Hello friends, fam, fans, frenemies, I’m making a comedy short film!

Poster design by Spencer Hall

The team!

Writer, Meghana Indurti

A comedy writer and satirist for The New Yorker, McSweeney’s, Reductress, and a headline contributor for The Onion. As a stand-up comedian, she started and rose up the ranks of Chicago, being named one of Chicago Reader’s People to Know in 2016, selected as a StandUp NBC Semi-Finalist in 2017, and featured in the NBC Breakout Comedy Festival in 2019. She’s currently adapting an Argentinian feature film script for South Asian audiences led by director Shyam Madiraju, and writing a collection of autobiographical humor essays for The Massie & McQuilkin Literary Agency.

Director, Karan Sunil

A writer and director based in LA. His heist comedy feature, The Family Jewels, is being produced by Invention Studios and he is also currently writing a comedy feature for Ryan Coogler’s Proximity Media. In television, Karan has developed a comedy pilot for Hulu and Lionsgate TV based on his hit web series Code-Switched which he wrote and directed. He has also developed a dark comedy pilot for Sony Pictures Television. Karan was a 2020 Film Independent Project Involve Writing Fellow and has previously written humor for The New Yorker and McSweeney’s.

Producer, Aishwarya Sonar

A producer, a UCLA film graduate, Sonar has worked with Priyanka Chopra’s Purple Pebble Pictures on two features. She has produced 15+ shorts, which have played at festivals worldwide and are available to stream on Disney+/Hotstar. Features co-produced by Sonar, Chitrakut and normal, are now available on Jio and Tubi respectively. 

Her short, Happy Rakhi, with CAPE and Janet Yang's prod-co premiered at the Palm Springs ShortFest. Sonar was selected at Film London’s Production Finance Market and Film Bazaar’s Co-Production Market in 2022 with feature, Still Here.

Director of Photography, Anumeha Sinha

Artist, cinematographer exploring subcultures around the world, and multilingual, location-specific stories that celebrate BIPOC communities.
Magical realism and chiaroscuro guide her visual palette.

She has produced work for HBO, Hulu, Ad Council, Pinterest, Lizzo, as well as indie designers, brands, and artists.

Production Design: Amanda Saltz | Principal Character Design: Jordan Stafford

Script Supervisor: Elena Viklova | Wardrobe: Jasmine Patel | Hair & Make-up: Itzel Berg

Editor: Zoe Kraft | Unit Production Manager: Sofia Terpou |

The cast!

Sureni Weerasekera, as Sonam

A Sri Lankan-born, San Diego-raised, & New York-based stand-up comedian, actor, and writer. She is known for her lighthearted, conversational banter to her ruthless, dark jabs. She recntly released a special on Don’t Tell Comedy and was selected as one of Netflix’s Introducing series for new talent. She has worked with Amazon Prime, META, and HBO. She just finished a sold-out national stand-up tour, Hot & Funny alongside Sydney Stigerts, geared towards queer audiences. She’s a regular stand-up in the college circuit with KP Comedy. She runs a monthly show called Earth Tones at Union Hall in Brooklyn, featuring QTBIPIOC comics.

Tara Raani, as Dar

A queer writer, model, and actor based in New York City. She is best known for her role as Zaara Ali on the television sitcom, Grown-ish. Tara's background is in sketch comedy and improv. She got her start in school theater and went on to executive produce and anchor the Wellesley College satire news show "The Boobtube."

As a runway model, she has walked for Burberry, Gucci, Balmain, Coperni, and more. Vogue named Tara one of the Spring 2024 season's breakout models to watch. Tara has been featured in Vogue, Vogue Italia, Teen Vogue, Harper's Bazaar, and Paper Mag.

Sahana Srinivasan, as Trisha

An actress, comedian, and filmmaker from Texas. Sahana hosted the Netflix original science show Brainchild, for which she was featured in Forbes, NowThis, Variety, NPR, Teen Vogue, and The Rachael Ray show.
She has hosted for comedians Emo Phillips and Ego Nwodim, and she was a finalist in the Funniest Person in Austin Contest. She was recently selected on CBS’s “Showcase,” an annual variety comedy show spotlighting up-and-coming performers and as a Just for Laughs New Face in 2023. She can be seen in HBO’s Insecure, Freeform’s Grown-ish, and as one of the leads on Amazon Freevee’s The Pradeeps of Pittsburgh.

What is it about!

The short answer: A story exploring sibling beef.

The long answer: This is about three sisters. Along with their mother, they used to run a family-run fire station in their small town as kids. 

The oldest, and the middle child, Dar and Trisha, left to pursue their own dreams. The youngest, Sonam, stays behind to take care of the station with her mom. On the one-year anniversary of their mother’s untimely death, Dar and Trisha return to sort out the will. Sonam couldn’t be more excited to have the company of her sisters again, though they don’t quite feel the same. The siblings’ relationship is strained, fraught with childhood beefs. 

When a fire traps them inside the station, their resentments come spilling out. And after all this time, they must rely on each other to break free.

 

HOW YOU CAN SUPPORT 🥺❤️

Donation option 1: Venmo @meghana-indurti with description “mango”

Donation option 2: Get a tax write-off and donate through Film Independent

 

Anything you donate will go 100% towards paying the actors and creators of the short, building the sets, producing the animation (that’s right, there’s an animated segment), photography, food, lodging, marketing, and distribution.

$20: A social media shout-out!

$50: A special thanks in the film’s credits. 

$70: A link to stream the film before release, and everything above.

$100: A custom poster with signatures from everyone involved, and everything above.

$200: MCP merch (T-shirt or matchbox) designed by Chicago artist Spencer Hall. 

$350: An invite to a Mango Pie exclusive Thank You Dinner with the cast and crew, and everything above. 

$450: A 1:1 with one of the crew of your choosing to ask questions/get feedback on something you’re working on, and everything above. 

$500: A custom stand-up comedy performance for your next company gathering, wedding, birthday party, or event. Plus, everything above. 

$1,000: An associate producer credit for the film. Plus, everything above. 
> $1,000 / Custom: You’ll get to name my first born baby, an invite to the film screening and festival opening, plus everything above.