Here's my Top 20 All India and South Asian films of 2019, including fiction features, animation and docu-fiction. This is the first part, my Top 10. The second part (11-20), will appear next week.

1. Kumbalangi Nights by Madhu C Narayanan, Malayalam. Jaw-droppingly gorgeous film, masterfully written by Syam Pushkaran, also co-producer. It stars Fahadh Faasil, Soubin Shahir and Shane Nigam. Women are absent in this family of four brothers, yet it delicately evokes femininity in this masculine space, while ripping machismo. Uff! One for the ages. On Amazon Prime.