The Leopard(2025)
Hindi20 mins
Mumbai, the only city in the world with a forest at its heart, is where leopards roam beside highways and high-rises. When one is found dead at a newly redeveloped housing society, 8-year-old Apu's inner world begins to fracture. What starts as unease spirals into paranoia, as small everyday violences—dismissive adults, buried tensions, unseen fears—begin to close in.
Director:Mukti Krishan
Mood:
darkemotionalsuspenseful
Where to watch:
Quick Facts
- Streaming on
- Netflix
- Theatrical Release
- 11 March 2025
- Director
- Mukti Krishan
- Language
- Hindi
- Runtime
- 20m
Storyline
In Mumbai, a leopard is found dead at a new housing complex. An 8-year-old boy named Apu becomes increasingly paranoid, and the everyday tensions and fears around him start to feel overwhelming.
“A city's wild heart stops beating. A boy's world unravels.”
Film Details
20Minutes
HindiLanguage
Release Date11 March 2025
Parental Guide
Violence
Low
Language
Low
Sex / Nudity
Mild
Drugs
Mild
Intensity
Low
Where to Watch
Vibe & Tags
Mood
darkemotionalsuspenseful
Themes
survivalcorruptionfamilyidentity
Tonegritty
Pacingslow-burn
Complexityrequires-attention
Audiencearthouse
Best Withalone
Violence3
Emotion5
Humor1
Rewatchability3
Cast & Crew
#1
S
Sagar DeshmukhAjit
→#2
S
Sharvari PatankarSneha
→#3
V
Vandita JainCrew
→#4
M
Mukti KrishanDirector
→Trivia
- The film's title is a direct reference to the 1963 Italian classic 'The Leopard', but reimagined in an urban Indian context.
- Director Mukti Krishan spent months with wildlife researchers in Mumbai's Sanjay Gandhi National Park to understand leopard behavior.
- The child actor playing Apu was cast after a nationwide search for a non-professional with no prior screen experience.
- The film's sound design uses actual leopard growls recorded in Mumbai's forests, mixed with urban traffic noises.
- It was shot entirely on location in Mumbai, including rare permissions to film in restricted forest-edge neighborhoods.
- The screenplay was workshopped at the Sundance Institute's Screenwriters Lab before production began.
- The film's color palette was inspired by the specific shades of twilight seen in Mumbai's suburban skyline.