Kaifiyat is based on the syncretic nature of the tabla as a musical instrument and the playing style of Ustad Nizamuddin Khan (d.2000). It explores the boundaries of fiction and non-fiction through interspersing a narrator’s role as a storyteller or narration as a form of self-expression, or a narrative that delves in history and documenting reality as is. All of this within a rich soundscape of music and environmental rhythms. The tabla, much like Nizamuddin's style, developed in the courts of Indo-Islamic rulers of India. The film unfolds as a kaleidoscope, bringing together six sequences that weave a connection between several traditional Indian art forms, such as Indian classical music, Kathak dance and Indo-Persian miniature painting as well as glimpses of Nizamuddin and his family surviving the harsh socio-economic surroundings in the city of Mumbai.

Kaifiyat is a state of mind or mood induced in a person while experiencing a work of art. 

Duration: 46 minutes