Powerfully feminist film. Malayalis have spent sleepless months arguing over which actress’ performance was better.Amazon Prime Video.
Illustration/Uday Mohite
Here are my Top 20 All-India Films of 2024. Films 1-10 are below; films 11-20 will be next week.
ADVERTISEMENT
1. All We Imagine as Light by Payal Kapadia, Malayalam: This gorgeous film on friendships between women in Bombay, loneliness and desire, won the Grand Prix at the Cannes Film Festival (FF); is in the running for the Oscar. Stars Kani Kusruti, Divya Prabha, Chhaya Kadam, Hridhu Haroon. Distributed in India by Rana Daggubati’s Spirit Media. Still in some theatres. See. It. Now. Woman director.
2. Ullozhukku (Undercurrent) by Christo Tomy, Malayalam: Stars Parvathy Thiruvothu, Urvashi. Secrets, lies, and unexpected bonding between mother-in-law and daughter-in-law, deliver kicks fatal to the institution of marriage. Powerfully feminist film. Malayalis have spent sleepless months arguing over which actress’ performance was better.Amazon Prime Video.
3. Village Rockstars-2 by Rima Das, Assamese: Stars Bhanita Das, Basanti Das. Wrenching coming-of-age sequel to her Village Rockstars, 2017, it follows a teenage girl’s relentless pursuit of her musical dream. Won the Kim Jiseok Award at Busan FF. North East; Woman director.
4. Rhythm of a Flower, Phool ka Chand by Amit Dutta, Hindi: Evocative, metaphorical, animation feature on the late Hindustani classical vocalist Kumar Gandharva’s creative resilience, with animation by Allen Shaw. Won the Golden Gateway, Mami Mumbai FF.
5. Padatik, The Guerrilla Fighter, Srijit Mukherji, Bengali: Stars Chanchal Chowdhury, the popular Bangladeshi actor, is marvellous as Mrinal Sen, in this fine tribute to the master—one of the key filmmakers who birthed India’s parallel cinema—and his film Padatik, 1973, warts and all. Intercut with archival footage from his films.
6. Boong (A Little Boy) by Lakshmipriya Devi, Manipuri: On Boong, who is raised by a single mother; boldly feminist, funny and poignant witness of history, given the ethnic violence and devastation in Manipur. TIFF Toronto; Asia Pacific Screen Award (APSA) for Best Youth Film. North East; woman director.
7. Aavesham (Rage) by Jithu Madhavan, Malayalam: Stars Fahadh Faasil. Rip-roaring action-comedy about a goon (FaFa) who befriends three paavam college kids, as he craves love, rather than fear. I kept laughing out loud in the theatre, and others took selfies with the end credits. Ever seen that? Amazon Prime Video.
8. The Fable by Raam Reddy, Hindi, English: Stars Manoj Bajpayee. Mysterious fires on a Himalayan estate trigger philosophical introspection. Rare chance to see Manoj casually put on wings and fly off the cliffs. Was in Berlinale’s Encounters section. Thithi (Kannada) director does the big switch with a Bollywood star and Hindi.
9. Kottukkaali (The Adamant Girl) by PS Vinothraj, Tamil: Stars Soori, Anna Ben. Explores misogynist, casteist Indian traditions: A man loves a woman, who already has a low caste lover, so their families drag her off for a disgusting exorcism ritual, to “cure her” by “erasing” memories of her lover. In Berlinale Forum. On Amazon Prime Video.Vinothraj had won the Tiger Award at IFF Rotterdam for Koozhangal (Pebbles).
10. In Retreat by Maisam Ali, Ladakhi, Hindi: Stars Harish Khanna, who plays a middle-aged man who is always away and late, and having missed his brother’s funeral, lingers at the threshold of his old home. At Cannes FF’s ACID (Association for the Distribution of Independent Cinema) sidebar programme, Busan and Mami Mumbai FFs. Melancholic and poignant debut feature by this Iran-born Ladakhi filmmaker.
My favourite shorts of 2024 include Sunflowers Were the First Ones to Know by Chidananda S Naik, Kannada, that won the first prize in the La Cinef section at the Cannes FF; Nishi Dugar’s Anaar Daana (Sour Candy; woman director) that was in the Berlinale’s Generation K Plus section; Subarna Dash’s The Girl who lived in the Loo, animation short, woman director, that was also in the Berlinale’s Generation 14 plus section; and Naga director Theja Rio’s Ade (On a Sunday) in the Tenyiedie language, North East, and shot on 16mm film, that was at IFF Rotterdam, and won Mami Mumbai FF’s Royal Stag Large Barrel Short Film Award.
This list features five films by women directors and three films from the North East. Continuing films 11-20 next week.
Meenakshi Shedde is India and South Asia Delegate to the Berlin International Film Festival, National Award-winning critic, curator to festivals worldwide and journalist.
Reach her at [email protected]
Subscribe today by clicking the link and stay updated with the latest news!" Click here!
