Thulasi Films — Stories that Heal Humanity

Maitreyi, Founder and Director of Thulasi Films

Maitreyi at the Squamish Nation Totem in Stanley Park — present with South American shamans Flavio and Samaaya during a land healing ceremony.

Maitreyi — Founder & Director

A filmmaker shaped
by practice & purpose

Mai (Maitreyi) has been in film since 1992 — graduating top of her class in screenwriting and going on to work with Zee Tamil, UTV, Gaumond-Boreales for Canal Plus, Footcandles, and many others. She has directed and produced over 50 commercials, television programs, and English, French and Tamil feature films.

She started her own production house in India where she won awards, before relocating to Vancouver, where she only directs and produces projects close to her heart — on Squamish territories, the land she calls home.

She lived, studied, and served her spiritual guide in South India for many years, and was given the title of Yoga Acharini — life guide. She is a wisdom keeper whose vocation is to share full-spectrum, decolonised Yoga and Tantra.

"Films, if not carefully curated, can leave the nervous system depleted and the mind dull or in chaos. At Thulasi Films we are committed to production that works in harmony with life and nature — and supports regenerative models."

— Maitreyi, Founder

Yoga Acharini 30+ years film Arkaya Foundation Indigenous ally Keynote speaker Corporate trainer

The Name Behind the Work

Thulasi — Holy Basil.
Sacred plant of India.
Healer of many wounds.

Thulasi (Sanskrit) or Tulsi is a nervine tonic and a healer of many diseases. It is the incarnation of mother Lakshmi — who embodies aligned abundance and teaches us to savour the fruits of the world by stewarding the earth and its people.

Maitreyi grew up with a Thulasi plant in her courtyard — as you still find in many traditional homes in India. It is a daily reminder of healing through symbolism and ancestral wisdom. This ethos shapes every frame we make.

Nervine Healer

Our films are curated to calm rather than agitate — leaving audiences expanded, not depleted.

Aligned Abundance

Lakshmi teaches right relationship to prosperity. We only work with stories and brands we truly believe in.

Ancestral Roots

Our storytelling honours indigenous knowledge, traditional wisdom, and the living intelligence of the earth.

Regenerative Production

We run sets in harmony with life — fair relationships, mindful process, no waste of human or ecological resources.

What We Offer

Our services

Hire the full production house for your documentary, profile video, or advertisement — or engage Maitreyi as a director independently for projects whose subject and working style align with hers.

Documentary Films

Long and short documentary storytelling on healing journeys, indigenous sovereignty, sacred traditions, and the environment. Stories that deserve to exist.

Profile Videos

Compelling visual portraits for organisations, practitioners, healers, and changemakers — made with the care and craft your mission deserves.

Brand & Value-Aligned Ads

We produce advertisements only for brands we genuinely believe in. Conscious communication that builds trust and reflects your true values.

Independent Direction

Engage Maitreyi as a standalone director for your project. She joins when subject and spirit align — bringing 30+ years of experience to your creative vision.

Sacred & Indigenous Stories

Specialist documentation of yogic traditions, land ceremonies, first nations sovereignty, and healing arts — approached with deep respect and intimate knowledge.

Full Production Services

End-to-end production: development, pre-production, shooting, and post. Harmonious, budget-conscious, and built to deliver stellar results.

Selected Work

Projects that illuminate

Documentary · 2022 · Artist as Healer Grant

KARMA

A Healing Journey — first Canadian documentary

"The film traces the inspiring journey of Karma, who chose to become an Arkaya Yoga teacher after a boat accident in 2016 left her paralysed from the waist down."

KARMA was Maitreyi's first documentary made in Canada, produced with the Artist as Healer Grant in 2022 — the first in a series of Healing Journeys.

Produced in collaboration with Dr. Arun Garg and the Arkaya Foundation, exploring the shared belief that Art and the Artist can restore, reveal, and renew.

Watch the Trailer ↗

"Our joint perspective of Art and Artist as healer was beautifully explored. Maitreyi brought to light a healer in the true sense — physical, mental, emotional and spiritual health. The fusion of thinking and the best of East and West was captured brilliantly."

Dr. Arun Garg — Ex Head of Fraser Health & Founder, CINS

Early Career & Advertising

30+ years of craft

Maitreyi's early career spanned big-budget advertisements — Horlicks, Parrys Coffee Bite, Medimix, Spinz, Sa Re Ga Ma Music — and Advertising Club award wins. She made a principled choice early: only work with brands and causes she truly believed in.

Zee Tamil & UTV

Television program direction spanning India's leading Tamil and national broadcast networks.

Canal Plus / Gaumond-Boreales

International co-production with French broadcasters — bridging cultures and creative languages.

Feature Films

Assistant direction on English, French, and Tamil feature films across India and internationally.

Award-Winning Commercials

Advertising Club award-winner with campaigns for Medimix, Spinz, Sa Re Ga Ma and other value-aligned brands.

Developing: Environment Films

New projects on the environment and First Nations sovereignty — where Maitreyi has deep, intimate relationships with the subjects.

Healing Journey Series

KARMA is chapter one. A growing anthology of stories about people who chose transformation — in body, mind, and spirit.

Our Ethos

"The process of filmmaking can be extractive and exploitative if one is not aware. At Thulasi Films, we are committed to productions that work in harmony with life."

We believe cinema can be a nervous system tonic rather than a stressor. Every story we choose, every set we run, every collaborator we invite carries this intention: to uplift, to illuminate, and to leave the world slightly more whole than we found it.

This is not a marketing statement. It is how Maitreyi has worked since she left mass advertising in the early 2000s, choosing presence over output, and meaning over volume.

Beyond Film

The Arkaya
Foundation

Maitreyi is also the founder of Arkaya — a not-for-profit in Vancouver facilitating in-person and online programs in full-spectrum, decolonised Yoga and Tantra. She is a keynote speaker and corporate trainer who has worked with over 80 organisations on self mastery, integrated leadership, and stress management.

Her work bridges indigenous cultures of Canada and India — fostering relationships between the Indians and the Indians, honouring the wisdom of both peoples and their sovereign lands.

Film and teaching are two faces of the same vocation: illuminating what is true, healing what is fractured, and connecting what has been severed.

Visit arkaya.net

Begin a Conversation

Let's make
something real

Have a project in mind or want to collaborate? We're here to bring your ideas to life — and happy to suggest ways to build visibility and execute alongside you.

Phone & WhatsApp

+1 778 682 7033

thulasifilms108@gmail.com

Arkaya Foundation

arkaya.net

Stories that HealHumanity & Inspire Fairness

A filmmaker shapedby practice & purpose

Thulasi — Holy Basil.Sacred plant of India.Healer of many wounds.