10 big little films of 2017

Made on modest budgets, but with a great deal of passion, these are the gems that made movie-watching a treat this year

As 2017 inches towards an end, here's looking back at the tender mercies. Essentially funded by independent sources, a sizeable clutch of films dealt with realistic themes, garnering hosannas from discriminating viewers besides being feted at international festivals.
Indeed, modestly-budgeted endeavours that have a purposeful story to tell have been consistently serving as proverbial silver linings in the dark clouds of Bollywood's stuck-in-the-formula factory. This despite the fact that the National Film Development Corporation (NFDC), which had financed the parallel cinema movement of the 1970s and '80s, has become virtually extinct. More than a funding organisation, the NFDC has shifted its focus towards marketing.
In the event, it's only the adventurers - producers and directors - who continue to defy market norms. And so the offbeat goes on mercifully.
These decidedly different projects tackle subjects which are relevant to contemporary conditions, assert the need for women's empowerment and feature actors whose calling cards are their acting chops rather than any element of faux glamour. I'm alluding especially to the Pune film institute-trained, 33-year-old Rajkummar Rao from Gurgaon. And to 41-year-old Pankaj Tripathi, a graduate from Delhi's National School of Drama - who, while schooling, would also work at his family's farm in a Bihar village. The 31-year-old theatre actress from Pune, Anjali Patil, too, has made a walloping impact with her smouldering screen presence.
Over then, to the Top 10 Big Little Films of the year:
1) Lipstick Under My Burkha
Director Alankrita Shrivastava offered an empathetic account of a cross-section of women, constrained by a small town's outmoded beliefs and rank chauvinism. Yet, they dare to dream impossible dreams. Faced with censorship snafus initially, the film, with luminous ensemble performances - particularly by Ratna Pathak-Shah as a senior citizen who reads romantic novels - was well-received at the multiplexes.
2) Newton
Despite reservations that the story's concept about an idealistic government officer who does the right thing at a remote election booth was reminiscent of the Iranian film Secret Ballot, director Amit Masurkar's Newton still stands out as an engaging political critique. Rajkummar Rao, in the title role, and Pankaj Tripathi, the assistant commandant, his frenemy, were clearly outstanding. Anjali Patil as well as the accomplished Raghubir Yadav excelled in back-up roles.
3) Anaarkali of Aarah
Swara Bhaskar belted out a hard-hitting performance as a folk dancer in the backwoods of Bihar, who's harassed by the local politician enacted by the ever-bankable Sanjay Mishra. Punctuated by a rousing music score and dance set-pieces, first-time director Avinash Das created a portrait of a young woman who succeeds in leading life on her own terms.
4) Mukti Bhawan
An elegiac take on an old man, who's haunted by nightmares, and takes off to the Varanasi ghats to spend his last days. Lalit Behl, as the resigned-to-his-fate patriarch, and Adil Hussain, as his caring but perplexed son, breathed conviction and wit into a plot that could have otherwise become depressing. Shubhashish Bhutiani's direction was restrained and observant in the depiction of how the twains of tradition and modernism can meet, with dignity.
5) A Death in the Gunj
The absorbing murder mystery, set in a picturesque hilltown, established the credentials of actress Konkona Sen Sharma as a director. Keeping herself behind the camera, Sharma examined the twists of turbulence and calm within a dysfunctional family. The inspired acts of Kalki Koechlin and Vikrant Massey were counterpointed by expert histrionics of veteran actress Tanuja and Om Puri in one of his last screen appearances.
6) Rukh
Director Atanu Mukherjee's probe from the viewpoint of a teenaged boy into the unexpected death of his middle-aged businessman father was narrated with exemplary sensitivity. The retraced relationship between the father (Manoj Bajpai) and the boy (Adarsh Gourav) was calibrated with psychological acuity.
7) Poorna: Courage Has No Limit
Actor-cum-director Rahul Bose essayed a biopic on Poorna Malavath, the youngest girl who, at the age of 13, scaled the highest peak of Mount Everest. An inspirational subject, the film was remarkable for its compassionate direction, rigorous cinematography, and a lifelike rendition of the eponymous part by Aditi Inamdar.
8) Trapped
Rajkummar Rao scored also with this thriller, detailing the hazards of unchecked urbanisation in Mumbai. Caught in a no-exit situation in a high-rise building under construction, here was a nail-biter, directed by Vikramaditya Motwane, which pushed the viewer to the edge of the seat.
9) Ribbon
A career woman is not quite ready to become a mother. Convinced to a degree by her husband that they're ready for parenthood, the dialogue and screenplay seemed to be improvised on the spot during the filming process. Tetchy arguments and rational discussions between the young couple, played by Kalki Koechlin and Sumeet Vyas, were the pièce de résistance in this intimate film directed by Rakhee Sandilya.
10) Ajji
A woman, struck by ailments which come with advanced age, seeks justice for the harm done to her granddaughter. Confronted by an indifferent law enforcement, grandma takes on the forces of evil single-handedly, culminating into an emotionally powerful finale. Director Devashish Makhija at times tended to go over the top, but nothing could subtract from the nuanced incarnation of Ajji by Sushama Deshpande, the rarely-used theatre actress and playwright.
wknd@khaleejtimes.com