Movies have been one of the easiest ways to declutter and destress. Since the times of Covid, people have been more inclined towards cinema. Rather than enjoying typical Bollywood commercials movies, they have been keen on exploring art cinema. Cinema is no longer a mere purpose of entertainment, but a cognitive exercise for the brain and food for the soul. However, there are still a few cinemas that are beautifully crafted, yet they’re less explored by people. Here’s a list of movies belonging to various genres and languages that one shall watch.
Killa (2014)
Directed by Avinash Arun, “Killa” is a coming-of-age story of Chinmay Kale. Set against the backdrop of a village, the movie unleashes in a simple way, yet deals with complex emotions. Avinash Arun tends to look at the world from a 12-year-old boy, illustrating his struggles of finding stability, shelter, and familiarity within the boundaries of the unknown. The director brilliantly juxtaposes the metaphor of Killa against the vibe of the movie. On one hand, people are mesmerized by the story, whilst on the other hand backdrop and scenery of the movie are a treat for aesthetic worshippers. Amruta Subhash coupled with Archit Devdhar acts as a brilliant duo.
Sir (2020)
Love stories often dwindled between illustrating age differences and class differences. The movie, Sir shows the latter one, depicting a couple who battles class difference. Rohena Gera chooses to deal with such a simple subject by deciphering each nuance of the subject. The movie portrays, Ratna, a widowed house help employed by a single man, Aswin whose marriage broke before a kickstart. On one hand, the movie dramatizes hurdles in their relationship, whilst on other hand, he captures the electrifying spark between Ratna and Aswin. Aswin (Vivek Gombre), is a foreign returned fellow, who is ready to take the leap, to go against societal norms, whereas Ratna (Tilottama Shome), though a self-sufficient, modern woman fails to embrace what Aswin has to offer. Ratna’s character is aware of the spark they share, she is often inclined towards his soft, caring demeanor, but the boundary between them is too dark to cross. Even though the class battle is the primary subject, Gera has brilliantly captured themes like the reality of city life, treatment of domestic help, the stark contrast between village and city life, and lastly the aura of being a self-sufficient woman.
The Great Indian Kitchen (2021)
Simone de Beauvoir writes in The Second Sex, “All oppression creates a state of war”. This quote rightly echoes throughout the movie, The Great Indian Kitchen. One might go into the movie expecting it to be a cinema about sumptuous food satisfying our taste buds, however, Joe Baby deforms this image and creates something exactly contrast. The movie is a story of many Indian households where women aren’t only treated as inferiors, but they’re also expected to perform unnatural, unmeaningful tasks for their better- halves. The movie is all about, She chopping, washing, cooking, cleaning, grinding, and sweeping, meanwhile he doing yoga, going for morning walks, waiting for her to put the paste on his brush, and enjoying life as it comes. This regretful and stark reality of houses in rightly portrayed by Joe Baby. The story captures special attention as rather than portraying an oppressed woman dejected by her in-laws, the director chooses to portray a self-reliant woman who stands up for herself, again and again, combating her oppressors. Besides the meaningful story of the film, the actors (Nimisha Sajayan and Suraj Venjaramoodu) leave a mark on the audience with their phenomenal performances.
Death in Gunj (2016)
Toxic masculinity is a word seen to be having major repercussions on females. However, “Death in Gunj” is a movie portraying its detrimental effects on the male gender as well. The movie on several levels makes us realize how toxic masculinity is a severe threat to males as well. On the surface level the movie deals with toxicity, but as one digs deep inside one finds various themes of death, abandonment, grief, deformation, etc. The directorial debut of Konkona Sen Sharma revolves mainly around a boy named Shutu (Vikrant Messy) and his disturbing past and unparallel present. The movie has a mellow touch of brooding and unsettling mood which is rendered through the disturbing treatment of Shutu by his own family members. The entire family is on vacation in McCluskieganj, however the vacation sooner reaches a catastrophe when the entire ensemble witnesses a horrifying death. Vibrantly and near to perfect frames on one hand and stupefying performances of Kalki Koechlin, Tilottama Shome, Gulshan Devaiah, Jim Sarbh, Ranveer Shorey, Om Puri and Tanuja have people hooked onto their screens.
The Namesake (2006)
The movie is adopted from Jhumpa Lahiri’s novel, “The Namesake”. Directed by Mira Nair the movie tells a story of a Bengali family living abroad. However, the movie goes much beyond the boundaries of culture, abroad lifestyle, and Indian ness of typical Indian families. Indian families absorbed into the American melting pot have been told in several movies, however, Nair moves away from the obvious and explores their complex emotions in a detailed way. There is a sense of longing, belonging, grief, and familiarity yet aloofness in her characters. Members of the Ganguli family try to locate each other in a foreign land, rather, they’re left with no choice but to have each others’ backs. Ashima and Ashok (Tabu and Irfan) represent traditions, meanwhile, Gogol and Sonia (Kal Penn and Sahira Nair) represent modernity.
Written by- Sanika Ratnaparkhi
