Sudhanshu Saria: Taps is my way to give it back to the community that launched my career

(From left) Rohit Mehra and Ullas Samrat in Taps

Birthdays have always been a time to reflect for Sudhanshu Saria. But today, as he turns 41, the filmmaker also has something to celebrate - the short film, Taps, backed by him, releases today. "I love that I found my journey back into queer stories by producing a queer love story," he starts.

Saria had forayed into filmmaking with the same-sex relationship drama, Loev (2015). Ten years and a feature film in Ulajh (2024) later, the director believes he owes a great deal to the queer community. He elaborates, "Taps is my way to give it back to the community that launched my career, in a way. We have put it out for free on YouTube. This is my way of showing that the conversation needs to keep going."

Sudhanshu Saria

With Taps that is presented by Richa Chadha and Ali Fazal, Saria is proud to launch new artistes in the industry. The short is written and helmed by first-time director Arvind Caulagi, and stars Ullas Samrat, younger brother of Pulkit Samrat, and Rohit Mehra. "Our casting director Shivam Gupta is great at scouting talent. We launched a search, and got Ullas and Rohit. I had no idea that Ullas had any connection to the industry."

Now that Taps has released, he is focusing on his directorial venture, Sanaa, which stars Radhikka Madan and did the festival rounds last year. "I haven't thought whether it will be a theatrical offering or an OTT one because the audience only wants to watch a good film, the medium doesn't matter. The only thing I'll ask myself is, ‘Is the [studio] the most passionate partner for the story?' That's most important."