There's a cinema beyond Bollywood too

Bollywood is so all-consuming that one assumes that it is the only cinema our vastly diverse country has to offer. This attitude causes much consternation to those who work in regional cinema. But the seductions of Bollywood films, the media attention, the penetration around the country and the popular culture references, make it difficult to look beyond Mumbai films. I must admit to being guilty of living with this bias, if not of perpetuating it.

Once you work in the industry, you get sucked into the legacy, the star system, the proximity to gilded lives and the awe-inspiring numbers -- —100 crores, 200 crores and so forth. This is not an excuse or an apology -- maybe it is a bit of both —-- but really more of a defence, if anything at all.

The microcosm that Hindi films are is comforting and as I was to find out --— enabling of a creative inertia. Being on a jury is hard work, one would think that watching films for 10 hours a day would be a luxury, after all most people put off film viewing to the weekend and it’'s an exercise in family bonding, something everyone can do together. But when serving on a jury, as I was to find out, it was work. More importantly, it is an opportunity to escape into cinema from around the country that would otherwise remain unrevealed.

IFFI (International Film Festival of India) gave me that opportunity and I discovered films that I never would have. For me that was the greatest pleasure of serving on the feature film jury for Indian Panorama.

What was revelatory for example was Kerala’s vibrant film industry that does not shy away issues like teenage pregnancy or a protagonist who suffers from a social dysfunction.

The Tamil film Kutram Kadithai follows the story of a teacher who slaps a student who falls into a coma, the moral ambiguity of the situation, the guilt, the lynch mob response— this is cinema that engages, but also makes you look deeper.

Often we think of the edgier films like the kind Hollywood’'s Quentin Tarantino makes and wonder why we don’t have them here. But gore makes most people squeamish and then you chance upon a film like Jigarthanda (Tamil) —-- that spoofs the Madurai films and spins it into a compelling tale, which is dark but also funny; or the beautiful Killa (Marathi), a coming-of-age tale of a boy who fears abandonment and Yellow (Marathi), the true life story of a child with Down Syndrome who becomes a competitive swimmer. These are stories that speak of our now, be it social dysfunction, violence or our definitions of normal. It teaches you that at its best --— cinema of the present —-- can be a vital, living,  breathing chronicler of our times.

Jigarthanda (Tamil)

This delightful film comes with all the trappings of the gangster film — blood, spilling guts, guns and moral ambiguity, only that it’s funny.. hilarious in fact. And this is why Jigarthanda is one of my favourite films of the year. It never tries to be intentionally funny and the skillful writing stops short of being slapstick. A spoof on the Madurai style of films, this movie makes fun of itself and is also an unapologetic celebration of a ‘genre’ that needs little translation as the characters suck you into their lives and their dilemmas.

Killa (Marathi)

Films inspire, sometimes even those of us for whom film viewing is an exercise in critical "appreciation". Killa is a brilliant example of how a simple story about a boy, who deals with abandonment issues with the pass- ing of his father and adjusts to life in a new school surrounded by fickle peers who embrace and reject him at the same time. The existential undertones in this film elevate this story from one about a boy coming of age to a narrative about loss and coping.

Yellow (Marathi)

This film is a triumph not only of the human spirit, but also of the director. As any director will tell you, children are very difficult to work with and in this film, director Mahesh Limaye casts Gauri Gadgil as the protagonist in a story about her life — a child with Down’s Syndrome who conquers all odds and embraces her love for water. Once again this is a film that redefines what it means to be ‘normal’. It is also a story of personal empowerment when a mother leaves her husband to give her daughter the life she deserves, a "normal" one.

Drishyam (Malayalam)

Often, the distinction between ‘commercial’ and ‘art’ cinema blurs. I come from the school of thought that doesn’'t believe in this distinction at all. All films should make money, it is the only way to ensure more films are made. But so embedded are these definitions that when a film like Drishyam mounted as a vehicle for superstar Mohanlal is screened, everyone expects to be force-fed the usual. But this film surprises. It is a brilliantly written film, but more importantly it is the acting, the ability of Mohanlal with all his superstardom to simply disappear into the character of a father that astounds. This film with ingenious plot points takes you on a thrilling ride.