Private Project

Rat in the Kitchen

After a bitter separation from his wife, Vikram starts to live alone, which makes him spiral into a life of loneliness, negligence and alcoholism.

He begins to notice that his food is going missing and his kitchen is ransacked every time he comes home. Thinking he has a rat problem, he installs CCTV cameras around his house. But what he uncovers instead, is far more bizarre and macabre.

  • Arkish Aftab
    Director
  • Arkish Aftab
    Writer
  • Purvi Khan
    Producer
  • Afroz Khan
    Producer
  • Mantra Mugdh
    Key Cast
    "Vikram"
  • Aishwarya Desai
    Key Cast
    "Riya"
    Gully Boy
  • Yash Kamat
    Director of Photography
  • Mihir Singh Kothari
    Music Composer
  • Nitin R
    Sound Designer
  • Yash Soni
    Grading Artist
  • Sujit Choudhary
    VFX Artist
  • Zaheer Merchant
    VFX Artist
  • Nijin Nazeem
    Storyboard
  • Project Type:
    Short
  • Genres:
    Thriller
  • Runtime:
    21 minutes 34 seconds
  • Completion Date:
    April 1, 2023
  • Country of Origin:
    India
  • Country of Filming:
    India
  • Language:
    English, Hindi
  • Shooting Format:
    Digital
  • Aspect Ratio:
    16 : 9
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    Yes
  • Student Project:
    No
  • 13th Dada Saheb Phalke Film Festival
    Noida
    India
    April 30, 2023
    World Premier
    Best Actor & Official Selection
  • 12th Kolkata Shorts International Film Festival
    Kolkata
    India
    July 30, 2023
    Best Editing
  • Rome Prisma International Film Awards
    Rome
    Italy
    Finalist
  • Bengaluru International Short Film Festival
    Bangalore
    India
    August 11, 2023
    Official Selection
Director Biography - Arkish Aftab

Arkish Aftab is a Writer, Director and Editor based out of Mumbai. He is an alumni of AJK MCRC, Jamia Millia Islamia. Rat in the Kitchen is his debut short film.

Add Director Biography
Director Statement

Rat in the Kitchen is inspired from a news article which I had read 5-6 years ago. The news was so unbelievable and so bizarre that it drove me to create a screenplay around it. The consequences of leading an extremely negligent life and the toll it may take upon you is the overarching theme in the film.