STAR HOPPER STUDIO

We craft stories that move culture forward.

Star Hopper Studio is an award-winning queer and trans-led film production house and creative studio from India, shaping new worlds of storytelling. Our work is rooted in cultural depth and emotional precision, shaped by lived experience, and built through close collaboration.

Founded by Asawari Jagushte and Varsha Panikar, Star Hopper Studio develops films, campaigns, and emerging media that reflect the worlds we move through and the shifts we live inside. Recognised by GQ India as one of the Top 5 LGBTQIA+ Changemakers of 2025, our work sits at the intersection of cinema, culture, and community.

Our work ranges from independent short and feature films and documentaries to brand and campaign films, hybrid media, and immersive projects, commissioned by brands, agencies, NGOs, cultural/arts organisations, independent artists, and institutions in India and across the globe.

We work across fiction, documentary, brand, hybrid media, and immersive formats, from early concept through production and post. Our process is community-led and ethical, grounded in long-term thinking. It is built on local collaboration, shared authorship, fair labour, sustainable production, and long-term relationships.

Our practice also extends into publishing and curation. Riot Ink Press is our self-publishing imprint dedicated to trans experimental writing, zines, graphic novellas, and queer publishing practices. We also curate the Underground Film Observatory, a platform for experimental moving image work viewed through a brown, trans-feminist lens. Both function as long-term cultural archives growing alongside our film work.

With our finger on the pulse of shifting culture, politics, and technology, we work closely with artists and collaborators who are shaping the present from within it. As a trans-led studio, inclusivity is not a value statement. It is the way we collaborate, crew up, and create.

Whether you come with a finished script or the spark of an idea, we build it with you from the first sketch to the final cut.

At Star Hopper, we see ourselves as explorers moving through the cosmos of storytelling, discovering new forms, new meanings, and new futures.

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EXPLORE OUR SERVICES

MORE ABOUT OUR PRACTICE

Asawari Jagushte

(they/them)
Co-Founder, Executive Producer, Curator

Asawari Jagushte is a filmmaker, producer, and curator whose work moves between fiction, documentary, and experimental film, with a focus on form, process, and representation.

As co-founder and Executive Producer at Star Hopper Studio, Asawari leads creative and production strategy across independent and commissioned projects. Their debut short The Housemaids has streamed on Disney+ Hotstar, Amazon Prime Video, and JioCinema following international festival runs including Outfest LA, BFI Flare, and Berlin Commercial. They also produced Bodies of Desire, which travelled to over 60 festivals worldwide and was part of BFI Flare and British Council’s #FiveFilmsForFreedom selection.

Asawari has served twice on the D&AD Direction Jury (UK), representing South Asian filmmakers in global creative conversations. A Goethe-Institut Fellow and Cultural Management in the Digital Age awardee, they have collaborated with institutions such as the British Council, Goethe-Institut, Artlink (Switzerland), and Serendipity Arts Festival.

Their work is driven by a commitment to inclusive authorship, experimentation, and creating space for underrepresented South Asian voices in film.

Varsha Panikar

(they/he)
Co-Founder, Writer, Director, Executive Producer

Varsha Panikar is a filmmaker and writer exploring intimacy, identity, and queer futurity through film and hybrid media.

As co-founder of Star Hopper Studio, Varsha develops and directs projects across fiction, documentary, and branded forms. Their short Bodies of Desire, adapted from their own writing, was selected for BFI Flare and the British Council’s #FiveFilmsForFreedom, reaching audiences in over 200 countries. Their campaign Words of Pride for Disney+ Star won the Grand Prix and multiple Golds at The Drum Awards, with further recognition at Spikes Asia, The One Show, and Kyoorius Creative Awards 2024.

Named a GQ India Top 5 LGBTQIA+ Changemaker (2024), Varsha is also a Mintathon Grantee and BeFantastic C³ Fellow supported by Goethe-Institut and ZKM Karlsruhe. Their work has screened, published, and exhibited internationally, including NOWNESS, Outfest LA, Berlin Commercial, and Fashion Film Festival Milano.

Varsha also runs Riot Ink Press (RIP), an independent publishing platform amplifying queer and trans voices, and co-curates Underground Film Observatory (UFO), a Star Hopper initiative spotlighting feminist and experimental cinema.

