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    NORTH AMERICAN Newsline                                                   MAY 29, 2026     |  The Indian Eye 33

                               Neha Lohia’s ‘Hello Dad’ Draws

                     Emotional Response at Big Apple Film

                        Festival World Premiere in New York

            NEERAJ DHAR                                                                                           of grief with everyday life, rather
                                                                                                                  than masking, hiding, or performing
            New York, NY
                                                                                                                  emotional perfection.
                  he world premiere of  Hello                                                                         Adding to the emotional atmo-
                  Dad,  a deeply  personal  short                                                                 sphere of the evening, Lohia per-
            Tfilm  written  and  directed  by                                                                     sonally handed audience members
            award-winning  filmmaker  Neha  Lo-                                                                   handmade miniature envelopes car-
            hia, starring Emmy-nominated actor                                                                    rying tiny “love notes” sealed with the
            Tirlok Malik and Swiss actress Anki-                                                                  words “Undying Love.” Inside each
            ta Makwana, premiered to a packed                                                                     envelope was a small handwritten
            and emotionally moved audience  at                                                                    message intended as a keepsake and
            the prestigious Big Apple Film Fes-                                                                   quiet reminder of love, connection,
            tival as part of its Women Filmmak-                                                                   and remembrance. Guests deeply ap-
            ers  Showcase  featuring  eight  films                                                                preciated the gesture, many carrying
            directed by women storytellers from                                                                   the notes  home as mementos  from
            around the world.                                                                                     the night.
                What unfolded inside the histor-                                                                      At the heart of the film is a sim-
            ic Village East by Angelika became                                                                    ple but profound reminder: call the
            far  more  than  a  film  screening.  It                                                              people you love while they are still
            evolved into  an intimate  collective   ry, love, ambition, work, and healing.  father and how deeply real and famil-  here.  Express  love  openly.  Do  not
            experience around grief, love, mem-   The film stars Emmy-nominated   iar the film felt to their lived experi-  wait for a perfect moment.
            ory, healing, and the enduring bond   actor Tirlok Malik alongside actress   ence. “I still call or text his phone”   In the weeks leading up to the
            between parents and children.     Ankita Makwana in deeply intimate   - Mrs. Monroe. “This helped me feel   premiere, Hello Dad quietly evolved
                Friends, artists, doctors, re-  performances that audiences praised   more connected to Dad,” said Domini  into a larger cultural and emotion-
            searchers, grief experts, filmmakers,   for their tenderness, restraint, and   During the post-screening Q&A,   al conversation through a series of
            authors, actors, models, influencers,   emotional honesty. Malik, known for   Neha took courage and shared her   pre-launch collaborations, talks, and
            and community leaders gathered    his acclaimed body of work exploring   inspiration behind this short film was   social campaigns involving creators,
            from across New York and beyond.   loneliness, aging, immigration, and   her own lived experience of losing her   mental  health  experts,  authors,  and
            Several guests traveled from Boston,   Indian  diaspora  experiences,  brings   father and how, even 18 years later,   thought  leaders.  Influencers  and
            Virginia,  Canada,  and  other  cities,   quiet emotional depth to the role,   grief  has  been  constantly  coexisting   audiences participated in the viral
            with some changing travel plans or   while Makwana’s nuanced perfor-  with life. Her vulnerability created a   “Hello Dad…” campaign, sharing
            making special arrangements and   mance anchors the film’s emotional   deeply emotional exchange with au-  messages they wished to say to their
            stopovers in New York just to attend   journey with sincerity and grace.  diences, many of whom stayed long   fathers and loved ones.
            this screening. Others arrived unan-  Philanthropist Krisztina Geos-  after the screening ended to share   The  film’s  extended  conversa-
            nounced to surprise the filmmaker.  its  described  the  film  as  “extremely   their own stories, reflections, and ex-  tion around grief, emotional well-be-
                The film’s emotional resonance   beautiful” and reflected that it “cap-  periences with loss.     ing, and coexistence with loss includ-
            sparked   broader   conversations  tured the deeply human moments       “People often feel pressured to   ed collaborations and discussions
            around mental health, emotional   that are broadly unspoken.” Men   let go,” Lohia shared during conver-  with  world-renowned psychiatrist
            regulation, vulnerability, and heal-  in the audience, including Good-  sations  around  the  film.  “But  per-  Dr.  Anna  Yusim,  resilience  expert
            ing. Audience members reflected on   news  Networks,  Rev.  Paul  Sladkus,   haps healing is not about letting go;   and  physician  Dr.  Eva  Selhub,  au-
            the possibility that true healing may   and CNN’s Eduardo Salazar Uribe,   there is no need to erase memories,   thor Kelly Ann Krzeczkowski, holis-
            begin not by denying brokenness, but   shared that the film left them deeply   find replacements for love, or forget   tic practitioner Dr. Jason Yuan, and
            by gently  acknowledging  and  carry-  moved, with “lumps in their throat”   those we lost. Perhaps it is learning   podcaster and founder of Brown Girl
            ing it honestly.                  and moments which made them re-   how to continue the journey while   Interrupting, Marya Kazmi.
                The audience ranged from Gen   flect on their own losses, and words   carrying their presence differently,   Together, these conversations
            Z viewers to older generations, in-  simply would not come.         and coexisting with it.”          explored new ways of understanding
            cluding mother-daughter duos and      Several women close to Lohia,     Several audience members pri-  grief, emotional regulation, mental
            individuals carrying their  own  per-  including the founder of Women   vately shared with Lohia that they,   health, healing, and the possibility of
            sonal experiences with loss. Through-  Funding the World, Jody Weiss, Dr.   too, were living with silent grief af-  carrying loss with tenderness rather
            out the evening, tears, silence, hugs,   Anna Suponya, and spiritual teacher   ter losing a parent or loved one, and   than shame.
            reflection,  and  deeply  emotional   Aleta St. James, later sent emotion-  that Hello Dad made them feel seen   Guests attending the premiere
            conversations filled the room.    al  voice  notes  reflecting  on  the  ex-  in  ways  they  had  not  experienced   also  included  actress  Despina  Mir-
                Described by attendees as “del-  perience and the memories the film   before. Conversations throughout   ou,  singers  Ashley  Bautista,  influ-
            icate realism,” Hello Dad resonated   stirred within them, and the work   the night repeatedly returned to one   encer Melissa Gallagher, Christine
            for its gentle and deeply human por-  that lies ahead of us as a collective.  idea: grief does not always disappear,   Mendes,  Dr.  Shweta  Parmar,  film-
            trayal  of  grief;  not  as  something  to   Singer Domini Monroe attend-  and perhaps there is no need to force   makers, artists, industry profession-
            “fix” or “move on” from, but as some-  ed the premiere with her mother and   it to. Many reflected on the impor-  als, and members of New York’s cre-
            thing that can coexist with life, memo-  shared reflections on losing her own   tance of normalizing the coexistence   ative, healing, and art communities.

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