Guwahati, May 25 — Filmmaker Khanjan Kishore Nath is directing Love You Messi, a Karbi-language feature from Rura Rura Entertainment that has secured international backing after co-production meetings at the Indian Pavilion during the Cannes Film Market. UK-based, Hong Kong-born creative Hiu Man Chan has joined as executive producer and will handle sales, festival strategy, distribution and marketing outside India through her UK operations.
The film follows Rang, an eight-year-old boy from a remote hill village in Karbi Anglong who is obsessed with Lionel Messi. Rang, a disabled child, watches matches on a neighbour’s television, collects photographs and finds companionship in a stray puppy he names Tung Tung. When he hears that Messi will play a friendly match in Mumbai, the news sets him on a journey that reverberates far beyond football fandom.
Khanjan stresses the film is not about the player or the sport alone. “If you think Love You Messi is a film about football or about Lionel Messi, then you are mistaken,” he says, adding that “at its heart, the film is about a disabled child’s passion and his longing to discover a world far beyond the boundaries of his small village.” He frames the story as an exploration of hope, loss and human connection through Rang’s innocence, his bond with Tung Tung and an old man, and their journey toward an unknown city.
Chan, who describes herself as a Messi fan, said Hong Kong has a concentrated audience for the film and that her European network and dynamic approach could help it travel widely. “Being a Messi fan myself, it’s a real joy to join this project,” she said.
Love You Messi is Khanjan’s second Karbi-language feature with producer Ranjit Teron, following Lost Path, released earlier this year. Portions of the new film were shot during Messi’s visit to India last December, and filming is expected to wrap by the end of the year. Khanjan won the Rajat Kamal at the National Film Awards in 2020 for his short Kachichinithu (The Boy with a Gun); he holds an MPhil in Mass Communication from Rajiv Gandhi University and trained in filmmaking at the Zee Institute of Media Arts in Mumbai.
Original Source: https://assamtribune.com/entertainment/love-you-messi-karbi-film-finds-global-backing-at-cannes-market-1612029
Category: Assam,Entertainment,Featured
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Publish Date: 2026-05-25 18:13:00
