Ashutosh Rana and Renuka Shahane are adding a new chapter to their 25-year marriage , this time as actor and director. We caught up with Rana at an event in Delhi, where he shared an update on their first project together, the upcoming short film Tarpann , revealing that audiences can expect it this year.
Rana had told HT in 2025 that more than acting alongside his wife, he wanted to be directed by her. Shahane later revealed that the project finally gave them that opportunity, admitting that she initially had jitters about whether their ease as life partners would translate into a professional collaboration. “Koi timeline nahin hai (release ki). Is saal pehle festivals par jayegi. “Woh nirdeshak hain, main actor hoon. Actor ko jitni suvidhayein deni chahiye, woh unhone ek producer-director ke taur par kiya. Tarpann marks the first time Shahane has directed her husband, despite the two having spent decades in the same industry. The short film is titled Tarpann and features Rana in the central role.
Jab baahar niklegi, hum aapko dikhayenge, batayenge,” Rana told us, indicating that the film will first take the festival route before being made available to a wider audience. Aur ek director ko jo performance chahiye, woh maine diya,” he said. Earlier this year, Shahane had revealed to HT City that Rana plays the lead role in the short film, calling their first actor-director collaboration a “big gamble” that ultimately worked better than she had imagined. Shahane, too, has previously described Rana as a “dream actor” who trusts a director’s vision and does not arrive on set with preconceived notions about a performance. She eventually concluded that they “make a great team” as director and actor.
It is particularly significant for the couple as, despite wanting to work together for years, they had never previously collaborated as actor and director.
