On the day of a temple performance with her mother, a young girl named Lakshmi suddenly experiences hearing loss and, with it, the world she knew, shaped by rhythm and song, goes eerily quiet. Disoriented and gripped by a myriad of fears, she begins to navigate her new reality, held by the steady presence of her mother beside her.
In Sūnna, Radha Mehta renders sound as a living presence—felt in its vibrations, carried in memory, and traced in the silences it leaves behind. With extraordinary sensitivity, the film follows a fragile journey toward reconnection, and offers us a tender meditation on motherly love. Mehta reminds us that with love and devotion by our side, we can always find new ways to listen to one another.
Radha Mehta
Radha Mehta (she/her) is a civil engineer-turned-filmmaker with an MFA from the American Film Institute and an MBA at Kellogg School of Management. A WIF 2025 Directing Fellow, her fellowships include CAPE, Disability Belongs, and HeyDay UnlockHer Potential. Drawing from her lived experience as a first-generation Indian American mother, Radha’s work explores motherhood, women’s empowerment, family legacy, and the dismantling of cultural taboos around mental health and disability. Her films include Witness (98th Academy Awards Longlist), Dosh (Slamdance Spirit Award; Cannes Lions), Sūnna (CAPE Julia Gouw Grant), Winds of Silence, Standing With Moms, Evan Ever After, and Being Gina.
