Jyothi Reddy K

Jyothi Reddy K made some serious waves with "Dear Uma" (2025), a film that really doesn’t play by the rules. The story orbits around Uma, who’s absolutely sick of living for everyone else—her parents, her job, even her supposed “best” friends. She’s at that point where every little thing feels like a performance, and honestly, who hasn’t been there? Instead of keeping her head down, Uma does something wild—she ghosts her old life. Just ups and leaves, no dramatic goodbye, no Instagram post, just slips out the back door and lands in a tiny coastal town where no one cares who she was before. There, she meets this group of total misfits—people who’ve also hit the eject button on their lives. They’re messy, weird, and genuinely themselves, and being around them is like a breath of fresh air after years of holding her breath. Uma starts finding joy in the tiniest things: morning walks by the ocean, late-night chai, and awkward but honest conversations. But, of course, the past doesn’t stay buried. As she tries to figure out who she actually wants to be, the world she left behind comes crashing in, with all its expectations and guilt trips. The film is raw, sometimes painfully so, but it’s never preachy. There are moments where you’ll laugh at Uma’s awkwardness, and others where you’ll just want to wrap her up in a hug. One thing’s for sure: "Dear Uma" doesn’t just ask who you are—it wonders who you could become if you actually stopped pretending.