmaker, actor and educator, seen in Gangs of Wasseypur and director of Raat Baki and Eidi – The Gift. Professor at the National Institute of Design, Ahmedabad.

Portrait of Kabita Nepali in mountaineering gear and glacier glasses
On the mountain

Kabita Nepali

as herself

Dancer, actor and mountaineer. She won Boogie Woogie Nepal in 2018, has appeared in more than 50 music videos and made her film debut in Eklo. In May 2025 she summited Everest and Lhotse on consecutive days with Elite Exped, the company founded by Nims Purja.

Bylines

Portrait of Sanjeev Chatterjee

Director · Co-Producer

Sanjeev Chatterjee

Professor of Documentary at the University of Miami and founder of Media for Change. Director of One Water and Sweet Malady; two-time Fulbright Scholar.

Portrait of Ed Talavera

Cinematographer · Co-Producer

Ed Talavera

Emmy-winning cinematographer whose work has screened on HBO, Showtime and PBS and at Cannes, Sundance and Toronto.

Portrait of Anirban Roy

Writer

Anirban “Bann” Roy

Los Angeles–based writer-director from India; USC documentary graduate behind Six Weeks and The Parting Shot.

Portrait of Camila Ortiz Londoño

Assistant Director

Camila Ortiz Londoño

Colombian lawyer turned documentary filmmaker and researcher. MFA in Documentary from the University of Miami; now completing an MSc in Crime Science at UCL, studying how crime, conflict and power shape people’s lives.

Portrait of Olivia Flynn

Impact Producer

Olivia Flynn

Documentary MFA candidate at the University of Miami who has filmed in more than 40 countries.

Production services

Watercolour of Sundar at his desk among bookshelves, studying an open book with a Gila monster drawn across its pages
From the graphic novel
Storyboard sketch: aerial view of Howrah Bridge over the Hooghly river
Opening shot 1A
Storyboard sketch: a couple in a hallway as a figure descends the stairs
Scene 3 · Shot 3A
Storyboard sketch: men reading newspapers pasted on a public board
Opening shot 2A
Storyboard sketch: passengers on a river boat looking at their phones, Howrah Bridge behind
Opening shot 3A

Announcing · A parallel project

SagarmathaThe graphic novel

The story of Sundar, Noyoni and Pradipta is also being told on the page. Sagarmatha, a graphic novel of the same name, is being created by the Varanasi-based artist Rahul Tiwari, alongside the film.

Rahul is also the film’s storyboard artist, so the novel and the film grow from the same drawings.

Portrait of Rahul Tiwari

Rahul Tiwari

Artist · Varanasi
Storyboard artist, Sagarmatha

Born in Bhadwar, a village in Bihar’s Bhojpuri-speaking belt, Rahul learned folktales, songs and craft from his grandmother. He trained in illustration at Banaras Hindu University (BFA and MFA), founded the folk arts platform Gawanhi Gandh, and has made eight independent films and several illustrated books. He has exhibited in Italy and France, and received the 2023 Bhojpuri Painting Researcher Award.