Bhargav Saikia's Sikkim-Set Horror Debut, Bokshi, To Hit Theatres On October 9

Bhargav Saikia's debut feature, Bokshi, is slated to release in Indian theatres on October 9. The film follows Anahita (Prasanna Bisht), a troubled teen who finds solace in Shalini (Mansi Multani), a mysterious history teacher leading a trek to an ancient site called ‘The Navel.’ The school excursion takes an eerie turn as connections emerge between the site and a cult worshipping Bokshi, a feared folkloric demoness. A reckoning of mother Earth at her most primal accelerates the narrative bends, leading to an unforgettably bloody climax. Anahita is drawn into an epic continuum of female fury that drives her transformation. Fuelled by an eco-feminist lens, Bokshi dares and takes its time building a canvas of mythic proportions. Harsh Vaibhav wrote the script.

Shot over eighty days in the dense forests of Sikkim, Bokshi had its world premiere at the prestigious International Film Festival Rotterdam (IFFR) 2025 in the Harbour section. It went on to acclaimed genre film festivals including Sitges and Neuchâtel. It also screened at the Sikkim International Film Festival in March this year.

For Bokshi, Saikia and Vaibhav travelled extensively across Sikkim, living with locals, learning about the region’s belief systems and local shamanic practices. Alongside Hindi, English and Nepali, the film introduces Boksirit—a fictional language spun by Dutch linguist Jan van Steenbergen. The project was developed over five years by Saikia’s Mumbai-based Lorien Motion Pictures. The memories of a school trip Saikia had taken to Arunachal Pradesh's Dirang Valley sparked the film. Bokshi is completely self-financed by the filmmaker.

Siddharth Sivasankaran and A. Vasanth handled cinematography, with music by Advait Nemlekar and editing by Himanshu Chutia Saikia.

Saikia's short film, Black Cat (2017), a fantastical adaptation of Ruskin Bond’s story, earned Critics’ Choice Short Film Award nominations for Best Fiction Film and Best Director.