What Shruthi & Matty is about
Shruthi & Matty is a 22-minute lesbian romantic short film that follows two queer women in their twenties who cross paths at a mutual friend's birthday party in Hyderabad. That's the whole setup — and honestly, it doesn't need more than that. The film leans into the charged, slightly awkward electricity of a first meeting: the glances across a crowded room, the conversation that starts as small talk and slowly becomes something else. No grand declarations, no dramatic backstory. Just two people in the same place at the same time, wondering whether this moment means anything. The tagline — "Two strangers at a party. Are they meant to be? or are they not?" — captures that suspended feeling exactly right.
How Shruthi & Matty came together as a production
Shruthi & Matty is a 2026 production from Manish & Friends Production, the creative outfit behind the film's direction and overall vision. The official teaser credits the project to Manish & Friends, positioning it squarely as an independent, small-scale effort — the kind of short film that gets made because someone genuinely wanted to tell this story, not because a studio greenlit a pitch deck. That matters, because you can feel it in the texture of the thing.
The film sits in a particular moment for Indian queer cinema. Short-form storytelling has become one of the most viable paths for LGBTQ+ narratives in India, where feature-length queer films still face distribution headwinds and cultural friction. A 22-minute runtime isn't a limitation here — it's a deliberate choice that keeps the story focused and intimate. Hyderabad as a setting also does real work. It's a city with a visible, growing queer community, and grounding the story there rather than in Mumbai or Delhi gives it a specificity that feels earned rather than incidental.
As of publication, Shruthi & Matty carries a 10/10 rating on IMDb — a number that reflects early passionate response from a community hungry to see itself represented. Hard to say if that score holds as the film reaches wider audiences, but the enthusiasm behind it is genuine. The film is also viewable on Dailymotion, where it has found early viewers. There's no documented major festival run or awards circuit data available yet, and aggregator scores from Rotten Tomatoes or Metacritic haven't been established — this is a film still finding its audience.
Why Shruthi & Matty stands out among Indian queer short films
What's striking is how much the film trusts stillness. A lot of queer short films — especially ones working against a cultural backdrop that hasn't always been welcoming — feel the pressure to justify their own existence, to make a statement, to argue for why this love deserves screen time. Shruthi & Matty doesn't seem interested in that argument. It just shows up to the party (literally) and lets the connection between its two leads breathe.
The thematic vocabulary here is worth paying attention to: affectation, calm, queer joy. Not queer suffering. Not a coming-out crisis or a family confrontation. The film is built around the idea that queer love can be — should be — ordinary and warm and a little nervous in the way all early romance is nervous. That's a specific creative choice, and it's the right one.
The Hyderabad setting gives the film a grounded, regional texture that distinguishes it from more generically urban Indian productions. There's something in the way the party scene feels lived-in — the kind of gathering where everyone knows someone who knows someone — that makes the meet-cute feel plausible rather than staged. Movie OTT tracks short-form and feature releases across the Indian streaming landscape, and films like this one represent exactly the kind of emerging queer voice the platform keeps an eye on.
The craft is restrained in the best way. Twenty-two minutes doesn't allow for waste, and the film seems aware of that — every scene is load-bearing.
Where to stream Shruthi & Matty online
Shruthi & Matty is currently available on major OTT services, and the easiest way to find the most up-to-date list of where it's streaming is to check the Where to Watch widget at the top of this page, which Movie OTT updates in real time as platform availability changes. Short films can move between platforms quickly — licensing windows shift, regional availability varies — so that widget is your most reliable first stop.
For viewers who want to explore the film's early online presence, it has also been posted to Dailymotion. Movie OTT aggregates streaming availability across platforms so you're not hunting across tabs trying to figure out where a title landed this week. If you're outside India and wondering whether the film is accessible in your region, the widget will tell you what's currently licensed where.
Frequently asked questions
Q: Who directed Shruthi & Matty?
Shruthi & Matty is directed by Manish & Friends, as credited in the official teaser released ahead of the film's 2026 debut. The production company, Manish & Friends Production, handled both the creative and production responsibilities on the project.
Q: How long is Shruthi & Matty?
The film runs 22 minutes, making it a short film rather than a feature. That runtime is intentional — the story is compact and focused on a single evening's connection between two characters.
Q: Where can I watch Shruthi & Matty?
Shruthi & Matty is available on major OTT services. Check the Where to Watch widget on this Movie OTT page for current platform availability, since streaming rights can shift. The film has also been posted to Dailymotion for early access.
Q: Is Shruthi & Matty a lesbian film?
Yes. Shruthi & Matty is explicitly a lesbian romantic short film, centered on two queer women in their twenties meeting at a birthday party in Hyderabad. The film is part of a growing wave of Indian LGBTQ+ short-form storytelling.
Q: What is the IMDb rating for Shruthi & Matty?
Shruthi & Matty holds a 10/10 rating on IMDb as of 2026, reflecting strong early enthusiasm from viewers. Rotten Tomatoes and Metacritic scores have not yet been established for the film.
Who should watch Shruthi & Matty
Shruthi & Matty is the kind of film you put on when you want something that doesn't demand anything from you — no plot armor, no twists, no tragedy. It's 22 minutes of two people maybe falling for each other at a party in Hyderabad, and that's enough. If you're a fan of quiet queer romance, Indian independent cinema, or short films that know exactly what they want to be, this one earns your time. Movie OTT recommends it especially for viewers looking for LGBTQ+ stories rooted in South Asian settings and everyday joy. Not every queer film needs to be a battle. Sometimes it's just a party.