As we enter a new year full of promise and endless numbers of amazing cinematic possibilities, it's only right that we take a look back to remember what made 2019 a great year at the movies.
This past year marked a low for me in terms of catching Indian mainstream films in the cinema. Personal and programming responsibilities took precedent over leisure viewing, which means that I missed a lot of the biggest films from the major industries. This is both a good thing and a bad thing for you. There are plenty of online lists that highlight the best in mainstream filmmaking, my list is going to be quite a bit more esoteric to match my tastes and hopefully put a few new films on your radar.
A little over a dozen films in five languages populate this list, the vast majority of them in what the Indian mainstream audience would consider "regional" languages. Tamil, Malayalam, Telugu, Hindi, and Assamese language films all made big impressions, but this year it was a pretty even spread. Take a look at the list below to see what really hit home for me.
Director Lijo Jose Pellissery has the distinction of appearing on my year end lists with each of his last four films. The wonderful part about his latest, Jallikattu, is that the world finally seems to be catching up! After a boisterous premiere at TIFF and screenings at Fantastic Fest, BFI London, and numerous other festivals, Jallikattu is the first of his films to put him in the position to be recognized as the genius he's always been. I reviewed the film out of its TIFF world premiere and had this to say at the time:
A small village in the forests of rural Kerala is about to face down a terrifying beast when a buffalo bound for slaughter escapes and wreaks havoc on its lanes and the surrounding farmland. The seventh feature from Indian filmmaker Lijo Jose Pellissery, Jallikattu explores the chaos that erupts when the men of the village try to corral this force of nature and instead end up blurring the line between what is civilized and what is bestial as the situation grows increasingly savage.
Released in a blink-and-you'll-miss-it limited diaspora-focused cinema run in November, Jallikattu is now streaming on Amazon Prime around the world except the USA, where it will debut in the first week of February.
Among 2019's most exciting releases was Bhaskar Hazarika's doomed romance film, Aamis. A tale of star-crossed lovers bound by societal constraints, Aamis was a film tailor made for Screen Anarchy readers. I was at India's Film Bazaar international film market in 2017 when Hazarika gave me the run down of his upcoming feature and I fell in love with it before a frame had even been shot. When I finally did see the film in the summer of 2018, I was blown away as it exceeded all of my expectations. Thoroughly and endearingly local and yet universal in its themes, Aamis is a masterful blend of genre and mainstream filmmaking that truly stands out as one of the most unique films of the year in any language and I cannot wait to point readers to it. Upon its world premiere at Tribeca, I had this to say:
Aamis is bound to be one of the most surprising features of the year, and hopefully a breakout film for Hazarika, who takes an inexperienced cast to places no film has ever thought to go, and certainly not one from a nation so famously conservative about what can happen on screen.
An all-consuming love story whose production utilized the ingrained cultural obstructions in India to create a story about what happens when those very same obstructions prevent free expression, Aamis is an exceptional, world class piece of filmmaking. Not only has India never seen anything like this before, I don't think anyone has, and it's about time someone did.
Nine years after his debut feature, Aaranya Kaandam, rocked Tamil film audiences, director Thiagarajan Kumararaja returned at full force with a wildly ambitious masterpiece in Super Deluxe. Another film that I saw in 2018, but didn't get released until 2019, Super Deluxe is bold hyperlink storytelling with very out-there themes and plot threads featuring some of South India's finest acting talent coming together to make something very special.
Tamil film superstar Vijay Sethupathi (Vikram Vedha), actress Samantha (Eega), Malayalam star Fahadh Faasil (Thonidmuthalam Driksakshiyum), actor/director/writer Mysskin, actress Ramya Krishnan (Baahubali) and numerous others tell the tale of a bunch of horny youngsters, a transgendered mom returning from a long time away from her child, a mature porno queen, a cheating wife, and a furious husband in this wild film that will take you to places you never thought Indian films could go. One of my absolute favorite experiences of the year, Super Deluxe more than lives up to its name. Now streaming on Netflix.
A kind of rural Indian answer to Moonlight, director Geetu Mohandas' Moothon marked a watershed moment for Malayalam cinema and its star, Nivin Pauly. Moothon (Elder One) is the story of a child in rural Lakshadweep searching for their older brother in the brutal lanes of Mumbai. Mohandas employed not only her very capable leading man to help her tell this incredibly sensitive story, but also a horde of incredibly talented collaborators. Co-writing the film, with an emphasis on the Hindi dialogues, was indie superstar Anurag Kashyap; Kashyap's frequent collaborator (and Mohandas' husband) Rajeev Ravi (Gangs of Wasseypur) shot the film with a gritty intensity that only he can bring to the visuals. Co-starring with Pauly is Shobhita Dhulipala (Raman Raghav 2.0), Shashank Arora (Titli), Dileesh Pothan (Ee. Ma. Yau.), and Roshan Mathew, all of whom give it their all in delivering one of the most emotional wrenching stories of the year.
