Radhika Bansal is taking an unconventional route into Indian filmmaking. After building a career with global names such as Goldman Sachs and Harvard Business Publishing across India, Hong Kong and London, Bansal is now stepping behind the camera with her feature directorial debut, an upcoming family drama slated to arrive during the 2026 festive season.
Swati Bhat
Her journey into storytelling began unexpectedly. After stepping away from the corporate world to focus on raising her children, Bansal initially turned to writing as a way of documenting her thoughts. However, rather than writing directly about herself, she began fictionalising her experiences. What started as a personal exercise eventually evolved into a screenplay.
Her first script was a legal drama that attracted interest from major streaming platforms. Although the project did not eventually move into production, the experience proved transformative. It gave Bansal the confidence to pursue filmmaking seriously and helped her realise that storytelling could become more than a personal passion.
Her upcoming feature marks a significant new chapter. Bansal has not only written the film but has also taken charge as its director, assembling the creative team, casting the ensemble and shaping the film's overall vision. Remarkably, she undertook this journey without previous experience of working on a professional film set.
What makes Bansal's debut particularly interesting is her approach to the modern family drama. Instead of leaning heavily into dysfunctional relationships, darkness or emotional melodrama, she aims to create a story built around warmth, humour and genuine emotional connections.
The film is designed as a cinematic experience that families can watch together, across generations. Its Diwali-season release is therefore especially fitting, with the festival itself symbolising family, togetherness and celebration.
Radhika Bansal's transition from corporate boardrooms to filmmaking is more than a career change. It represents the journey of a storyteller who found her voice outside the traditional film industry and chose to trust that voice when the opportunity finally arrived.