Here’s my Top 20 All-India films of 2021. Starting with Top 10 here; 11-20 next week. The list is not in order: it includes fiction features, documentaries, mainstream and indie films that cannot be compared. Yet again, it reminds us how far regional cinema is ahead of Bollywood. How some of our finest films are debuts by those who never went to film school. And I’m continuing to make women’s work more visible. This is not a water-tight list; it is more to spark conversations around good Indian cinema, so your suggestions are welcome. That these films were made despite Covid-19, is miraculous. Here goes:
 
1. Koozhangal (Pebbles) by PS Vinothraj, Tamil: Jaw-dropping debut feature about a little boy who settles scores with his wife-beating father, through an endless walk home under the scorching Madurai sun. Written and directed by Vinothraj, the small-cast, indie film features mostly non-actors. India’s entry for the Oscars 2022, it earlier won the Tiger Award at the International Film Festival Rotterdam. Produced by Nayanthara and Vignesh Shivan, with Sai Devanand S; woman producer.

2. Writing with Fire by Rintu Thomas and Sushmit Ghosh, Hindi: Excellent, inspiring, debut documentary feature on Khabar Lahariya, India’s only newspaper run by Dalit women, in Bundelkhand in UP/MP. And how they use smartphones to question patriarchy, caste and power. In the Oscar 2022 shortlist for Best Documentary Feature; at the Sundance Film Festival, it won the Special Jury Award-Impact for Change and Audience Award. Woman co-director, co-writer, co-producer.