Beyond bollywood: MAMI's Top 10 Indian films

Here are my recommendations of the Top 10 Indian films in the Mumbai Film Festivals India Gold section competition Its sort of in order of priority Its a crackling good year for Indian cinema and very diverse with fiction documentary and docufiction films Enjoy1 Aise Hee Just Like That by Kislay HindiThe ageing newlywidowed Mrs Sharma finally learns to live for herself Brilliant Quietly powerful daring debut feature that addresses patriarchy sexism ageism and rightwing nationalism in India Won a New Currents Award Special Mention at the Busan Film Festival2 Bombay Rose by Gitanjali Rao animation feature BambaiyyaBombay flower sellers Salim and Kamala are in love multiple characters are connected by a red rose including the feisty bisexual Shirley Intoxicating visual aural and musical feast for the senses This debut feature comes all guns blazing it was at the Venice Toronto Busan and London Film Festivals3 Eeb Allay Ooo By Prateek Vats HindustaniDelhi is overrun by monkeys so the government creates a new jobmdashmonkey repellermdashto chase them away Anjani gets the job but needs do to monkey business to keep it Delightful absurdist debut fiction feature approximating a documentary It was shown at the Pingyao Film Festival4 Aamis Ravening by Bhaskar Hazarika AssameseDr Nirmali who is married has an affair with Sumon who is studying unusual food habits in North East India The two bond over food but their carnivorous love story turns dark and bizarre The film was shown at Tribeca5 Khanaur Bitter Chestnut by Gurvinder Singh Pahari English HindiKishan 17 a carpenters son moves from Baragraan village to Bir making pizzas at a cafeacute that includes a foreign clientele Will he go to the big city stay or return Singhs Anhey Ghorhey da Daan was at Venice and Chauthi Koot was at Cannes in 20156 Maru ro Moti Pearl of the Desert by Pushpendra Singh RajasthaniMoti Khan Manganiyar is a musically gifted child from a Muslim Manganiyar family in Rajasthan His father is forced to play for patrons and is humiliated and so he wants Moti to study singing and carve his own career Singhs Lajwanti was in Berlin in 20147 Gamak Ghar The Village House by Achal Mishra MaithiliWe witness a familys reunions at their ancestral Bihar home over 20 yearsmdashbirth death pujas feastsmdashtill the house is demolished Intensely savoured delights including picking mangoes This debut feature is a fiction evoking a documentary8 About Love by Archana Atul Phadke MarathiWhen Phadke films three generations of her family she discovers hardhitting truths She confesses I dont want to marry because I dont want to become like Mom An unflinching and funny debut documentary feature9 Nimtoh Invitation by Saurav Rai NepaliTashi 10 and his grandma are tenants guarding the landlords cardamom orchard But with the landlords sons impending wedding Tashi hopes to be invited Gentlepaced debut feature Rais short Gudh Nest was at Cannes in 201610 That Cloud Never Left by Yashaswini Raghunandan BengaliExperimental film set in Daspara a village of toy makers in Bengal that observes their inventiveness and reflects on the nature of filmMeenakshi Shedde is India and South Asia Delegate to the Berlin International Film Festival National Awardwinning critic curator to festivals worldwide and journalistReach her at meenakshisheddemiddaycomCatch up on all the latest Crime National International and Hatke news here Also download the new midday Android and iOS apps to get latest updates