जुगनुमा: द फेबल

Set in the spring of 1989 in a remote colonial hilltop estate in the Himalayas, Jugnuma: The Fable follows Dev (Manoj Bajpayee), the patriarch of a fruit-orchard family, who discovers mysterious fires burning through his trees. As suspicion falls on a group of nomadic travellers camped nearby and a corrupt local sheriff begins to manipulate events, the family's sense of reality begins to fracture. Raam Reddy weaves an ecological parable with elements of magical realism — the burning orchard becomes a mirror for social decay, colonial inheritances, and the disintegration of identity. Shot entirely on 16mm film at Abbot Mount in Uttarakhand, the film has a painterly, analog texture that distances it from contemporary digital cinema. Winner of Best Film at the 38th Leeds International Film Festival and Special Jury Award at MAMI 2024.

The film's sole released song is its title track 'Jugnuma', written, composed, and sung by Piyush Mishra, released by Bhonpoo Records on 7 September 2025. The background score underscores the film's atmospheric, slow-burn tension rather than conventional film songs.

Jugnuma: The Fable is 2025's most distinguished Indian art film: shot on 16mm at Abbot Mount, Uttarakhand, it won Best Film at the 38th Leeds International Film Festival — the first Indian film ever to receive that honour — and the MAMI Special Jury Award. Piyush Mishra's title song, written, composed, and sung entirely by him for Bhonpoo Records, exemplifies how a single song can function as the complete musical soul of an art film, rendering a conventional multi-track album unnecessary.

An international festival triumph that reached specialised audiences through streaming; Piyush Mishra's Jugnuma title track became a quiet anthem for admirers of poetic Hindi cinema. The film is cited in discussions of 16mm revival in contemporary Indian filmmaking, and its Leeds honour ensures lasting critical recognition independent of its limited commercial footprint.