In Person: Ketan Dua on Rafique Raat Ki Baahon Mein

Conceived of as part of the larger multimedia project The Mapmaker from Baghdad, Ketan Dua’s Rafique Raat Ki Baahon Mein (Rafique in the Embrace of the Night, 2024) imagines itself as an open, liquid archive. Screened as part of the official selection, India at the Emami Art Experimental Film Festival held in Kolkata from 11–14 September 2025, the film blurs the boundaries between fact and fiction, and dreams and reality. In this edited conversation, Dua speaks about the larger project and the process of collaboration, the hybrid treatment of the film, forms of archiving and his relationship to the city of Mumbai.

Ketan Dua is a sound designer, filmmaker and educator based out of New Delhi. He is the chief producer at Kaddukkas, a curatorial and research project organised by Lightcube, an acclaimed film society. He helped conceive and facilitate Jugnu Jhund, a visual literacy programme for young people from marginalised communities with The Community Library Project, New Delhi, and has designed original sonic artworks. He has served as Associate Director on a feature and several short films, video games and multimedia projects. He was longlisted for the Toto Funds the Arts’ Short Film Awards 2025 and guest curated a section of Experimental Moving Image Works from India for the 7th Bangkok Experimental Film Festival.

(Featured Image: Still from Rafique Raat Ki Baahon Mein [2024] by Ketan Dua. Image courtesy of the artist.)

Recorded on 12 September 2025.

To learn more about films screened at EAEFF, watch conversations with Asmita Pal as she discusses her film A Very Clear Sunrise (2025) and Mahishaa as he talks about his film Babasaheb in Bengaluru (2024). Also read Ritam Sengupta’s essay on Pinak Banik’s film Obsolete Skygazer - Enlightened Observer - Ignorant Truthseeker - Emaciated Entourage (2025), Santasil Mallik’s engagement with Maha Haj’s Upshot (2024), Vishal George’s reflections on Mohammed Jassim’s Bar Saar (2023) and Ishtayaq Rasool’s observations on Fileona Dkhar’s Ancestral Echoes (2022).

To watch previous episodes of In Person, watch Sivaranjini discuss her film Victoria (2024), Nimaya Harris discuss her work with the Minnette de Silva archive and Neelika Jayawardane speak about her critical writing practice.