Akhilesh C.
6. Hunterrr (2015)
Perhaps the only movie on the list officially belonging to the adult-comedy genre, ‘Hunterrr’ throws things out in the open and leaves very little for your imagination. Being a sex addict, Mandar’s only aim is to wander off, address his physical and sexual needs and move on with his aimless life. While he stalks and tries to make out with Parul, a classmate in his class of engineering, he’s expelled after being caught during the act. With his desperation soaring, he rents out a small flat elsewhere and infatuates for Jyotsna – a housewife in the neighbourhood. Their infatuation becomes mutual and soon it turns out to be an affair, with Jyotsna finding her “solace” in Mandar before her husband finds out about their affair. Eventually, Mandar finds his true love in Tripti, with whom he confesses about his addiction for sex. The raw portrayals, and depiction of sexual addiction is convincing to the core.
5. Margarita, With a Straw (2014)
Laila – a wheelchair-ridden teenager who has to deal with cerebral palsy and her overbearing mother, relocates to the US to finish her semester. As she moves on from one crush to another, she meets Jared – one of her colleagues and love interests, and Khanum – a blind girl of Pakistani descent. She falls deeply for Khanum while also in a physically intimate relationship with Jared, both of which are disapproved by her mother. Confused about her sexuality, along with dealing with her disease and her mother’s untimely demise shows the internal struggles Laila has been put through whereas all she wanted was to enjoy her life to the fullest, while she can. Kalki Koechlin gives a performance of her lifetime as a physically-challenged teenager and her agony has to be seen to be felt.
4. Ugly (2013)
I liked ‘Ugly’ and relate it to ‘B.A. Pass’ for primarily two reasons – the uncertainty and betrayals in each and every person, given their multifaceted personalities and their never-ending greed for money, and the evolved characters and storyline which is dark, disturbing, and engaging in its own way. Surrounding the possible kidnapping of Kali, a ten-year-old kid of a struggling actor Rahul and Shalini, his ex-wife, the layer-by-layer revelation of the characters is gripping and satisfying. One thing leads to another and we find each character trying to conceal the truth or satisfy their own ulterior motives while Kali had still been missing. The grim conclusion is a reminder of the crippled society that ours has become due to the overrated notions of money, power, and sex.
3. Haraamkhor (2017)
One of the few rare Indian films with a sumptuous portrayal of the Lolita Complex, ‘Haraamkhor’ revolves around a primary school teacher Shyam (Nawazuddin Siddiqui) and Sandhya (Shweta Tripathi), one of the students in his school. While Shyam tries to make sexual advances at Sandhya, who is initially reclusive and reluctant, given the fact that Shyam is married, Shyam’s “efforts” and flirtatious behaviour pays off as they start having an affair and develop a liking for each other. Meanwhile, Sandhya’s classmates Kamal and Mintu are jealous of their affair and in a last-ditch effort to get to Sandhya, they end up killing Shyam. Calling ‘Haraamkhor’ the closest cousin of ‘B.A. Pass’ wouldn’t be wrong.
2. Dev D (2009)
The modern-day rendition of the classic Bengali novel, complete with the social disorders like drugs, alcoholism, patriarchy, hypocrisy, and chauvinism, ‘Dev D’ is centered around a distraught and tormented Dev, who, after Paro’s wedding, resorts to drugs and alcohol, despite Chanda’s efforts to revive him back. Paro is Dev’s childhood crush, who loves Dev and wants to marry him, but her world turns upside down when Dev, after his return from London is all the more judgemental, pretentious, and egotistical. Chanda is a student who resorts to prostitution every night to support herself. Though the references are nothing new to us, the presentation is never-seen-before and so are the performances. ‘Dev D’ is more than being just a cult film and is a milestone in the history of Indian cinema.
1. Parched (2015)
‘Parched’ has to be the boldest Indian film ever made on the subject of combating the prevailing social stigmas in our society even today and emerging victorious in the end, despite whatever it takes. Primarily revolving around the subject of patriarchy and misogyny, draconian rituals and practices, marital rapes, and abuse, ‘Parched’ has ventured into areas no one ever has, at least in an Indian setup. Rani and Lajjo are close friends residing the same village. While Rani is a widow who takes care of her ailing mother-in-law, Lajjo is subject to mental and physical abuse by her alcoholic husband who also accuses her of being infertile. Eventually, Rani, and Lajjo, along with Bijli – an erotic dancer, decide to elope from all their problems and start afresh. Bold, refreshing, and ambitious, ‘Parched’ is a phenomenon that shouldn’t go unwitnessed.
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