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For filmmaker Rahhat Shah Kazmi, 2025 has been a year unlike any other. Love in Vietnam, his Indo–Vietnamese romantic drama, travelled across Asia, winning international honours and touching audiences from India to Vietnam, China, and South Korea. The film’s screenings drew emotional responses from fans, filmmakers, and critics alike, cementing Kazmi’s reputation as a storyteller with a global reach.

“Nothing prepares you for a year like this,” he reflects. “You make a film hoping it will connect with people. But when strangers from another country come up to you and say your story moved them, changed them, stayed with them, it humbles you in a way awards never can.”

The film earned major accolades in South Korea, including Best Asian Film and Best Director for Kazmi himself. Korean audiences and industry veterans praised the film’s sincerity, performances, and emotional subtlety, while Chinese distributors embraced it for an exceptionally wide release. Even Vietnamese audiences, where the film premiered at the Da Nang Asian Film Festival, were drawn to its cross-cultural storytelling.

“We are living in a time where loudness often replaces honesty,” Kazmi says. “This year reminded me that honesty still has a place, maybe even more than we realise. Cinema does not need to shout to travel. It just needs to feel true.”

Despite the international applause, Kazmi remains grounded. “If anything, this year has made me more aware of the responsibility I carry as a filmmaker. When stories cross borders, you realise how carefully they must be told.”

Looking ahead, his vision for cinema is clearer than ever. “I want to make films that last beyond opening weekends. Stories that people return to years later, not because they were perfect, but because they felt real. If 2025 taught me anything, it’s this: when you stop chasing scale and start chasing truth, the world somehow finds its way to your film.”

Starring Shantanu Maheshwari and Avneet Kaur, Love in Vietnam is a heartfelt cross-cultural love story, produced by Captain Rahul Bali, Rahhat Shah Kazmi, Omung Kumar, Sarvesh Goel, Tariq Khan, Zeba Sajid, Mohammad Antulay, Sahil Sheikh, and Pankaj Singh Chauhan, and co-produced by Samten Hills Dalat, Vikas Sharma, Kritika Rampal, Devansh Bhardwaj, and Nguyen Cao Tung. If you haven’t watched it yet, now is the time. The film now heads to theatres in India, Vietnam, and beyond, carrying strong global momentum from its international acclaim.