Indian lyricist-screenwriter Varun Grover’s directorial debut, a short film titled KISS, is set to premiere on MUBI on June 1, the streaming platform announced on Sunday.

“‘Koi cuts-vuts toh nahin hongey ismein? (This won’t have any cuts, will it?)’ Wind up the clock. @varungrover's star-studded directorial debut, KISS premieres June 1,” MUBI India wrote alongside a teaser of the film on X.

Produced by Arya Menon and Shubham Karna, the short film was earlier screened at the New York Indian Film Festival and the Beijing Queer Film Festival in 2022.

The cast of KISS includes Adarsh Gourav, Swanand Kirkire, Shubhrajyoti Barat, Chetan Sharma and Ashwath Bhatt.

According to MUBI, the film revolves around a young filmmaker who gets in trouble with the censors over a scene in his new film.

Grover’s first full-length feature film All India Rank theatrically released in theatres last year and is currently streaming on Netflix India. The film stars Bodhisattva Sharma in a lead role alongside Shashi Bhushan, Samta Sudiksha, Geeta Agarwal and Sheeba Chaddha.

Grover has worked as a lyricist on the Gangs of Wasseypur series and films like Ankhon Dekhi (2013), Dum Laga Ke Haisha (2015), Masaan (2015), Udta Punjab (2016), and Badhaai Do (2022). He won the National Award for Best Lyricist for the song Moh Moh Ke Dhaage from Dum Laga Ke Haisha.

He also wrote Neeraj Ghaywan’s directorial debut Masaan, which was screened in the Un Certain Regard section at the 2015 Cannes Film Festival, and served as a writer on the hit Netflix series Sacred Games.

Grover, 45, is also a stand-up comedian, actor and poet.