Mahesh Pailoor on how Shalin Shah’s words became ‘Paper Flowers’
The filmmaker discusses his latest film, Shah’s message and lasting legacy, and how his words became a movie
From left, Olivia Liang, Kapil Talwalkar, and Karan Soni in "Paper Flowers."
Still frame from Paper Flowers
Words by Andy Crump
In 2014, Shalin Shah graduated from the University of Southern California, joined the Peace Corps, and traveled to Peru for his 27-month service. He had hoped to do some good out in the world, and for that matter, he did, but came home after two months with a severe cough and pain around his ribs; he was diagnosed soon thereafter with stage four synovial sarcoma, an aggressive form of soft tissue cancer. In May, 2015, he contributed an essay to The Huffington Post, cheekily titled, “Thank You, Cancer,” into which he poured his perspective on his illness, defined by gratitude for the unlikely ways in which it changed his life, as he saw it, for the better. The same month, he died at 22 years old.
Filmmaker Mahesh Pailoor’s feature Paper Flowers, which arrived in theaters on Friday, is based upon that essay in a rare instance of art imitating life; Kapil Talwalkar stars as Shah, joined by Olivia Liang as Shah’s girlfriend (and eventual wife) Fiona. The film draws directly from Shah’s journals as well as the essay, allowing him, in a way, the final word on his life and legacy. In a recent interview, Pailoor and I discussed matters of legacy and what we leave behind in the world when we’re gone, as well as the role reversal of journalism as the film’s foundation.
This interview has been edited for clarity and length.
Andy Crump: It's rare to see journalism made into a movie. Usually it's the other way around. I'm curious if that reverse dynamic was appealing to you. I'm sure it's not the first thing that came to mind when you took on the project, but I wonder if that influenced your approach.
Mahesh Pailoor: That was my entry into the script: reading this article, and hearing his voice and the message he was leaving behind to not take anything for granted and live your life with the time that you have. It was like a north star as we were making this movie. I wanted to make sure they were the actual words that he wrote, because it's such a powerful message. That's part of the dramatization of what we were trying to do.
AC: I had this idea that the movie would be more somber than it actually is. Not that journalism is inherently somber, but emotionally, (the film) is heightened. You talk about the article being your north star. Did that heightened quality unfold from that?
MP: I think that's right. There was something I discovered with Shalin too, talking about the journalistic nature of it. He was writing a manifesto of how he wants to live his life that ended up culminating in this article. That informed how the movie was made in terms of tone. Hopefully that comes through, because that was part of the telling. He’s writing down these notes, and they lead to this final thing he puts out into the world.
AC: That feels intimidating. In a manner of speaking, you are speaking on behalf of a man who died in 2015. That feels like a huge responsibility. How do you give that responsibility justice? It's a big ask.
MP: It is a big ask. My responsibility is to tell the best story we can. The idea started with the producer, who’s related to Shah. This is his baby, the thing he wanted to usher into the world. I had a lot of material to work with, but I also had the freedom to think. If you are hemmed in by the idea that you have to tell exactly what happened, that can be a limitation. I tried to take that pressure off me and the actors, to say, "Okay, we are telling this true story. Here's the script, this is what it's based on. But we are also informing this movie with our own experiences, and the spirit of truth is what we're relying on, but it won’t become a burden." To tell his message, we had to find our way through it. That’s what's so gratifying. (Shah’s family) felt so much of him in the movie; it was a truthful telling of what he went through and what they went through.
AC: I'm assuming the captions that get scrawled across the screen are drawn directly from his journal.
MP: Yeah, that's Shalin's voice. Even though it's not a documentary, this is his thought process. So, yeah, they are real things he wrote down in his own journal, and that was important, to get back to your first question—to use that as a way of letting him speak through the movie.
Still from "Paper Flowers" of Kapil Talwalkar as Shalin Shah.
Still frame from Paper Flowers
AC: That feels like a gift. You mentioned that there are a lot of people involved in the screenwriting process. It's nice to be able to draw on primary materials to bring it back to him.
MP: Yeah, it's rooted right back to him. This is his voice and, and his words. So yeah, 100 percent. It was a gift.
AC: He’s a rare person. Maybe people, or the culture around the experience he had, have changed (since Shah’s death). But it's hard to look at the end of your own life, knowing when it's coming, and accept it in the spirit of gratitude. How do the rest of us do that?
MP: This had a lasting impact on me, just making this movie. That message is a powerful one, of moving in the world with gratitude. Not that I'm successful all the time, but I try. You move through the world differently when that leads you—saying “thank you,” being happy for what you have and being present for the moment you're given.
AC: The fact that it's hard probably makes it worth the effort.
MP: I totally agree.
AC: Part of me felt a bittersweetness. #SunsetsForShalin is beautiful, the idea of people all over the world participating in what is ultimately his way of signing off. Not many of us seize that opportunity. I thought, "Where was I when this happened?" Is this film your version of the trend?
MP: You're 100 percent right. I wasn’t part of this trend either when it happened. I came to this story a few years later, when the producer sent (the article) to me. It spoke to me at the right time in my life. As a filmmaker, I can tell stories that are meaningful for me. I haven't really thought about it until this moment, but it is my contribution to #SunsetsForShalin—to put (the movie) out into the world and keep that idea going. I think that's what he was trying to do, and that hopefully is what this movie does.
AC: (The film) is related to Shalin's legacy, but because you are the one making the movie, it’s inherently about your own legacy as a storyteller. What do you want your legacy to look like, especially in light of the way his story has influenced you?
MP: That was my realization in the process of telling this story. When we're young, as Shalin was at 22, you want to make a difference in the world and you think about what impact you can make, which is a version of legacy. I think at that age Shalin was when he joined the Peace Corps, (he had) these big ideas. The beautiful thing I think he went through was that he realized that he affected people's lives in other parts of the world, but the real change started to happen when he changed himself, and that spark started to change the people around him, whether it was his girlfriend or his parents.
Maybe in the beginning of my career, I would think more about leaving a legacy in terms of my art. Now the things that I try to do are with myself, my family, and my kids. It’s a smaller circle of impact. I don't think of the bigger thing anymore. It’s more in terms of what’s around me. I have more control over that. I’m trying to leave that message with the people I care about and love.
Published on August 24, 2026
Words by Andy Crump
Bostonian culture journalist Andy Crump covers movies, beer, music, fatherhood, and way too many other subjects for way too many outlets, perhaps even yours: Paste Magazine, Inverse, The New York Times, Hop Culture, Polygon, and Men's Health, plus more. You can follow him on Bluesky and find his collected work at his personal blog. He’s composed of roughly 65 percent craft beer.