Aditya Mandhane
10. Monsoon Wedding (2001)
As we’re a country obsessed with weddings, stories of a big ,fat India wedding are seen a dime a dozen in Bollywood. Which is what makes ‘Monsoon Wedding’ all the more special. In Mira Nair’s sprawling ensemble, the dances aren’t choreographed or out-of-place and all the characters are far from perfect. Instead of the usual 3-hour riot of sanskaar and pomp, this drama tackles grave topics such as pre-marital infidelity, childhood sexual abuse and a battle with preconceived notions of manhood in teens, while also having its own tender romantic moments. Well-written and exceptionally well-acted as well, this is one film which, if released today, would rake in the moolah.
9. LSD: Love; Sex Aur Dhokha (2010)
It is safe to say that Dibakar Banerjee had zero fucks to give about convention and audience reception when he made an anthology film with the cursed s-word right in the middle of its title. The result is thus groundbreaking in more ways than one – it is one of India’s first film to be presented in the found footage style. The film satirises Indian news reporting through three subplots – honour killings, MMS scandals, and sting operations. The point is driven home in brash fashion through lurid language accompanied by flashing headlines (the stories are titled Superhit Pyaar, Paap Ki Dukaan and Badnaam Shohorat) and dramatic music which simultaneously sensationalises and trivialises the very serious issues involved. ‘LSD’ is as unconventional as they come.
8. Mirch Masala (1987)
Woman empowerment is the “it” trend of the current decade of Bollywood. But over 30 years ago, the ever-so-dauntless Smita Patil played the role of Sonbai, a beautiful, confident woman in colonial India who fiercely fights against the oppression of the tax collector subedar lusting after her, even when her entire village decides to condone the assault than face the subedar’s wrath. She hides in a spice-manufacturing factory guarded by a benevolent old man who puts his life on the line to protect her. The climactic scene exudes an amount of inspiration enough to make any patriotic film jealous. With stalwarts like Naseeruddin Shah and Om Puri playing the subedar and the old man respectively, ‘Mirch Masala’is a powerhouse of a film.
7. Salaam Bombay (1988)
Danny Boyle struck Oscar gold in 2008 when he made a film about a slum-dweller from Mumbai. What if I tell you there’s a film which came out 20 years before it, which inspired it in major doses, which was India’s second submission ever to be nominated for the “Best Foreign Language Film” Oscar, and which delves even more deeply into the lives of street children in Mumbai? Most of you’d probably say “Which film are you talking about?” Mira Nair is one of India’s most criminally underrated filmmakers, as evidenced by her second entry on this list. ‘Salaam Bombay’ is her ode to the underbelly of Mumbai and to innocence lost too soon which deserves more love than it received.
6. Jaane Bhi Do Yaaro (1983)
‘Jaane Bhi Do Yaaro’ is perhaps the greatest satirical comedy to come out of Bollywood, and also the most socially cognizant. Two ambitious photographers find themselves in the thick of a battle between two builders. Then a corpse gets involved and turns the entire city into a capering game of pakda pakdi. Through the misadventures of the duo (played with gusto by Naseer sahab and Ravi Baswani), JBDY explores the raging corruption in our country. The climactic scene involves a Mahabharata allegory, in which the corpse somehow ends up playing Draupadi, thus making the Duryodhana on stage vying to protect her instead of doing her Cheer Haran, which then turns into Mughal-E-Azam where the corpse is Anarkali! Comedic gold with satirical prowess make ‘Jaane Bhi Do Yaaro’ an inspiration to many future films and a cornerstone in intelligent Bollywood comedy.
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