Santosh Kalwacherla

Artiste (2025) does its own thing, you know? It doesn’t just hand you a neat, tidy story. Instead, you’re dropped into the world of Santosh Kalwacherla—a guy who breathes art like it’s oxygen and can’t help but see paintings and sculptures everywhere, even in the messiest corners of his life. He’s not your typical tortured genius, but he is absolutely haunted by the idea that maybe, just maybe, his greatest masterpiece is always out of reach. The film follows Santosh as he drifts between dingy studios, late-night gallery openings, and the chaos of his cramped apartment, surrounded by half-finished canvases and weird little sketches taped to the wall. It’s not really about fame or fortune, either. Santosh is chasing something deeper—connection, meaning, a spark that makes all the late nights and lonely mornings worth it. The people around him aren’t just props, either. There’s his best friend who’s brutally honest, a rival artist who pushes all his buttons, and a quietly supportive neighbor who manages to say more in a look than most people do in an hour-long conversation. The city itself feels like a living, breathing character—graffiti, neon lights, rain-slicked streets, and the hum of possibility. Artiste digs into what it actually means to make something beautiful in a world that doesn’t always care. It’s messy, funny, a little raw, and totally unafraid to admit that sometimes inspiration looks a lot like desperation. And honestly, isn’t that what being an artist is all about?