Tanisha Mukerji Returns to the Big Screen in Kapil Kaustubh Sharma's Parsi-Set Family Drama

After nearly five years away, the actress is back in a film that spans three decades of Mumbai life

Mumbai's Parsi community has long been a quiet presence in the city's stories, and Kapil Kaustubh Sharma's upcoming film sets out to give it a warm, close-up look. The project marks Tanisha Mukerji's return to the big screen after close to five years, and it is an unusual choice of setting for a comeback.

Zindagi Phir Bhi Khoobsurat Hai follows its characters across several decades, from the 1990s to 2025. Rather than tracing one dramatic event, the film is built around the slow shifts in relationships and the way people change as they grow older. Romance, humour and emotion sit side by side, and the director says the story is really about how people keep finding their footing as their lives move on.

Sharma has spoken highly of Mukerji's work in the role. In his view, her emotional range was central to the character, and she brings a sensitivity to the part that gives the story much of its heart. For an actress returning after a long break, that kind of praise from a director who wrote the material himself carries weight.

Authenticity was a priority for the team. Much of the shoot took place in real Parsi homes in South Mumbai and at the Dadar Parsi Colony, rather than in constructed sets. Sharma spent considerable time with members of the community, learning about their culture, their language and their daily rhythms, so that the film would feel lived-in rather than observed from the outside.

Sharma is also wearing several hats on this project. He directs, writes, produces and acts in the film, which features an ensemble cast including Sushmita Mukherjee, Kitu Gidwani, Delnaaz Irani and Tannaz Irani, among others.

The title has its own history. It draws inspiration from a popular song in the 1978 film Khatta Meetha, and the phrase fits the film's gentle, reflective tone. Before the film reaches cinemas, the makers plan to take it to international film festivals, a route that could help introduce this portrait of Mumbai's Parsi families to audiences well beyond India.