Bollywood actors Richa Chadha and Ali Fazal have come onboard as producers on Secrets of a Mountain Serpent through their banner Pushing Buttons Studios, as per reports. The feature, helmed by young filmmaker Nidhi Saxena, is set to make its world premiere at the 82nd Venice Film Festival later this year.

Chadha and Fazal, whose Pushing Buttons Studios champions “authentic, emotionally driven storytelling,” have previously backed Girls Will Be Girls, Shuchi Talati’s directorial debut which won two awards at Sundance last year.

“We were immediately drawn to Nidhi’s lyrical vision. This is a story rooted in myth and yet is startlingly relevant today. At PBS, we believe in backing storytellers who take creative risks and Nidhi has crafted something singular, poetic, and soulful,” Chadha and Fazal told Variety.

Secrets of a Mountain Serpent is co-produced by Forest Flower Films, led by Sri Lankan auteur and Cannes Camera d’Or winner Vimukthi Jayasundara. Set in a remote Himalayan town in the 1990s, the film follows Barkha (played by Qissa actress Trimala Adhikari), a schoolteacher leading a solitary life while her husband is stationed at the border. Barkha's world is disrupted by the arrival of Manik Guho (Adil Hussain) in the village.

Saxena, who also wrote the screenplay, reflected on the deeply personal nature of the film. “This film is about women [who] chose to risk everything and follow their desires, shedding the burden of moralities imposed upon them by the world. I was looking for kindred collaborators and this feels like a meeting of minds and hearts. It also feels like we no longer need to borrow men’s voices to tell our stories. We have our own voice, which is strong, with femininity,” she told Variety.

Saxena received the Biennale College Fund grant from Venice for the film. Her previous directorial, Sad Letters of an Imaginary Woman, premiered at the 2024 Busan International Film Festival.