Highlights:
- Sayani Gupta stars as the lead in Arya, her first American feature film.
- Ross Butler and Marc Evan Jackson have joined the film in key roles.
- Gupta also serves as an executive producer alongside Butler.
- Arya is written and directed by Neil Tuli in his feature directorial debut.
- Gupta’s short film Aasmani is gaining attention on the international festival circuit.
Sayani Gupta is entering a new phase of her career with Arya, her American feature film debut, which has expanded its cast with the addition of actors Ross Butler and Marc Evan Jackson.
The casting announcement comes just weeks after Gupta marked another important milestone with Aasmani, her directorial debut. The deeply personal short film, which she also wrote and produced, has been selected for 10 film festivals across multiple continents within two months, giving the actor-turned-filmmaker a strong start behind the camera.
For Arya, Gupta takes on the title role, playing a disciplined piano teacher from a prestigious Indian conservatory. The character is reluctantly assigned to travel to northern Minnesota, where she is expected to help revive a struggling school band program. While the assignment could offer a boost to her professional ambitions back home, her new surroundings quickly create complications.
As Arya navigates the challenges of her unfamiliar environment, she is also forced to confront personal insecurities and unexpected situations that test her carefully controlled approach to life and work.
The role continues Gupta’s long-standing interest in complex, culturally specific characters. However, Arya represents a significant new challenge, placing her at the center of an American independent feature and giving her the opportunity to lead a story within a different filmmaking landscape.
Butler, known for his work in Riverdale and 13 Reasons Why, and Jackson, recognized for projects including Brooklyn Nine-Nine, join an ensemble cast that also features Arjun Gupta, Adi Roy, Kyra Leroux and Iqbal Theba.
Gupta’s involvement extends beyond acting. She is also an executive producer on Arya, working in that capacity alongside Butler. The project is written and directed by Neil Tuli, who makes his feature directorial debut with the film.
The timing makes the project particularly notable. As Arya introduces Gupta to American feature filmmaking, Aasmani is beginning its own international journey. The short has been screened or selected across locations ranging from Washington, D.C., to Tokyo and Kerala, reflecting the growing reach of Gupta’s work beyond the Indian entertainment industry.
With more than a decade of work establishing herself as a versatile performer, particularly through Indian OTT projects, Gupta is now broadening her creative identity. In the same year, she is stepping forward as an American feature lead, executive producer and filmmaker.
Together, Arya and Aasmani signal an ambitious new chapter for Gupta, one that sees her moving between acting, directing and producing while building a wider presence across Indian and American cinema.
