Bonus Q&A — Kanishka Aggarwal & 'Katti'
A filmmaker and their short film deserving of your attention
People often ask me how I find the filmmakers and the projects that I highlight for Five Dollar Fridays. On the face of it, it’s simple: every week I browse the projects that are actively fundraising on Kickstarter, Indiegogo, and Seed&Spark, and I take note of the ones that catch my eye.
But then I have to put my detective hat on. Even though the platforms all have a messaging component, I almost never get a response when I message them directly through their campaign. I suspect most campaigns are tied to production email accounts that aren’t checked daily by the filmmaker (that was true for Draft Night’s Kickstarter campaign).
So instead I try to track down an alternative way to directly contact the filmmaker. Most of them have Instagram accounts but messages from strangers get siloed away in that rarely checked ‘Requests’ inbox. I have the highest success rate when the filmmaker has a website with their email listed on it. But, even so, sometimes my emails either get ignored or perhaps they land in junk folders.
I end up reaching out to a decent number of filmmakers with projects that sparked my interest that I never hear back from. Kanishka Aggarwal’s short film Katti was one of them.
Or so I thought!
It’s now well over a month since I first sent her a message on LinkedIn. But we were finally able to connect and, even though her crowdfunding campaign is over and production on her film has wrapped, we chatted about her campaign and her experience making the film.
I hope you enjoy this bonus Q&A as much as I did.
On the day their family celebrates the arrival of a baby brother with a lavish ceremony, two sisters grapple with the fact that their own births were never celebrated in the same way. Katti, loosely translated to ‘un-friend,’ a Hindi word used by children to indicate a decision to go no-contact, explores the feelings of rejection, loneliness, and inadequacy girls experience when families prioritize sons over them.
The way you incorporate home video and/or archival footage in your campaign video for Katti is incredibly powerful. I can vividly picture a younger you asking to see photos of your own Kuan Pujan ceremony, and the weight of your mother’s response. I’d love to hear more about your process in crafting this video. Is all the footage from your own family?
The childhood pictures in the campaign video are from my own family. I wanted to highlight how these early experiences shaped my identity, especially as a tomboy navigating societal expectations. The video footage, however, comes from my co-writer, Akshita Namjoshi's childhood, who surprisingly also carried a tomboy look, with the short hair and everything. Our goal was to capture the emotional journey of our lead character in a way that felt personal and universally relatable.
To ground the pitch video in authenticity, we had our lead actor deliver the film’s most impactful dialogue as the opening, setting the emotional tone. The additional footage consists of stock clips carefully chosen to replicate familiar household scenarios—ones many of us have witnessed growing up.
We were committed to keeping the pitch video low-cost while ensuring it remained deeply personal. So, we shot it in our homes, borrowed a camera from a friend, and focused on crafting an honest narrative. A key aspect was having our female crew members reflect on their own childhood experiences with gender bias. At that age, it’s less about wanting to change the world and more about the confusion of simply trying to understand it—why things are the way they are. That perspective was central to our approach.
Your campaign page was also very well-crafted and added to the feeling of your film. Did you create this page yourself or did you bring someone on to help you launch the campaign?
I had immense help from my fellow filmmaker and producer, Saranya Nayak. We did extensive research on Seed&Spark, studying successful campaigns to understand what worked. Saranya’s producing expertise was invaluable in crafting the key elements we needed to highlight in our campaign.
The Seed&Spark team also provided fantastic feedback, which helped us refine both our video and written content. That guidance was truly one of the most valuable aspects of the process.
All the creative work—from designing the page to structuring the incentives—was led by Saranya. We spent hours fine-tuning every detail, ensuring our incentives would genuinely excite people and make them feel like a meaningful part of our project. We wanted to do justice to everyone who chose to support us, and I think that mindset shaped the heart of our campaign.
It's clear that both you and the co-writer, Akshita Namjoshi, have very personal connections to the story. I'd love to hear more about your collaboration and how it unfolded.
I met Akshita at Chapman University, and we instantly connected over our love for deep, meaningful storytelling. When I started developing Katti (Unfriend), she was the obvious choice to collaborate with. As we discussed the idea, we kept discovering striking similarities in our childhood experiences, which only strengthened our connection to the story.
While the film primarily follows one sister’s journey, our focus was always on the sibling relationship. The most exciting part of our collaboration was that we weren’t just co-writers—we were also, in a way, mirroring the sisters in our story. I am the younger sibling in my family, while Akshita is the older one in hers. This dynamic helped us craft our characters without bias, making their emotions and conflicts feel more honest and nuanced.
We also made sure to challenge each other constantly. The writing process spanned over a year, during which we questioned every choice in the story over and over again. Our collaboration was so smooth that if one of us didn’t like an idea, we would sit, discuss, and sometimes argue for hours—sometimes even days—until something beautiful emerged. We weren’t afraid to discard ideas and, at times, even return to older ones with a fresh perspective. Through this rigorous process, we ended up with enough material to explore this theme as a feature film.
There were so many moments when we’d reflect on the same experience but from completely different perspectives. Listening to her insights made me understand my elder sister and mother in ways I hadn’t before, and I believe it did the same for her in relation to her younger sister. At times, I felt too close to the story, and Akshita’s perspective helped expand my view, opening up the world of the film beyond my own lens.
