Sarthak Hegde tackles interfaith romance and moral policing in Green Girl: ‘I have seen friends endure this kind of bullying’

For Sarthak Hegde, who co-wrote (with Triko and Manish Kumar) and directed the 50-minute featurette, the duality of hope and fear in Jeevan is representative of the life that surrounds all of us, more so in his home of coastal Karnataka. Incidents of moral policing, vigilante interference and harassment have grown substantially over the past decade or two in the region, with the Karnataka Communal Harmony also including instances of cow vigilantism in its telling report from a couple of years ago. Hegde and his writers take all these incidents into their fold to create a prevalent backdrop for their central story.

“I have seen my own friends endure this kind of bullying,” Hegde tells SCREEN. “Couples, in general, are harassed, but interfaith couples are shamed to a different level altogether, with their videos being circulated on social media and whatnot. They cannot respond boldly because of the fear of society.”

In the film, Jeevan joins a right-wing organisation that promotes the idea of a saffron Akhand Bharat, extending from Afghanistan to Bangladesh, to its cadres. The barely 20-year-old boy is suggested to have come on board out of compulsion, for it allows him to mend relations with his father, a man who himself was an integral part of the agenda at one point.

“I have personally witnessed kids joining such outfits, and it is always a generational transition. Jeevan is that guy, who inherits the ideology. He knows what it is all about and what the repercussions are, but the roots are so firm that he still struggles to break away,” Hegde observes.

The film also pays attention to the idiosyncratic nature of its setting, from the traces of hyper-masculine behaviour, the clandestine sexual liberation/repression of its people and their everyday rebellions, to the innocence with which some of them look at the world around them.

“The America that the boy talks about is a metaphor, a utopia, where he and Ameena can be together peacefully. Had I told the same story set in the America he describes (not the one that actually exists today), none of the characters would have taken the paths that they do in the film,” Hegde adds.

The title Green Girl, Sarthak Hegde explains, refers to how Ameena is reduced or dehumanised to a religious hue when she is looked at by the other sect. But Jeevan loves the luminous soul that she is, and he constantly insists on introducing her to his best friend, Prateek, a fellow ground worker at the organisation. All Jeevan seeks, the filmmaker adds, is acceptance from his side because he wants to be told that he isn’t doing anything wrong.

Green Girl encapsulates this dichotomy, this confusion of its protagonist through a range of tools – a narrowed aspect ratio invoking a sense of intimacy, the use of evocative slow-motion cinematography (by Abhinay Pandit), and a soundscape that is a blend of religious sermons and a “western”, ambient score by Surya Srini.

“Surrealism is probably the most important element of the film,” Hegde says. “The dreaminess you experience is reflective of Jeevan’s state of mind, where his two worlds, his present and his future, collide at the same place.”

Mayur Gowda and Sucharitha’s performances as the leads, with Sudharshan Acharya Yekkar in another important role, carry a lived-in quality. If Mayur makes aloofness, naivete, and commitment the most memorable traits of his character, Sucharitha endears us by making Ameena feel both tenacious and innocent through her authentic portrayal. Green Girl also has its say on gender suppositions, in that it lends its protagonists a certain dynamic that separates them from the usual screen stereotypes. The moments the couple shares linger far after the end credits roll up.

Yet, the choice to make Jeevan the narrative focal point begs the question of why Ameena’s story, equally important, is relegated to the subtext. Hegde and his writers lace their script with hints about who the girl is today and the dynamic she shares with her family. But with the story unfolding entirely through Jeevan’s eyes, Ameena’s personality and presence feel undermined, with the film running the risk of painting her with broad strokes.

“I see her as a more rounded character, whereas Jeevan is the conflicted one in the story,” Sarthak Hegde defends. “Of course, she has her own struggles, but we wanted to let them linger in the background because it is his perspective throughout.”

Hegde adds that his insights into religious extremism governed the decision to let Jeevan navigate the story. “Religious extremism exists on both sides, and it is absolutely necessary that Ameena’s strife is accounted for. But I am aware of Jeevan’s world far better, and it would have been inconsistent and dishonest to deliver commentary on the other side.”

Despite its partial viewpoint, Green Girl emerges as a compelling effort that doesn’t mince words. It is scathing in its discourse and empathetic in its depiction of love and humanity, making it a film that goes beyond its experimental cadence.

“I wanted my representation of the Hindutva-aligned outfits to be blunt, without any embellishments. The film isn’t made to cater to a niche audience but a wider one, so the voice had to be loud and bold,” he adds.

Green Girl was presented in theatres on September 12, 2025, by the popular Kannada production/distribution house KRG Studios.