Parno Mittra, a fixture of Bengali cinema for more than two decades, is stepping behind the camera for the first time. She makes her producing debut with The Music Teacher, a British-Indian short film that began principal photography in Kolkata this month, according to Variety.

The film stars Raima Sen in the title role, with Niranjan Mondal — seen in Laughtersane — rounding out the cast. It is a story about a young man struggling with depression who finds his way back to life through a teacher of Rabindra Sangeet, the body of songs composed by Nobel laureate Rabindranath Tagore. Set in North Kolkata, the film draws inspiration from the mother of its writer-director, Shrimoyee Chakraborty, and is described as a tribute to Rabindra Sangeet and the educators who have carried Bengal's cultural heritage across generations.

Mittra produces through Unscripted Co, a production banner she launched with this very project. Tabernacle Street Films, a UK-based company, co-produces; Chakraborty produces on that side of the partnership. The cross-border arrangement puts a London-registered company alongside a brand-new Indian outfit — a structure that reflects the film's British-Indian identity.

Chakraborty is making her first Bengali narrative film with The Music Teacher. She previously directed the documentary Spirit of the Wildflower and created and presented India Bites. The short also brings in a seasoned hand behind the scenes: editor Aarti Bajaj joins as co-producer. Bajaj's editing credits span some of the most widely seen Indian films and series of recent years, including Jab We Met, Rockstar, Highway, Tamasha, Sacred Games, Jubilee and Amar Singh Chamkila.

Mittra's own screen career gives the producing move a certain weight. Her acting credits include Doob (No Bed of Roses), Rajkahini, Apur Panchali and Ranjana Ami Ar Ashbona — films that sit squarely in the Bengali tradition she is now helping shepherd from the production side.

For a short film, the credit list carries notable density: an actor-turned-producer launching her own company, a director shifting from documentary to narrative, and an editor with a mainstream Hindi-film résumé lending her name to a Kolkata-set Bengali project. The short film format — typically running under 40 minutes — is a common entry point for new producers and directors, offering a chance to work at scale without the budget pressures of a feature.

Production is now underway in Kolkata. No release date or festival berth has been announced.