Project timeline: 2026 · video publication year. Published as a retrospective on 23 October 2026.
Akhiyan Nu Rehn De puts a person at the centre of a world that looks unsettled around her. That contrast is what makes the project interesting to me as a director. Tia Bajpai’s styled performance and the damaged surroundings give the camera two very different things to hold together: an intimate presence and a larger sense of chaos.
I want the audience to notice the person before the setting becomes the whole story. A large visual idea only means something to me if it strengthens that connection. In this video, the direction has to give the performance enough clarity that the surroundings become a pressure around her, rather than simply a backdrop to admire.
The day behind the film
A large setting can easily become the main attraction. Damage, movement and an unsettled background all pull the eye. I want the central figure to remain more than an object placed in front of that activity. The viewer needs a human point of connection, something that gives the surrounding disorder an emotional scale.
The contrast between the styled central performance and the environment can support that connection. It invites the audience to read the image in two ways at once: as a striking composition and as a person occupying a difficult world. I want the direction to keep those readings in conversation, rather than let one replace the other.
A music video has to respond to a song, but a response does not always mean making every image move at the same speed. There is value in allowing a face, a gesture or a relationship to remain legible while the environment carries a different kind of energy. The tension between the two can become part of the storytelling.
That is also where collaboration with cinematography matters. The question is not only what a setting looks like, but how the performer is held within it. Distance, framing and the information left at the edges all affect whether the audience feels close to the person or simply impressed by the scene.
I am drawn to the possibility that an ambitious image can remain intimate. The most elaborate visual world still needs a reason for the audience to care about someone inside it. With this project, the idea of love within chaos gives the direction a clear relationship to protect.
The collaboration includes music by Arian Romal and cinematography by Mads Nielsen and George Blunt. I am proud to put my directing contribution alongside theirs. What I want to show through this work is that an ambitious music video can still have a human centre, even when the world around it is deliberately dramatic.
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