by FilmInk Staff
Australian production company Screenxcope has joined as co-producer on the upcoming feature film Shasti (Punishment), directed by acclaimed Bangladeshi filmmaker Leesa Gazi.
Inspired by Rabindranath Tagore’s seminal short story Shasti, the film reimagines the classic work through a contemporary lens, set against the charged backdrop of present-day Dhaka. Blending psychological drama with social critique, Shasti explores how power, gender, mental health and public judgment collide in a society shaped by surveillance, social media volatility and institutional silence.
The story centres on the mysterious death of a social media influencer, Lucky, which ignites a media frenzy and a public appetite for punishment. Her sister-in-law, Meera, emerges as the prime suspect. As a rigged trial unfolds, deeper truths surface around manipulation, complicity and the cost of silence.
Shasti (Punishment) stars a distinguished ensemble cast including Pori Moni, Chanchal Chowdhury, Aanon Siddiqua, and Australian-Bangladeshi actor Arka Das (known for Here Out West, My Melbourne).
Leesa Gazi’s previous feature Barir Naam Shahana (A House Named Shahana) was distributed Australia-wide by Screenxcope and marked a historic milestone as Bangladesh’s first female-directed submission for the Academy Awards’ Best International Feature category. The film received a Best Film nomination at the Indian Film Festival of Melbourne and is scheduled for broadcast on SBS from February 2026, further establishing Gazi as one of the region’s most vital contemporary voices.
“Shasti offers an unflinching examination of how power, gender and mental health collide with public judgment in contemporary society,” said Sakib Iftekhar, Founder and Producer at Screenxcope. “While the film draws inspiration from Tagore, it is firmly rooted in the visceral reality of present-day Dhaka. These dynamics are not regional. They are global. That’s why this story feels urgent, and why we’re proud to support it from Australia.”
The film is a joint production between Komola Collective, Sanat Initiative, Awedacious Originals, Goopy Bagha Productions Limited, Screenxcope, and Black & White Workshop Inc. Producers include Leesa Gazi, Abid Aziz Merchant (Wakhri, Madina), Apoorva Bakshi (Emmy Award winner for Delhi Crime), and Arifur Rahman (Kingdom of Clay Subjects, Silent Echo), with Screenxcope’s Sakib Iftekhar (A Thing About Kashem) and Rainbow Fong (She Fell to Earth) serving as co-producers.
Principal photography is scheduled for October-November 2026 in Dhaka, Bangladesh.
