BODHINI STUDIOS
Unearthing untold stories
ABOUT BODHINI
Root to rise
We are a global-facing creative and critical storytelling space where truth-telling becomes the bridge to experiencing our shared humanity and global collaborators unearth untold stories and othered perspectives.
An independent creative studio founded by Pallavi Sharda, Bodhini Studios is designed to answer a clear gap in today’s cultural landscape: culturally authentic, emotionally intelligent stories with global reach.
Based between Naarm (Melbourne) & Perth (Boorloo), with creative collaborators across India, the UK, and the US, Bodhini Studios creates works and screen stories that sit at the intersection of art and impact, rising distinctly from our South Asian storytelling histories. We build nuanced, high-quality content that reshapes how diasporic stories are represented on screen. Every project is built to connect across borders, while staying rooted in lived experience and cultural truths.
Bodhini
She who awakens; that which enlightens.
A feminine force or presence that brings about awareness, insight, or inner awakening.
In modern usage: a symbolic or creative space that fosters consciousness, empathy, and cultural truth through storytelling.
“At Bodhini, we don’t just tell stories — we awaken something.”
Etymology: From Sanskrit bodh (“awakening, awareness”) + feminine suffix -inī
[bo-dhɪ-ni]
noun (Sanskrit)
OUR MISSION
To unearth untold stories. To dissolve boundaries and ensure the nuances of identities are heard and seen. To produce emotionally intelligent, politically conscious screen stories that uplift underrepresented voices, challenge dominant narratives, and build cultural bridges between the Global South and the world. We are creative and critical storytelling space where boundaries are dissolved, To give stories that were once marginalised centre stage.
Radical authenticity is the call of our times — and Bodhini Studios answers that call not as a trend, but as a necessity. We're not here for optics. We're not interested in virtue signalling. And we reject the diluted diversity jargon of the last five years. In an age of divided politics and hyper-speed content, Bodhini Studios stands for deep storytelling with purpose. We exist to honour memory, awaken meaning, and create space for stories that shift the centre.
At the studio
Bodhini is not just developing IP. We believe storytelling, done right, can awaken the shared humanity that underpins a sustainable cross-cultural future. Our approach is simple: empathy, authenticity, care, and rigour at every stage of the process — from incubation to co-creation to release.
Our strength lies in combining creative authenticity with market intelligence. Bodhini works with trusted collaborators across Australia, India, the UK, and the US to develop and produce stories that are both culturally specific and commercially viable. We leverage cross-border partnerships, governmental support, and our deep audience insight to shape content that can travel across territories, genres, and languages. Bodhini is uniquely positioned to turn underrepresented perspectives into globally resonant stories.
Our slate includes narrative features, limited series, documentaries, and audio projects. Each project reflects the nuances of migration, identity, and belonging — but with the cinematic ambition to connect to audiences everywhere.
what we do
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Bringing together the most robust voices and storytellers from across the global South Asian diaspora, we seed impact driven, commercially viable IP.
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Our partners are global movers who focus on emotionally intelligent, politically conscious screen stories that uplift underrepresented voices, challenge dominant narratives, and build cultural bridges between the Global South and the world. We are here to support them on their journey though Indian & Australian transnational storytelling.
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As leaders in our field, we see community mentorship & empowerment for creatives as a duty. Our processes allow for the mentoring the next generation of intersectional voices and empowering them to follow a pathway to a creative life
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Pathways towards understanding, new normals & debunking diversity: Sometimes people are scared of ‘getting it wrong’. We don’t want fear to get in the way of building cultural bridges or expressing nuance. Our consultancy services across Industries focus on connecting people, providing granular expertise and advising on best practices within this new, brave ‘diverse’ world.
What sets us apart
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We believe the personal is political — and universal. Our projects often arise from real-world issues, identity journeys, and cross-cultural exploration.
We tell stories with intention — grounded in cultural truth, guided by empathy, and committed to responsible, representative storytelling. We reject shortcuts and stereotypes. Our work honours complexity, embraces nuance, and centres voices with care and cultural respect in order to break through barriers sustainability and through robust dialogue. We collaborate with those whose values we share - building an artistic community for a more conscious and connected future is at its core.
