At 24, a basketball player from Old Delhi has one last shot at the India team but the brutal former captain who can get him there will give it to him on one condition: that he becomes him. The feature version of my short - 'Rise'. My debut directorial feature.
Work
In development
A commissioned theatrical biopic starring Vikrant Massey, produced by Ratpack Stories and Homemade Films
A commissioned series produced by Vikramaditya Motwane's Andolan Films and Sunny Leone's Suncity Endeavours
My autobiographical feature, the first-ever long-form screenplay I wrote. Hasn't been made yet but everything that I have gotten since, is a result of it. Cowritten with Anup Abraham Parackal.
In Kolhapur of the 90s - a town that worships wrestling - an abused boy claws up to destroy the tyrant who rules it, only to become a far greater monster, until the crowd that adored him burns him alive in his own fire. Selected among the top 6 of the SWA Pitch Fest 2026. Cowritten with Apurva Bardapurkar.
A Gujarati girl and the boy she dare not name fall in love across a line no one will say aloud. To marry, they must outlast her tightly wound father’s increasingly determined silent campaign, until he finally lets go. Cowritten with Avani Pandya.
After her husband's death, Annie, a 63-year-old Malayalee woman in Ahmedabad, is unable to sell his second-hand car as it refuses to start for anyone but her. However, Annie does not know how to drive! Selected among the top 25 of the SWA Pitch Fest 2026. Co-written with Anup Abraham Parackal.
2026
A 15 minute satirical play for Micro Theatre 7. Starring Aritro Banerjee, Rayaan Khatib, Apeksha Ashok Shetty, Seher Acharya. Performed at NCPA, Mukti Manch, AntiSocial and Artisan Coterie.
2025
A commissioned action film for Producer Nikhil Dwivedi
At a state basketball trial, Safi's fate rests in the hands of the formidable coach Yudhisthir. Their identical pasts but contrasting choices ignite a fierce battle - will Safi become Yudhisthir or Rise as himself? Was in the 'Recommended' section at NFDC's Mumbai International Film Festival (MIFF) 2026.
Like his other classmate, 10-year-old Michael wishes to distribute fancy chocolates for his birthday. But, aware that his father, a modest driver, cannot afford it, Michael finds unusual ways to raise the required money, with the help of his best friend. Official selection at MAMI Independent. Directed by Anup Abraham Parackal, written by Anup and me, produced by SRFTI.
2024
A commissioned historical biopic, produced by Ratpack Stories. My first 'big' commissioned project.
Newly a father himself, a young man storms into the office of the abusive father he fled ten years ago to demand an apology, and gets one from a man who knows exactly how to turn remorse into a weapon. Cowritten with Arpita Bohra.
2023
Zoya Diwan and her 8 year old Son are stuck in an abusive marriage with her Activist Husband, when she is sought out for help by another victim of abuse. While they are divided by class, they are united by their quest for freedom. My debut directorial short. Cowritten with Anup Abraham Parackal. Won the ZEE Short Film Contest - Best Short Film (Hindi) out of 7500 films. The juror was Anurag Kashyap. Was the official selection at Oscar-qualifying fests in India (BISFF) and North-America (Tasveer). And at DIFF, BIFFes, IFFJK, Jammu Film Festival, Habitat Film Festival, SamaBhav Film Festival and more. Was nominated for 'Best Actress' at the Critics Choice Awards 2025. Out on ZEE5.
In 2000s Ahmedabad, a resilient mother trapped in an abusive marriage draws strength from marginalized women to fight her abusive husband and patriarchal norms, seeking freedom for herself and her child.
2022
A young Mumbai screenwriter who prides himself on treating his cook well learns, over the first meal they share, that the man who quit another household out of loyalty to him doesn’t even know his name.
2021
A man venting about everything his career has failed to give him is forced to reckon with what he already has when a beggar at a traffic signal thanks him like he’s been handed the world.
2020
At a crowded, intrusive restaurant, when a daughter drops a bomb, her family is forced to retreat into their phones for an escalating, darkly humourous negotiation of an uncomfortable social reality.
A satirical news sketch imagines the Indian Right's wet-dream finally achieved and lets its loudest TV anchor, his guests and a relentless news ticker expose the madness of the media that cheered it on.
2019
A combative man who sees every colleague, stranger and social media comment as an opponent walks out of his first therapy session rather than face the wounded child behind the armour.
Told entirely from a first-person POV, an immersion in the multi-layered experience of an Indian woman navigating a single day from home to work to the digital world - filled with judgement, worship, harassment, praise and contradictions.
A short made along with Aarti Vaid for Impulse Filmmaking Workshops by Kavita Joshi.
2026
ZEE Short Film Contest
AwardRiha · Best Short Film (Hindi)
Juror - Anurag Kashyap. Winner from among 7500 short films.
SWA Pitch Fest 2026
LabAkhada · Top 6 scripts out of 1750
SWA Pitch Fest 2026
LabDo Raahein · Top 25 scripts out of 1750
Written by Anup Abraham Parackal and me
MAMI Independent
FestivalThat Perfect Day · Screened on 12th August 2026 at PVR Lido
Directed by Anup Abraham Parackal, written by Anup and me, produced by SRFTI
Mumbai International Film Festival
FestivalRise · 'Recommended' - Viewing Room
Jammu Film Festival
AwardRiha · Special mention
International Film Festival of Jammu & Kashmir (IFFJK)
FestivalRiha · Official selection
Kolkata People’s Film Festival (KPFF)
FestivalThat Perfect Day · World Premiere
Directed by Anup Abraham Parackal. Written by Anup and me. Produced by SRFTI.
2025
Film Critics Guild x Habitat Film Festival
FestivalRiha · Best of Critics Choice Awards 2025
SamaBhav Film Festival
FestivalRiha · Official selection
Critics Choice Awards
AwardRiha · Nominated for ‘Best Actress in a Short Film’
Indu Sharma
2024
First Draft Fellowship
FellowshipSelected among the Top 6 Directors out of 250 for Satyanshu Singh's fellowship
Bengaluru International Short Film Festival (BISFF)
FestivalRiha · Official Selection - World Premiere
Dharamshala International Film Festival (DIFF)
FestivalRiha · Official selection
2022
Rewrite Screenwriters Lab
LabZakia · Selected from 250 scripts
Mentored by Ajitpal Singh of Tabbar, Storm, Fire in the Mountains
2026
Worth the wait
Mumbai Mirror
2025
2024
“Patriarchy and politics have denied Muslim women justice both within religion and as citizens”: Zakia Soman
eShe
Triple talaq film ‘Riha’ reaches Oscar-qualifying US festival. India considered it ‘too political’
The Print