Wasn’t About Reacting, But Responding: Sumi Baghel On Becoming Shweta In Anuparna Roy’s Songs Of Forgotten Trees - EXCLUSIVE

Sumi Baghel made her feature film debut with Songs of Forgotten Trees, the Anuparna Roy directorial that became the only Indian title selected in the Orizzonti section at the 2025 Venice Film Festival.

Sumi, who portrays Shweta in the film - a quiet, emotionally scarred young woman navigating trauma and silence, has earlier worked in Dabba Cartel and Duranga. In an exclusive interview with Zoom, Sumi, whose film was presented by Anurag Kashyap at the renowned film event revealed what was going through her mind when she saw the audience respond warmly to her film and the challenges of playing Shweta.Speaking to Zoom about the audience reaction to Songs of Forgotten trees at the Venice Film Festival, Sumi candidly shared that she was “overwhelmed”.

“After the screening ended, people stayed back with their questions,” Sumi revealed adding that even after the Q&A session, many came up to them and shared their best wishes, and spoke about what they loved in the film - even noticing the small details.Also Read: Durga Puja 2025: Why Does Cinema Deify Its Women? Worshipped, Yet Silenced “I could see the excitement and joy in their eyes while talking to them. It truly felt like a fan moment for me,” the actress shared.Sumi also revealed that her character Shweta is very different from her in real life. Addressing the challenges of stepping into the role of a character where silence predominates dialogue, Sumi said, “I think for me, playing Shweta was not about reacting, but about responding.”The actress revealed that the most challenging part was capturing her depth. “She is emotionally wounded from within. I had to discover her current psychological state after everything she had been through in life, and honestly, it took me time to achieve that.”According to Sumi, initially she was only “imagining Shweta” through her life journey, pain, trauma and loneliness, but she soon went on to draw inspiration from a real-life story of a girl who grew up in an orphanage. “After talking to that girl, I truly started feeling Shweta. All those incidents, pains, and traumas shaped who she is today.”“That conversation helped me understand and connect with Shweta on a deeper level, and it really guided me in shaping her character,” she signed off.