No sign of Moothon on the streaming services just yet, but this TIFF veteran is definitely one to look out for!
Perhaps the most obscure and least seen of my top dozen this year is Arati Kadav's contemplative sci-fi feature Cargo, but I have the feeling that it'll develop a following in the years to come. In a near future where Hindu demons have organized with their human contemporaries to help those who have passed away to move on to their next incarnations, an old-timer in the transit business, Prahastha (Vikrant Massey, A Death in the Gunj), gets saddled with a new kid, Yuvishka (Shweta Tripathi, Haraamkhor, Masaan), as he begins to transition out of his work. A meditative work that explores transitions of all kinds and what we do with the baggage we can't quite shake, Cargo is absolutely unique and the debut of a bold new voice in genre filmmaking.
It bears noting that Cargo's Arati Kadav is not only an excellent writer/director, she might be India's first genre filmmaker who is a woman, a not inconsequential step for her and the industry. I can't wait for the world to catch up with Cargo, it's about time.
Ashwin Saravanan's Game Over was a bit of a game-changer in Tamil language cinema this year. In an industry that is already overloaded with goofy masala horror comedies, Saravanan managed to make a truly unique and terrifying feature that is unlike anything out of that part of the world.
When a traumatized video game designer named Swapna (Taapsee Pannu) ends up confined in her home due to PTSD inspired agorophobia, things start to get scary very quickly. There's a serial killer on the loose in the area, beheading woman and setting their corpses on fire. News reports are shocking, but Swapna doesn't seem to find any reason to be personally concerned until her own life turns topsy turvy. With one of the most innovative and exciting final acts of any film I've seen this year, Game Over really swings for the fences and delivers and emotional rollercoaster of an experience and an action packed finale that will leave you breathless.
Game Over is currently streaming on Netflix in multiple languages, be sure to select the Tamil version of the film for the original soundtrack.
An oddball addition to my top twelve is Ratheesh Balakrishnan Poduval's Android Kunjappan Ver. 5.25, a rural sci-fi film about the importance of family and the binds that tie us all together.
On the surface, the film seems like a riff on 2012's Robot and Frank, with a man leaving his grandpa in the care an android housemaid, but what ends up happening in the end is quite different. Subramanian (Soubin Shahir) has been at his father's beck and call for years, stifling his own ambitions and potential. When a job offer from a Japanese company comes with the unexpected perk of an android housemaid, Subramanian takes the plunge and leaves his father Bhaskara (Suraj Venjaramoodu) in the care of the Android Ver. 5.25 that his company has developed to help with those who need it. Unsurprisingly, things do not go to plan, and Bhaskara and his little buddy form a tenuous, yet unusually familiar bond that may end up backfiring.
Android Kunjappan Ver. 5.25 is an endearing sci-fi dramedy about the importance of family that definitely warrants more attention outside of Kerala than it has received. I'm a little iffy on the conclusion, but the ride is more than worth the destination.
Android Kunjappan Ver. 5.25 is currently streaming on Amazon Prime.
A horror story about the decisions we are forced to make and the ghosts that haunt us, Vijay Jayapal's second feature Nirvana Inn is an unusual genre film that will hopefully find a wider audience in the coming year.
Jogiraj (Adil Hussain) is the caretaker at a rural inn in far north eastern India. He is on the run from his past, but his past doesn't seem to be done with him. I'd hate to give away too much of the story, but suffice it to say that his history catches up with him in an unexpected way and he cannot run anymore.
After a premiere at the Busan Film Festival in October, Nirvana Inn is working toward a larger reelase this year. It's a challenging watch, but the filmmaker and cast including Hussain and up-and-coming star Rajshri Deshpande (Sexy Durga, Angry Indian Goddesses) make this more than worth the wait.
About as straightforward a thriller as Indian cinema has ever seen, director Lokesh Kanagaraj's Kaithi is a thrill-a-minute wonder of efficient writing and staging.
When cops make the biggest drug bust in the history of the nation, the crooks naturally want their drugs back and will stop at nothing to get them. It's up to an injured cop and a convent with a certain set of skills to keep that from happening, and the clock is ticking. Kaithi's all-in-one-night story is wonderfully jam packed with violent gang action, but also manages to give the characters and audience a reason to care about the ongoing carnage. No songs, no dances, just non-stop action as the convict Dilli (Karthi), leads the policeman in charge of the investigation back to the evidence locker to keep the bust from going bust.