Saahil Menoki

(he/him)
Chief Operating Officer

Saahil Menoki builds the systems that let creativity move, aligning artistic ambition with sustainable growth and global collaboration. With over a decade of experience in global partnerships, sales, and operations, he shapes the strategic framework that powers Star Hopper Studio’s expansion across film, brand, and culture.

While leading global sales and account management at LambdaTest, Saahil has built high-performing teams and cross-sector partnerships spanning technology, innovation, and creative industries. At Star Hopper, he channels that same precision and people-first thinking to turn ideas into lasting impact.

Part strategist, part storyteller, Saahil brings clarity, collaboration, and a belief that structure can be its own form of art.

Saad Nawab

(he/him)
Writer, Director, Producer

Saad Nawab is a Director’s Guild of America (DGA) award-winning filmmaker whose work blends grounded emotion with a vivid mix of the fantastical and the otherworldly.

Growing up between shifting cultural influences, rooted in India yet steeped in global pop culture, he developed a visual language defined by bold imagery, emotional precision, and cinematic style. An MFA graduate of the College of Motion Picture Arts at Florida State University, he has directed films and campaigns for brands including Google, Sony, Kellogg’s, Lay’s, Mumbai Games, and POCO.

His short Frankenstein’s Light earned multiple international awards, while Bodies of Desire (co-directed with Varsha Panikar) premiered on NOWNESS Asia and featured in BFI Flare’s #FiveFilmsForFreedom. At Star Hopper, Saad brings together creative and production expertise to craft stories with scale, emotion, and visual depth.

Virender Singh

(they/them)
Director, Writer, Editor

Virender Singh is a filmmaker, content creator, and aspiring journalist with a profound commitment to exploring intersectionality and queer euphoria. Currently a Senior Writer at Design Pataki, Virender crafts exclusive features on architectural projects, home décor, and luxury living. Their film industry roles in India have included assistant director, executive producer, and casting director. Notably, Virender directed Disney Star's Impact Stories campaign, addressing the challenges of India’s LGBTQIA+ community.

With a rich background in writing and video editing for Elle Decor India and Homegrown, their work primarily focuses on interior design, architecture, and arts and culture. They are also very passionate about poetry, portrait photography and open mic culture at speak easy bars. On a weekend, you will find them brunching and thrift shopping for old paperbacks.

Shataakshi Verma

(she/her)
Programme Head, Culture Manager

Shataakshi Verma is a dedicated human rights and minority rights worker and activist renowned for her extensive work across South and East Asia.

Focused on gender justice, peace-building, minority rights, and humanitarian assistance, she contributes significantly to labor policies, advocacy, project management, livelihood, and press freedom. At Reporters Without Borders' East Asia Bureau Program Manager, Shataakshi empowers journalists and media organizations in China and across region.

She's also the Founder and Director of the Art of Freedom Project, a Kabul-based women's collective fostering peace and gender equality through art, especially in conflict-affected regions. Shataakshi's use of film and theater to amplify marginalized voices underscores her commitment to positive change.

Letitia Mendes

(they/she)
Design Head, Art Director

Letitia Mendes is a multidisciplinary designer and tattoo artist whose work transforms personal stories into visual statements. At Star Hopper Studio, Letitia leads the visual direction of brand campaigns, films, and cultural projects ensuring every frame holds both meaning and style.

Their career roots in graphic design, illustration and body-art inform a practice where identity, craft and innovation meet. Featured in Femina magazine, their studio PulsatInk has become a hub for inclusive, women-led tattoo culture in India.

Letitia brings to the team a bold vision, precise aesthetic and commitment to design that serves story and space equally.

Radhika Nair

(she/her)
Legal Counsel, Researcher

Radhika Nair is an accomplished lawyer and socio-legal researcher, currently serving as an Academic Fellow at NLSIU Bengaluru. With a foundation as an advocate in Delhi, she holds a Master's in European and International Human Rights Law from Leiden University, Netherlands. As an Associate Editor for the National Law School Journal and an Academic Fellow, Radhika is immersed in legal academia. Her impactful roles include Project Manager at Stichting Unity In Diversity (UID) and Program Manager at the Centre For Social Justice, India.

Radhika's academic journey is notable, with a BA LLB from Delhi University, a Master's in Sociology from Delhi College of Economics, and a previous BA in Media Studies from Indraprastha University. Her areas of expertise encompass migration, statelessness, security, discrimination and labour law. With a fervent commitment to legal research and advocacy, Radhika Nair's accomplishments exemplify her dedication to effecting positive change within the legal landscape.