Kashyap, Bala Present Halloween Cab Thriller 'Aakhri Ride' for Oct 31 Release
Anurag Kashyap and Vasan Bala have come on board to present "Aakhri Ride," a short thriller that will release worldwide on Oct. 31, according to Variety.
The film will go out on Oh Short Flips, a YouTube channel curated by Kashyap for short-form work. The date is no accident. The story plays out over a single Halloween night.
It follows a Mumbai ride-share driver who is pushed to breaking point across one frightening night. A ride-share driver takes bookings through an app, much like an Uber or Ola driver. That one-night, one-driver set-up keeps the action tight and contained.
The film was written and directed by Vijesh Rajan and Yashoda Parthasarthy. It is their first film. Chandan Roy and Aamir Dalvi head the cast, with Faisal Malik also appearing.
Ranjan Singh, Vishesh Agrawal, Rajan EPK and Anurag Kashyap are credited as producers. Navaras Pictures backed the production in association with Plexus Motion Pictures and Flip Films. A presenter credit in this context means an established name lending support to help a new film find an audience.
"Aakhri Ride" began its festival run in the Short Film Market Picks at Clermont-Ferrand in France. That section is a marketplace strand where buyers, programmers and distributors scout new shorts. From there it was selected at BIFAN in Bucheon, South Korea, plus Fantasia International Film Festival in Canada and Fantastic Fest in the United States.
The short has already collected several prizes, according to Variety. It won the Silver Audience Award for best Asian short at Fantasia. It also won best film at the Dada Saheb Phalke Film Festival and best Indian short at the Indo Dubai International Film Festival. It finished as second runner-up at BISFF.
For fans, this means easy access. No cinema ticket is needed. The film lands free on YouTube on Halloween night, the same night its story takes place.