Really solid action and a great story make Kaithi one of the most exciting outings in years from Tamil cinema. Kaithi is currently streaming on Simply South, a streaming service focused on bringing South Indian films to a worldwide audience.
I might lose a few films fans here, but the heart wants what it wants.
Next on my list is Vinaya Vidheya Rama, the latest from Telugu potboiler specialist, Boyapati Srinu. Srinu is well known among Telugu film fans for his hyper-violent, patently ridiculous cinema that boils over with machismo and ludicrous visuals and story. Vinaya Vidheya Rama is yet another addition to the list that is sure to satisfy fans of dopey logic, physics-free action, vengeful testicle-stabbing toddlers, double decapitations, and disco dancing.
Don't get me wrong, in terms of the art, Vinaya Vidheya Rama is an affront to cinema; but as entertainment, it's hard to beat. I'm pretty sure this won't land on any other top ten lists this year, but this is my list, and so here we are.
Vinaya Vidheya Rama is available to stream on Amazon Prime in HD or 4K (!)
Tamil filmmaker Vetrimaaran is one of the top directors in all of India, he's so good - in fact - that even a relatively by-rote thriller like this year's Asuran is among the best the country had to offer. After appearing on three of my previous year-end lists with Aadukalam, Visaranai, and Vada Chennai, the director's latest is yet another winner.
A tale of caste politics and generational vengeance with plenty of action, Asuran is the of a lower caste man attempting to protect his son after the boy kills an upper caste local leader. The story is fairly simple, but incredibly well told and acted, especially by Maaran's favorite leading man, Dhanush. Pulpy without being ridiculous, Asuran is definitely an exciting film, and a decent step back into the mainstream world for the director after a couple of more ambitious films.
Asuran is streaming on Amazon Prime.
Article 15 of the Indian constitution effectively bans discrimination based on caste by any official government entities, but caste discrimination and violence very much still exist today. Director Anubhav Sinha and his screenwriting partner Gaurav Solanki address this issue in the brilliant Article 15, one of my favorite Hindi films of the year. Sinha's last couple of films, this one and last year's Mulk, could very easily be identified as message movie, with all of the baggage that entails, however, Article 15 is so much more. I reviewed it following the world premiere at this year's London Indian Film Festival:
Young IPS Officer Ayan Ranjan (Ayushmann Khurrana) takes a post in rural Uttar Pradesh near the city of Lucknow as a kind of punishment for being flippant with his superiors. Ayan didn't spent his formative years in India, having been sent off to Europe for his education, but upon his return, he suffers a major culture shock upon being dropped into the middle of the Hindu heartland where old customs die hard. Just as he has arrived, the town is gripped by a case in which three girls went missing with two of them turning up lynched in what is presumed to be an honor killing. Ayan's instincts tell him otherwise, and quickly the entire town is a suspect as he is determined to find out what actually happened...
The film is more than just a preachy diatribe against caste discrimination, though, it's also a finely tuned thriller that addresses its issues with the problem in a gripping and entertaining fashion. The story of Article 15 reveals itself over the course of its well-paced two hour run time with very little flab or unnecessary padding, encouraging the viewer to take the journey along with its characters. Not everyone is exactly who we think they are, and even those who we believe to be trust worthy are not always so.
In the end, Article 15 is a compelling thriller that keeps you guessing until right near the end, putting another feather in Sinha's cap with a remarkably solid thriller that addresses a significant social issue without sacrificing storytelling. I haven't seen as many Bollywood films this year as I typically do, but this one sits proudly near the top of that list and definitely has the potential to make some fans outside of the usual Indian film fandom. Definitely worth checking out.
Article 15 is currently streaming on Netflix.
Two years after his controversial film, Sexy Durga, premiered at the IFF Rotterdam where it took home the coveted Hivos Tiger award, Malayalam language filmmaker Sanal Kumar Sasidharan returned to the world stage with his follow up, Chola in the Orrizonti section at the Venice Film Festival.
Chola is the story of a young couple who hitch a ride to the city to go on an adventure, only to find themselves help hostage by man behind the wheel who drags them through a night of terror. Similar in structure and tone to Sexy Durga, Chola digs even deeper to expose a harsher, more dangerous part of the human psyche. Rather than dissecting the cruelty of strangers against women in India, Chola exposes the dangers hidden within those we see as allies or even friends. Equally, if not more upsetting that its predecessor, Chola is the latest in Sasidharan's brutal stories about the dark heart of toxic machismo in India. A harrowing account of a jovial outing gone horribly wrong, Chola pulls no punches.
It may not be an easy watch, but with every day bringing fresh news stories about tragedies committed against those less fortunate in India, Chola is sadly prescient and perhaps the kind of wake up call that is needed.