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6th Indic Film Utsav opens in Dallas with premiere of film on Indian American MMA fighter
The opening night featured a red-carpet ceremony, followed by a screening and Q&A session with the film ‘American Warrior’ actor Vishy Ayyar.
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Avatans Kumar - Sat, 08, Nov 2025
- 16:18 EST
- 23
Glimpses of the event / Avatans Kumar
The 6th Indic Film Utsav kicked off in Dallas, TX, with the premiere of film American Warrior.
An initiative of INDICA, the Utsav attracts Indic-themed films from across the globe that highlight India’s civilizational ethos and cultural diversity.
Spanking over three days, Nov. 7-9, the Utsav is screening 20 films, shorts, and documentaries in Dallas’s Galaxy Theater. American Warrior tells the story of an Indian American protagonist who is a former amateur MMA fighter. Working as a janitor because of his past, Jay gets a second chance after stopping a robbery.
Also Read: 6th Indic Film Utsav starting today in Dallas
The event started with a red carpet event followed by a movie screening and Q&A with American Warrior actor Vishy Ayyar. Utsav’s showcase documentary includes ‘Caste Files’ based on a 2020 lawsuit filed by the California Civil Rights Department against tech executive Sundar Iyar, Ramana Kompella, and their employer Cisco Systems. The documentary exposes the allegation of large-scle “caste discrimination.”
Producer Ravi Rajan said, “I heard about this controversy where two people, very productive engineers at Cisco, had been accused of caste discrimination against another Indian colleague. As it unfolded, the court dismissed it with prejudice, which meant the information didn’t really add up to anything. It was a quintessential bogus case.”
He added, “When I saw the attempt to create State Bill 403, which in effect targeted the entire Hindu community, I decided to document this larger picture through a film of record—no embellishment, no mistruths, just facts to educate the wider community.”
Rama Sardar, social media communications coordinator for ‘American Warrior,’ described her involvement with the festival, saying, “I was looking for film festivals that really highlight Indic narratives and narratives from the Indian diaspora. I found this festival on Film Freeway and couldn’t believe I hadn’t attended before. Even though we had missed the deadline, the organizers were kind enough to accept our late submission.”
Expressing enthusiasm for the event, she added, “As a writer and filmmaker, I’m really interested in exploring South Asian stories and representing our community. I’m excited to see our community being represented so well.”
The Indic Film Utsav will continue through Nov. 9, featuring screenings of Marathi-language films, diaspora narratives, and discussions spotlighting Indian cultural perspectives in global cinema.
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