Internationally recognised art and literary critic, writer and cultural producer. Published in ELLE, Glamour, Esquire and Cosmopolitan; member of the Union of Writers.
Some filmmakers are interested in what happens in the physical world. SaiKiran Sunkoju is fascinated by what happens within the people who inhabit it. For the Indian director, writer, lyricist and founder of the independent label Bee’s Theory, cinema does not begin with an external event; it begins in the quiet, fragile spaces of human consciousness – the silence after a confession, the unresolved tension behind affection, and the invisible experiences that shape how a person perceives themselves.
Sunkoju’s 31-minute psychological drama ASMI (meaning I Am) has drawn international acclaim, earning Best First Time Director at the Madonie Film Festival / Sicilian Film Awards in Palermo and an official distinction at the WSXA International Film Awards in Barcelona. On 28 November 2026, Sunkoju will attend the ARFF & WSXA Berlin annual awards red-carpet presentation at Babylon Kino to receive on-stage recognition for the work. Parallel to cinema, Sunkoju explores cross-border musical landscapes, recently releasing the single Let Me Sin (Dimelo) in collaboration with New York vocalist Jaime Deraz and music director Shashank Bhaskaruni.
Filmmaker and composer SaiKiran Sunkoju. Photo courtesy of the artist
In this in-depth Artist Showcase for Creativity’s UK, SaiKiran Sunkoju reflects on visual restraint, the rhythm connecting lyric-writing to the edit suite, and why independent cinema must dare to leave questions unanswered.
1. The central psychological question of ASMI
Creativity’s UK: What was the central psychological or narrative question that prompted you to write and direct ASMI?
SaiKiran Sunkoju: I have always been fascinated by the deeper architecture of human thought – the intensity behind an emotion, the intention concealed within an interpretation and the soul behind an idea. The conception of ASMI began with a question: What if time does not simply pass through us, but leaves entire versions of ourselves living somewhere within our consciousness?
We often think of the past as something we have outgrown, something that belongs to another chapter of our existence. But what if those chapters never truly close? What if the person we once were, the person we fought so hard to become, and the person we have yet to understand are not as distant from one another as we imagine? I was drawn to the possibility of an inner world where memory, ambition and innocence begin to occupy the same fragile space, challenging the boundaries between who we were, who we are and who we believe ourselves to be.
What fascinated me was the possibility that the different selves we carry are fragments of one human existence. The child who once marvelled at the world, the young soul that wanted to conquer it through art, and the individual left to confront everything that life has shaped within them. Beneath these layers lies a deeper question: how much of who we become is shaped by what we once were, and how much of ourselves do we leave behind along the way? With ASMI, I wanted to explore this fractured relationship between memory, identity and consciousness through visual language, allowing the audience to discover the truth rather than simply be told. Where thought fractures, identity bleeds.
2. Visual restraint and moral ambiguity
Creativity’s UK: ASMI explores inner conflict and moral ambiguity. How did you work with visual restraint and pacing to convey this on screen?
SaiKiran Sunkoju: I believe the deepest conflicts in human beings are rarely expressed through what they say; they often reveal themselves through what they withhold, avoid confronting, and leave unspoken. In ASMI, visual restraint was a conscious storytelling choice. I wanted the frame, the use of space, the rhythm of a moment and the silence between words to communicate what dialogue alone could not. Rather than explaining a character’s inner world, I wanted the audience to experience its uncertainty.
Official trailer for ASMI, written and directed by SaiKiran Sunkoju.
For me, pacing is not merely the speed at which a story unfolds; it is the time an emotion needs to reveal its truth. I approached moral ambiguity by resisting easy explanations or predetermined judgments. The intention was to let viewers look beyond a character’s actions and question the thoughts, perceptions and circumstances shaping them. Sometimes, cinema becomes most powerful not when it gives us answers, but when it changes the questions we ask.
3. The rhythm of songwriting and the visual cut
Creativity’s UK: In Dimelo (Let Me Sin), you collaborated across borders with Jaime Deraz. How does composing and lyric-writing inform your visual rhythm as a filmmaker?
SaiKiran Sunkoju: I see music and cinema as two expressions of the same instinct: storytelling. Lyric-writing has taught me to recognise the emotional weight of words, the rhythm beneath a thought and the imagery hidden within an emotion. This sensibility naturally finds its way into my filmmaking. I often perceive a visual sequence much like a musical composition: framing establishes its mood, editing shapes its rhythm, and silence creates the space for an emotion to resonate. For me, visual rhythm is not merely about the movement of images, but about how an audience feels their progression.
Visual composition from ASMI. Photo courtesy of Bee’s Theory
The idea behind Dimelo (Let Me Sin) began with a painting I encountered in Casablanca. I was fascinated by the image of a moth drawn towards a flame, conscious of its fatal embrace, yet captivated by its light. To me, it reflected a peculiar human contradiction: sometimes, we are not unaware of the consequences; we are simply unwilling to surrender the experience. That thought became the soul of the song. I developed the concept and lyrics before approaching music director Shashank Bhaskaruni, whose composition gave the idea its musical identity. New York-based vocalist Jaime Deraz then brought it to life. Released on 6 May 2026, Let Me Sin (Dimelo) is my exploration of the delicate conflict between consciousness and desire.
4. Creative persistence in independent cinema
Creativity’s UK: What is the most critical lesson independent cinema has taught you about creative persistence?
SaiKiran Sunkoju: As a child, I was fascinated by how Michelangelo spent nearly three years transforming a single block of marble into David. The sculpture already existed within the stone; his task was to reveal it. That idea stayed with me – the thought that when the language of stone meets the precision of an artist’s vision, something extraordinary emerges. I grew up believing that meaningful work demands the same unwavering persistence. Filmmaking is a long process, but what keeps me engaged is the thought that one day, the ideas and worlds that exist within my mind will find their way into someone else’s consciousness. To me, that moment is almost divine.
I believe cinema is the seventh art, but I also believe that every form of art is shaped by the perspective of the one experiencing or creating it. As human beings, we can express the world only through the possibilities and limitations of our own perception. A penguin, for instance, would experience the same world in an entirely different way – and perhaps that would be another art in itself. It reminds me that art is far greater than any single interpretation of existence. Perhaps the purpose of making art is not to explain the world, but to leave behind evidence of how differently it can be seen. As a filmmaker, I continue searching for that possibility: a way of seeing that is unmistakably my own.
Discover more of SaiKiran Sunkoju’s creative portfolio across cinema and music via Apple Music and on Instagram.
