Rhiteek Chatterjee
6. Ek Doctor Ki Maut (1990)
Directed by Tapan Sinha, this 1990 film deals the ostracism, bureaucratic disregard, admonishment and abuse a doctor has to go through in the society, instead of the recognition he deserves. Starring Pankaj Kapur as the ill-fated Dr Dipankar Roy, and Shabana Azmi, Anil Chatterjee and Irfan Khan as the supportive family, the film holds powerful performances. With a glacially slow first half, the movie might seem boring and worthless to many. However, with Tapan Sinha’s artistic innovation with science, the film builds quite luminously frame-by-frame. Adapting the screenplay from Ramapada Chowdhury’s ‘Abhimanyu’, the film sketches the characters quite intrinsically. Applauded by critics and writers, the film went on to win 3 National Film Awards, 2 Bengal Film Journalists’ Association Awards and 1 Filmfare Award.
5. Thanks Maa (2009)
Directed by Irfan Kamal, this 2009 movie focuses on the child abandonment issue in India. Starring Master Shams, Master Salman and Master Jaffer as the primary leads, ‘Thanks Maa’ follows the story of a homeless petty thief, who endeavours to find the biological mother of a baby who is abandoned by its mother. Engaging the viewers with an emotionally touching storyline and solid filmmaking, the flick amalgamates emotion and technique with dexterity. ‘Thanks Maa’ throws light on the issue of abandoning infants with poetic beauty by employing the literary weapons of irony and allegory. Kamal takes a grotesque and sad reality and crafts it into a beautiful piece of work.
4. Paar (1984)
Based on Samaresh Basu’s ‘Paathi’, this 1984 film observes the striking poverty and exploitation in rural Bihar. Directed by Goutam Ghose, ‘Paar’ is dark, sad and real to its core. Adopting a non-linear storyline, the film does not glorify or exalt the dark realities, a factor which makes this piece of work so poignant. With veteran actors Shabana Azmi, Naseeruddin Shah, Om Puri and Utpal Dutt helming on to the characters, the film is brimming with exceptional performances. Tracing the dwindling condition of humanity in the 1980s which was brushed under the carpet, ‘Paar’ is truly a masterwork of Bollywood.
3. LSD: Love, Sex Aur Dhokha (2010)
A satire on the way television news media has been turning into cheap entertainment, ‘LSD: Love, Sex Aur Dhokha’ follows three sub-plots – honour killings, MMS scandals and sting operations. Knitting together these sub-plots, director Dibaker Banerjee closely looks at how such horrific crime is turned into televising phenomena with gaudy language, flashing headlines, and dramatic music which unnecessarily sensationalises and trivialises it. What makes this flick such a unique watch is how the film does not add a moral essence but provides a raw dark reality. While the flick was quite profitable at the box office, ‘LSD’ is still considered as a socially negligent venture which effects the youth negatively. Shot on digicam to be presented in the found footage, and with obnoxious and offensive language, the film is too real to gulp down.
2. Om-Dar-B-Dar (1988)
A postmodernist film, ‘Om-Dar-B-Dar’ is about the adventures of a schoolboy named Om. Employing a nonlinear narrative and an absurdist storyline, this nonsensical flick lampoons mythology, arts, politics and philosophy through its intricately designed caricatures and distortions. Directed by Kamal Swaroop, the film stars Aditya Lakhia as the titular character Om, and Anita Kanwar and Gopi Desai serve as strong supporting leads. The film offers stinging sarcasm which is dark and obscure. It uses the aura of surrealism which brings a certain intoxicating experience. This 1988 flick is one of most innovative and charmingly bizarre and is completely different work never seen in Bollywood. One of the most unusual independent films of the 1980s, ‘Om-Dar-B-Dar’ did not get any theatrical release. However, with Swaroop’s masterful direction, the film has gained a cult following among critics, social activists and film enthusiasts for its extremely witty social observational comedy.
1. Miss Lovely (2012)
A controversy in the making, this Ashim Ahluwalia directed film chronicles the criminal underbelly of Mumbai’s C-grade horror and porn film industry. Starring Nawazuddin Siddiqui as Sonu Duggal, the younger brother of Vicky Duggal, the movies is the story of their relationship and how it deteriorates over the course of being embroiled in the shady business of the C-grade film insecurity. The director and actors carve out a vivid understanding of the 1980s. ‘Miss Lovely’ employs stylized form, layered narrative, and period costumes and production design to showcase a pulp style and contemporaneous modernity. With just a release in 300 screens, the film went completely unnoticed. However, the coherent writing by Ashim Ahluwalia and Uttam Sirur, and the schematic cinematography by K. U. Mohanan combined with the psychologically deft performances by the actors earned the flick quite the critical applauds, with many calling it one the most innovative films to be ever produced in Indian cinema.
Read More: Best Bollywood Movies of 2016
