Hansal Mehta’s ‘Birds In The Dark’ Poster Packs A Lot Into One Striking Image

A new poster for ‘Birds In The Dark’ offers a striking look at the world of the upcoming rural Punjab-set drama. The image brings together barbed wire, farm labour, human struggle and a distant horizon, reflecting the themes at the heart of Shashank Walia’s film.

The film will have its World Premiere at the 31st Busan International Film Festival. It has been selected for the Vision section of the festival, one of Asia’s major film events. The makers shared the poster ahead of the premiere, along with a message about love, hope and finding a new path.

Sharing the poster, they wrote, “Under the night sky, guided by the stars, our birds search for new ways to love. To a new horizon.”

The poster uses a muted, weathered olive-grey background to create a stark setting. A strand of barbed wire cuts through the image and works as both a path and an obstacle.

Small black silhouettes appear along the wire. One shows a man restraining another as he tries to move forward. The visual then leads to a farm labourer carrying a large bundle of fodder with a sickle in hand.

Further along, a woman and a goat stand together while looking towards the horizon. These separate images connect the film’s characters and their struggles within a single composition.

The poster also uses three languages. The Punjabi title appears in Gurmukhi, followed by the English and Urdu titles. Its loose, handwritten style gives the typography a personal and delicate feel.

The artwork was designed by Siva Chand M S, while Sudarshan Devadoss handled the typography.

Set in rural Punjab, the film follows a disillusioned police informer and a man he once wrongly captured. Their paths cross again in a village divided by caste.

At the same time, a landless woman fights for human rights and communal land for marginalised people. Her struggle challenges the existing social order and draws the characters into a wider conflict involving desire and solidarity.

The story explores caste, class, gender, land and labour. It also looks at how people find connection and resistance within difficult circumstances.

‘Birds In The Dark’, also titled ‘Hanere De Panchhi’ in Punjabi, stars Mauli Singh, Sapna Das, Harwinder Singh Aujila, Navdeep Bajwa and Shahnawaz Bhat.

Shashank Walia has written, directed and cinematographed the film. Reema Kaur produces it for Two Black Squares, while Hansal Mehta and Sahil Saigal produce it for True Story Films.