Top 10 all-India films 2020

Here are my top 10 All India and South Asian films of 2020 Note that it has been an exceptional year because of COVID19 with theatrical festival online and related film screenings of 2020 and 2021 delayed or in a flux Despite everything filmmakers still made filmsand miracles happened1 THE DISCIPLE by Chaitanya Tamhane MarathiWas in the main competition at the Venice Film Festival where it won Best Screenplay and the FIPRESCI Film Critics Award Executive Producer Oscarwinner Alfonso Cuaron About a devoted Hindustani classical music vocalist who finds his commitment to his art challenged in todays times2 NASIR by Arun Karthick TamilWas in the Rotterdam Film Festivals Tiger Competition where it won the NETPAC Award for Best Asian Film About a gentle hardworking Muslim textile salesman and poet in Coimbatore who is stabbed to death by Hindu fundamentalists3 FUNNY BOY by Deepa Mehta in English Tamil SinhalaMehtas finest film a comingof agestory exploring a teenage SinhaleseTamil gay romance at the onset of the devastating 26year civil war in Sri Lanka Captivating moving and funny Disqualified from being Canadas entry for the Oscar for Best International Film because of insufficient foreign language content it has been submitted for the best picture and best screenplay Technically a Canadian film it is included here because of its Indianorigin director making a film set in Sri Lanka with a South Asian cast based on Shyam Selvadurais book Woman director4 PAAVA KADHAIGAL Sinful Tales TamilSuperb anthology film exploring the idea of honour on Netflix With directors Sudha Kongara woman director by far the best here Vignesh Shivan Vetri Maaran and Gautham Vasudev Menon Produced by Ronnie Screwvala and Ashi Dua Sara woman producer Kongara tells a masterful tale of a gaytranswoman that breaks your heart with an understated religious layer and haunting songs Kalidas Jayaram is a revelation and woman director Vignesh Shivan is feminist and mischievous while telling a story about honour killings yes Kalki Koechlin speaks Tamil Vetri Maaran everreliable tells a hardhitting reallife story while Gautham Menons story has a climax that leaves your heart in your mouth5 AVIJATRIK The Wanderlust of Apu by Subhrajit Mitra BengaliA black and white sequel to Satyajit Rays Apu trilogy that ended with Apur Sansar of 1959 Based on the concluding part of Bibhutibhushan Bandyopadhyays Aparajito Apu relives his childhood with his son Kajol 6 visiting Varanasi and Nishchindipur before going on adventures to Jawa Arjun Chakrabarty plays a wistful Apu Anoushka Shankar and Bickram Ghosh have composed the music At IFFI Kolkata film festival6 ZINDAGI TAMASHA by Sarmad Sultan Khoosat Punjabi Urdu PakistanThis daring film takes on the mullahs for misusing religion to suppress the people an ageing man is forced to publicly apologise for dancing at a wedding It also celebrates South Asias love of song and dance Winner of the Kim JiSeok Award at the Busan Film Festival it is Pakistans Oscar entry It was at the I View World and Mosaic International South Asian Film Festival Canada7 SOORARAI POTTRU Praise the Brave by Sudha Kongara TamilStarring Suriya and Aparna Balamurali based on Simply Fly by lowcost airline Air Deccan founder Capt GR Gopinaths story Solid mainstream film Woman director On Amazon Prime Video8 RUN KALYANI by Geetha J MalayalamSlow burn but absorbing film about how a single young woman a cook is hemmed in by life yet fosters a romance between two of her employers It was at the New York Indian Film Festival Woman director9 HALAL LOVE STORY by Zakariya Mohammed MalayalamWhen two Muslim film fans looking for a family film decide to make a halal film they realise its tricky territory Dont expect a Sudani from Nigeria but Zakariya gives us enough to reflect on Grace Antony shines10 LATO KOSERO Owl by Shirish Gurung NepaliSlight idea of a man guided to find happiness by a shaman but this bw film is wonderfully inventive and playful visually and musically On Amazon Prime VideoHonourable Special Mentions include Ashmita Guha Neogis Catdog a short that was in the Cannes Film Festivals Cinefondation selection and is in the Indian Panorama woman director Rahul Riji Nairs Kalla Nottam The False Eye Malayalam Atanu Ghoshs Binisutoy Without Strings Bengali Iram Parveen Bilals Ill Meet You There Urdu USPakistan woman director V Vignarajans Andhaghaaram Darkness Tamil on Netflix Dhondup Tserings Ama Khando Tibetan Nepal Dharamshala Film Festival and Marya Javeds Baadi brabody Pakistan short Coalition of South Asian Film Festivals woman director Also acknowledging andor making relatively invisible women filmmakers more widely visibleMeenakshi Shedde is India and South Asia Delegate to the Berlin International Film Festival National Awardwinning critic curator to festivals worldwide and journalist Reach her at meenakshisheddemiddaycom