If you’ve ever paid $45 for a hot yoga class only to listen to an instructor in Lululemon mispronounce Sanskrit for an hour, Junghal Studios has made a movie specifically for you.
The teaser for Namaslay has officially dropped, turning the Western wellness industry upside down in a glorious, blood-soaked cultural reckoning. Billed as a genre-bending horror satire, the film set out to reclaim the spirit of classic masala cinema. All while utterly skewering the commercialization and cultural appropriation of yoga in the West.
The Cult of Hot Yoga
The story follows Gayatri (Kirunthuja Srikanth-Talim). She’s a newcomer to Los Angeles who agrees to accompany her friend to an upscale yoga studio. The studio’s founder, Reyna (Christina Moore), offers Gayatri a spot in her elite instructor training program.
Looking past the obvious red flags and Hollywood eccentricities, Gayatri accepts, using the opportunity to reconnect with the authentic yoga practice taught to her by her grandmother. But when she’s invited to a prestigious, ultra-exclusive instructor’s retreat, she realizes she wasn’t brought along to teach—she was brought along as part of a much darker, sinister agenda.
What Exactly Is a “Masala” Movie?
For the uninitiated, Masala films originated in 1970s Indian cinema and are famous for blending wildly different genres into a single, maximalist spectacle—action, comedy, drama, romance, and often full-blown musical numbers.
Written and directed by brothers Rish and Kanish Arhant-Sudhir, Namaslay marks the debut feature from their independent label, Junghal Studios. The duo is using the film to launch a slate of ambitious “masala event movies” inspired by global artistic traditions.
The core cast features Kirunthuja Srikanth-Talim, Angela Sant’Albano, Alicia Mitchell-Mangual, Usha Krishnan, and Christina Moore.
If you like your social commentary served with extra gore, a side of satire, and maximum theatrical energy, Namaslay is about to be your ultimate summer alignment. Check out the teaser trailer and official poster below. The film opens in select NYC and LA theaters on August 6, 2026, before expanding nationwide on August 13.
