Songs of Forgotten Trees

Thooya wants to make it as an actress and has therefore left her village home to try her luck in Mumbai. She earns a living as a part-time sex worker operating undercover. She lives in a flat belonging to one of her sugar daddies. She has sublet a room to Swetha, who works in a call centre and has herself moved from the village to the city in search of better opportunities. Out of their partnership of convenience, a delicate bond emerges – quite unexpectedly. Their lives, seemingly worlds apart, gradually intertwine. Amidst the clamour of the big city, they share moments of silence, little stories and gestures of empathy. But when hidden longings and old wounds come to the surface, their fragile bonds are put to the test. Yet – and this is the film’s particular greatness – what unfolds is not drama, but rather an empowerment, a strengthening of self-confidence, resilience and a bond between women who must survive in a world that does not acknowledge them.