Ultimately, our shared yet distinct experiences allowed us to craft a story that feels deeply personal yet universally relatable—one that, in many ways, belongs to every sibling who has ever felt both rivalry and love within a family.
You were the youngest sister in your own family. How does that shape the way you think of Bittoo as the protagonist in this film?
Being the youngest sister in my family shaped a lot of Bittoo’s character arc. As a child, I was always trying to find my place—trying to fit into the family. I wasn’t the first child, and I wasn’t the first son, and I was always aware of that. That awareness shaped the way I saw myself and the world around me.
One of the biggest things I wanted to capture with Bittoo was how children absorb the conversations happening around them. They’re constantly observing, processing, and making silent decisions about where they fit into the social web of their family and society. Bittoo had to be someone who watches everything, trying to make sense of it as she experiences it.
A key element we carried over from my childhood was Bittoo’s desire to be a boy. I don’t know exactly where that feeling came from, but I had a deep longing to be like my father—to be heard the way boys were. I had a boy-cut hairstyle, wore men’s clothes, and believed that somehow, being a boy would give me a voice. That became an integral part of Bittoo’s character.
At the same time, we had to step away from my personal experiences at times to avoid subconscious biases. That’s where my co-writer’s perspective became crucial. Since Bittoo is a middle child, we had to understand that specific psyche—what it feels like to be neither the oldest nor the youngest, to be caught between roles. Akshita’s perspective as an older sister helped us balance the character, ensuring Bittoo’s journey felt authentic beyond just my own lived experience.
Tell me about the casting of Bittoo and Mitthoo, and what it was like working with them.
Finding South Asian child actors in Los Angeles, especially ones who could speak Hindi with the right accent, was incredibly challenging. Everyone warned us about this, but I had previously worked with a family in the Bay Area whose children spoke Hindi fluently, just like in North India. That’s how we found Siyona Ailiani for Bittoo. Even while writing, I often imagined her in the role.
Siyona had long hair at the time, but I was adamant that Bittoo needed a boy-cut. She was on board from the start. Honestly, she’s the most intelligent 8-year-old I’ve met—she read the script, understood the story, asked the right questions, and grasped every character’s predicament. After multiple auditions, I finally met her for an hour, just talking about life, family, dreams, and fears. In that moment, I knew she was Bittoo. And she truly brought the character to life.
Casting Mitthoo was even tougher since accents become more pronounced by age twelve. But Ashi Sharma’s determination stood out. She took Hindi classes on her own and worked with a dialect coach, Akshay Anand Kohli, whose expertise made all the difference. On set, everything fell into place. Ashi is a fantastic actor, and I needed someone who could bring a wide emotional range to play the elder sister—she did complete justice to the role.
Siyona and Ashi bonded beautifully, and their sibling chemistry translated effortlessly on screen. Huge credit also goes to their parents for supporting them throughout the process.
The behind the scenes video you posted looks incredible! From your campaign and from your prior answers, it's clear that authenticity is of utmost importance to you — tell me more about what it was like to pull off in execution. Was there anything you felt like you had to compromise on?
Thank you so much! Yes, authenticity was at the core of every decision we made. We never wanted to use "student film" as an excuse to compromise on quality. More than that, I felt a deep responsibility to represent the South Asian community accurately, even while shooting in Los Angeles. Since the story is set in India, it was crucial that nothing looked out of place.
Finding the right location was one of our biggest challenges. We needed a space that could pass as India without feeling forced. After extensive scouting, we found a house inspired by Moroccan and vintage Spanish interiors, which had just the right elements to work with. Every detail mattered—the walls, the doors, the textures—because Indian homes have a distinct look.
Color was another major focus. I firmly believe that different cultures have unique ways of combining colors, and getting that right was essential for authenticity. I was meticulous about the color palette of each shot, sometimes obsessing over specific shades. To further enhance the realism, we sourced most of our set dressing—curtains, bedsheets, blankets, mattress covers, sofa covers, and props—directly from India, along with the majority of our costumes.
Of course, there were things we had to compromise on. We couldn’t replicate everything, like having bamboo trees in the background or replacing certain electrical switchboards. But overall, we did everything possible to make sure the world we created felt real and immersive.
Do you have a favorite story from production?
We had so many memorable moments on set, but my favorite was when all the actors—about twenty of them—sat together in a circle and prayed for the film to go well. It was such a divine moment. The entire crew fell silent, completely immersed in the energy of the prayers. There was this unspoken connection in the room, a shared sense of purpose and gratitude. It was the most beautiful experience, and in that moment, we all felt truly blessed.
Finally, how do you feel now, after wrapping production? I know there's still a lot ahead for you with post and festival circuit. But have you been able to take a moment to appreciate what you've accomplished?
Honestly, I haven’t had that moment to pause and fully take it all in yet. I was so eager to start editing that we jumped right into it. We already have a couple of cuts ready and are refining them daily. I think once we picture lock, it will all hit me—the realization of what we’ve accomplished.
That said, with each passing day, as I watch the cut and go through the dailies, I feel an overwhelming sense of gratitude. Seeing the work come together reminds me of the incredible people who poured their hearts into this film. This journey has been intense, but knowing that we’ve captured something special makes every challenge worth it.
Congratulations, Kanishka — I cannot wait to see the finished film!
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