The new Anup Singh film, titled Lasya: The Gentle Dance, is a Mumbai-set drama from the acclaimed director of Qissa and The Song of Scorpions, confirmed via an exclusive industry report. It marks his first project shot in India’s commercial film capital after two decades of working largely outside the mainstream Hindi film system.
Key Takeaways
- Anup Singh, director of Qissa and The Song of Scorpions, has set his next feature, Lasya: The Gentle Dance, in Mumbai.
- This Anup Singh film reportedly draws its title from “lasya,” the graceful, feminine style of classical Indian dance.
- Singh’s earlier films premiered at major festivals like Toronto and Locarno, and starred Irrfan Khan in lead roles.
- Full casting, budget and release timeline for the project have not been officially announced yet.
Who Is Anup Singh, And Why Does This Anup Singh Film Matter?
If you follow arthouse Indian cinema even a little, Anup Singh’s name probably rings a bell. He isn’t a multiplex regular, and that’s kind of the point. Singh built his reputation on slow, textured, deeply personal films that treat silence as seriously as dialogue.
His 2013 drama Qissa, starring Irrfan Khan, Tisca Chopra, Tillotama Shome and Rasika Dugal, told a haunting Partition-era story about gender, grief and inheritance in a Sikh family. It premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival and picked up festival attention across Europe. Four years later came The Song of Scorpions, again with Irrfan Khan, this time opposite Iranian-French actor Golshifteh Farahani, set in the deserts of Rajasthan and built around a healer whose songs can cure scorpion stings.
Both films share a signature: rural India, folklore, and a camera that lingers instead of rushes. That’s exactly why this new Anup Singh film feels like a genuine shift. Mumbai is loud, fast and layered in a completely different way than the Punjab villages or Thar desert of his earlier work.
What Do We Know About Lasya: The Gentle Dance So Far?
Details are still trickling in, and Singh’s team hasn’t thrown open a full press conference yet, so treat specifics as developing. What’s been reported is that Lasya: The Gentle Dance is being developed as a Mumbai-based feature, with the filmmaker returning to actively shoot in India after years split between the subcontinent and Europe, where he has lived and taught film.
Cast names, a production banner and a shooting schedule haven’t been locked down publicly. Given Singh’s track record, though, expect a story that leans on character over spectacle, and quite possibly another performance-driven ensemble rather than a star-vehicle setup. His earlier work is well documented on Qissa’s dedicated entry, which is worth a look if you want the full arc of how he builds a story from folk material.
One thing worth noting: this is being described as an exclusive reveal, which usually means the film is at an early development or pre-production stage rather than something ready to roll cameras next month. Financing, casting and a firm release window typically follow such announcements by several months, sometimes longer for festival-oriented filmmakers like Singh.
How Does Lasya Compare To Anup Singh’s Earlier Work?
| Film | Year | Setting | Lead Cast | Notable Premiere |
| Qissa | 2013 | Punjab, Partition-era | Irrfan Khan, Tisca Chopra, Tillotama Shome | Toronto International Film Festival |
| The Song of Scorpions | 2017 (festival) / 2021 (India release) | Rajasthan desert | Irrfan Khan, Golshifteh Farahani | Locarno Film Festival |
| Lasya: The Gentle Dance | In development | Mumbai | Not yet announced | Not yet announced |
Laid out like that, the pattern is obvious. Every prior Anup Singh film picked a specific regional world and burrowed deep into it. Mumbai, as a setting, is almost the opposite instinct — a city that resists being reduced to one texture because it’s ten cities stitched together depending on which neighbourhood you’re standing in.
Why Is Anup Singh Filming In Mumbai This Time?
We don’t have Singh’s own words on this yet, but the shift tracks with something bigger happening in Indian arthouse cinema right now. Directors who spent the 2010s chasing festival circuits with rural, folklore-heavy stories are increasingly turning the camera on urban India — its performing arts scene, its old chawls, its dance and theatre subcultures that rarely make it to screen with any nuance.
Mumbai’s classical dance and theatre community, in particular, has been an underexplored well for Hindi cinema. Most Bollywood depictions of dance stop at item numbers or reality-show montages. A filmmaker like Singh, who spent The Song of Scorpions treating folk healing traditions with real anthropological care, is exactly the kind of director who could do justice to that world instead of flattening it.
What Does “Lasya” Actually Mean?
Here’s the bit that got me genuinely curious. In Indian classical dance theory, “lasya” is the soft, graceful, feminine mode of movement, traditionally paired against “tandava,” the vigorous, masculine, cosmic-destruction style associated with Shiva. Mythology credits Parvati with teaching lasya to balance out Shiva’s tandava — grace answering fury, essentially.
You’ll spot lasya-rooted choreography inside Bharatanatyam, Odissi and Kathak, usually in the softer, lyrical passages of a performance rather than the percussive, high-energy ones. Naming a Mumbai film after that concept suggests Singh isn’t just picking a pretty word — he’s likely building a story around a dancer, a dance form, or at minimum using the idea of gentleness as a thematic counterweight to the city’s chaos. That’s a reading, not a confirmed plot point, but it fits how deliberately Singh has titled his films before.
FAQ
Who is directing Lasya: The Gentle Dance?
Anup Singh, the filmmaker known for Qissa (2013) and The Song of Scorpions (2017), is directing this new Anup Singh film.
What is Lasya: The Gentle Dance about?
Full plot details haven’t been officially released. It’s described as a Mumbai-set feature, and the title references “lasya,” the graceful style of classical Indian dance.
Who is in the cast of Lasya: The Gentle Dance?
No cast has been confirmed publicly yet. Anup Singh has previously worked with Irrfan Khan across two films, though there’s no confirmation he’s attached to this one.
When will Lasya: The Gentle Dance release?
No release date has been announced. Given the project is at an early development stage, a theatrical or festival release is unlikely before late 2026 or 2027.
What other films has Anup Singh directed?
His known works include Ekti Nadir Naam (2002), Qissa (2013) and The Song of Scorpions (2017), all recognised on the international festival circuit.
Conclusion
For now, this Anup Singh film is more promise than product — a title, a city, and a director whose track record makes the wait worth it. Expect more concrete details on casting and timeline as pre-production moves along.