Aakhri Ride: How cab rides inspired Chandan Roy and Faisal Malik’s short film

A still from the film. Pics/By Special Arrangement

Aakhri Ride, a short film starring Chandan Roy and Faisal Malik of Panchayat fame, was born from an unusual place - director duo Vijesh Rajan and Yashoda Parthasarthy's long conversations during cab rides with the drivers. "We'd chat with the drivers or hear bits of their phone conversations. Some told us they slept in their cars, others spoke about money troubles. What stayed with me was how much could be going on in someone's life without us knowing anything about it. That led us to the idea of a man so consumed by his struggles that he fails to notice the horror unfolding behind him," Rajan told mid-day.

Vijesh Rajan and Yashoda Parthasarthy

That forms the crux of Aakhri Ride, which drops on Anurag Kashyap's YouTube channel Oh Short Flips! on October 31. Interestingly, the horror film is also set on a Halloween night. Rajan explained, "Being scared is supposed to be fun on Halloween. But our protagonist's fears are real. Halloween gave us a setting that has a mix of tension, humour, and the unexpected."

Vasan Bala and Anurag Kashyap

The short is presented by Kashyap and Vasan Bala. For Parthasarthy, who worked with Kashyap on Raman Raghav 2.0 (2016), it's a huge deal to have him back her vision. "When I went for Raman Raghav's narration, he remembered my name. He has always treated me with so much respect. My dad would tease me by calling me ‘Anurag Kashyap' at home," she laughed.