White Snow (2025 film)

White Snow
Directed byPraveen Morchhale
Written byPraveen Morchhale
Produced byBarefoot Pictures, India
StarringMadhu Khandari
Bhavya Khurana
Kaneez Fatima
Khacho Ahmad Khan
CinematographyMohammad Reza Jahanpanah
Edited byAnthony Joseph
Music byNalin Vinayak
Release date
  • 9 December 2025 (2025-12-09)
Running time
81 minutes
CountryIndia
LanguageUrdu

White Snow' is an Indian drama film directed and written Praveen Morchhale. The film is an Urdu-language independent drama film starring Madhu Khandari and Bhavya Khurana in lead roles. The film is an Indo-French co-production by Barefoot Pictures, India, and Woooz Pictures, France. This is Praveen Morchhale's fifth feature film, and is based on a real life incident[1].

This film premiered in 2025 at the 49th São Paulo International Film Festival (Brazil). It has also received nominations [2] at the 56th International Film Festival of India (Goa) in its IFFI ICFT UNESCO Gandhi Medal competition; the Jogja-NETPAC Asian Film Festival, Indonesia, and the Kolkata International Film Festival (Indian Competition).

Plot

“White Snow” centers on Fatima, whose filmmaker son Amir sees his work banned after its first community screening following complaints from religious authorities. The film’s transgression: depicting post-partum blood after childbirth. When Amir is arrested on charges of attempting to create social unrest, Fatima embarks on a perilous journey with an old cathode-ray tube television and DVD player loaded onto a yak, determined to screen the film in remote villages.

Cast

  • Madhu Khandari as Fatima
  • Bhavya Khurana as Ameer
  • Khacho Ahmad Khan as the priest

Critical response

Widow of Silence has received positive reviews from critics and audiences alike.

Variety (magazine) wrote that “White Snow,” is filmmaker Praveen Morchhale's “artistic revolt” against political systems that repress artists[3].

Elizabeth Kerr wrote on Screen International that "White Snow" is a "Deceptively powerful Kashmiri drama celebrates freedom of expression". She also noted that it has "Just the right balance of resignation and rage"[4].

The Asian Movie Pulse noted that while Praveen Morchhale has always been political in his works, with "White Snow", he takes a step further, directly commenting on the lack of freedom and the restrictions artists face today, in a pointed accusation that also unfolds as a road movie[5].

Film critic Dipankar Sarkar at UpperStall.com wrote that "Praveen Morchhale’s White Snow shows how art strains against invisible boundaries of authority, and offers an understated yet piercing critique of the personal costs of freedom of expression"[6].

References

  1. ^ Kerr, Elizabeth (26 November 2025). "'White Snow' review: Deceptively powerful Kashmiri drama celebrates freedom of expression". ScreenDaily.com. Retrieved 9 January 2026.
  2. ^ Ramachandran, Naman (30 November 2025). "Praveen Morchhale on 'White Snow,' Kashmir and Film Censorship: 'Cinema Today Lives Under the Shadow of Fear of Disappearance'". Variety. Retrieved 9 January 2026.
  3. ^ Ramachandran, Naman (14 March 2023). "White Snow". Variety. Retrieved 9 January 2026.
  4. ^ Kerr, Elizabeth (26 November 2025). "'White Snow' review: Deceptively powerful Kashmiri drama celebrates freedom of expression". Screen Daily. Retrieved 9 January 2026.
  5. ^ Kotzathanasis, Panos (16 October 2025). "White Snow (2025) by Praveen Morchhale Film Review". Asian Movie Pulse. Retrieved 9 January 2026.
  6. ^ Sarkar, Dipankar (26 November 2025). "White Snow". UpperStall. Retrieved 9 January 2026.
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