Basanti Tailors (Ajay Govind) India |

Basanti Tailors
Ajay Govind
India. 2025. 19 min

In the small Himalayan village of Halduwala, near Dehradun, Basanti (59) runs a tailoring shop with her young granddaughter, Ginny (9). When Anupama (39), a newcomer to the village, requests Basanti to repurpose old clothes into cushion covers, bedsheets, and bags, Ginny becomes attached to a t-shirt designated for recycling. As Basanti teaches Ginny about the importance of honoring commitments and recycling, she discovers that the t-shirt belongs to Anupama’s son and is his favorite. Struggling to balance her love for her granddaughter with her promise to Anupama, Basanti must find a way to resolve the situation that respects both her familial bond and her commitment to sustainability.

AJAY GOVIND

Ajay Govind is an award-winning writer-director with over 19 years of experience. He studied English literature at St. Stephen’s College and established his communications agency words rhythms images in 2008. He has directed over 100 commissioned videos for social sector organizations, directed 2 feature films, 4 short films and 5 music videos.

His last directorial film was the feature film Madappally United. After a successful run at many Indian and international festivals, this Malayalam children’s film continues to be screened at various educational institutions. His work in the social sector has hugely informed his fiction work where he tries to weave thought-provoking social messages into the narrative. In Basanti Tailors, he presents his take on recycling and circularity through the story of a tailor and her granddaughter.