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We thrive in the in-between — championing stories of migration, belonging, hybridity, and heritage. We create narrative work that bridges worlds — from Australia to India, from diaspora voices to global screens, from personal truths to universal impact.
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Founded by a woman of Indian heritage raised in Australia, our storytelling often centres the female gaze, emotional intelligence, and inter-generational perspectives.
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South Asians make up the largest diaspora in the world, and over a million people of Indian origin now call Australia home. At the same time, trade and diplomatic ties between India and Australia are at historic highs. Yet cultural connection remains underdeveloped — the way we reflect, recognise, and relate to each other lags behind politics and economics. That’s where Bodhini comes in. We believe storytelling is the soft power that cements these bonds, with the power to change perception, deepen empathy, and shift the centre of global narratives
OUR FOUNDER
Before Bodhini Studios was a studio, it was a feeling — a knowing — carried by a young girl in suburban Australia who dreamt, quite literally, of dancing around trees in Bollywood. That girl was Pallavi Sharda. While her classmates memorised Shakespeare, she memorised Madhuri. At 16, she got into law school. At 18, she faked a student exchange to India, flushed her “good Indian girl” script down the toilet, and landed in Mumbai with two bags, zero contacts, and 400 rupees.
The rest? It wasn’t luck. It was hustle, heartbreak, headstands, and high heels. Pallavi became the first Indian-Australian actress to headline in Bollywood and the first South Asian woman to lead in both Australian film and television. But the more rooms she entered, the clearer it became: the stories being told were still only part of the truth.
So she built her own room.
Bodhini Studios is that room — a meeting place for bold, culturally rooted storytelling. A space for nuance, truth, play, provocation, and soul. A place to platform South Asian-Australian narratives not as tokens, but as centrepieces. As futures. As fact.
This isn’t a legacy project. This is the beginning.
screen Projects in development
From revolutionary documentaries to genre-pushing series, Bodhini’s slate reflects a mosaic of lived experience. Our stories span the Global South and diaspora, honouring cultural memory while pushing creative boundaries.
Several of our current projects remain under wraps due to their early-stage nature and the sensitive subject matter they explore. Select titles will be revealed soon.
THE STORY OF LISA STHALEKER
(FEATURE FILM )
The unlikely hero’s journey from an orphanage in Pune to wearing the green and gold as part of the Australian World Cup winning cricket team.
FEAR & LOATHING IN KATHMANDU
(FEATURE DOCUMENTARY)
Nepal’s hemp saga brought to life through a stunning visual documentary on the journey from Nixon’s War on Drugs to modern day Nepal via a Moist insurgency.
Bodhini Studios x DreamChaser x Den of Martians x Sparsh Ahuja.
COME HOME NISHA
(8 x 30 SERIES)
THE ADVENTURES OF ARJUN AND JANAKI
Brown Girl Fleabag.
(CHILDREN’S SERIES IN DEVELOPMENT)
A wandering girl and a curious boy discover friendship, play, and the magic of getting a little lost together.
bodhini impact
Bodhini is built on community. We collaborate and strategise with social entrepreneurs, think tanks, sporting heros, healers and historians, who share our vision for a more inclusive, awakened cultural and societal landscape. The work of Pallavi Sharda extends beyond expression through the cinematic arts - she extends her energy and platform to collaborate in a hyphenated manner to enable her cultural prowess and social justice acumen to impact as widely as possible.. From South Asia to the world, these are some of the brilliant minds, missions and co-collaborators in our orbit:
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Founded by ISA GUHA - former English cricketer and current sports broadcaster, Take Her Lead is a charity founded to the promote equality and diversity in Cricket, healthy recreation and leisure for the public benefit by working to eliminate discrimination on the grounds of sex or gender.
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Centre for India Australia Relations (CAIR) - A diplomatic and cultural bridge-builder fostering deeper understanding and connection between Australia and India - Bodhini Studios is a recipient of a 2025 Maitri Grant from CAIR.
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Founded by KC Misra in Odissa India, eKutir is a for-profit social enterprise group (certified B-corp) that provides economically sustainable solutions for smallholder farmers.
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Dharma Life advances women’s economic power, agency and leadership to drive inclusive growth and positive climate action. A mission-driven organisation using innovation and grassroots action to empower rural India.