SMD Top 20 All-India Films of 2023

Illustration/Uday Mohite

Here's my Top 20 All-India Films of 2023. Films 1-10 appeared last week. Film ranks are shifting sands, as the films include fiction, documentary and short films - and Indian films made in Farsi, Nepali and English.

11. BE KUCHEYE KHOSHBAKHT BY SREEMOYEE SINGH (AND, TOWARDS HAPPY ALLEYS, IN FARSI): Moving personal documentary, fully shot in Iran. Enchanted by Iranian film and poetry, Singh, a Jadavpur University student in Kolkata, travelled to Iran. She met filmmakers Jafar Panahi and others, and filmed repressed Iranians' fight for liberty. You've never seen an Indian film like this. Berlin Film Festival (Panorama); Best Film, BAFICI- Argentina, Dharamshala film festivals (FFs). Woman director and producer.

12. JORAM BY DEVASHISH MAKHIJA, HINDI: Powerful thriller on how India exploits its tribals, starring Manoj Bajpayee; Rotterdam, Sydney, Busan FFs. Produced by Zee Studios, Anupama Bose and Devashish Makhija; distributed theatrically worldwide by Zee Studios. Woman producer.

13. GHAATH BY CHHATRAPAL NINAWE (AMBUSH, MARATHI): Taut thriller set in the bloody civil war between Naxalite guerrillas and the police, and the people trapped in between, in central India's forests. Berlin Film Festival's Panorama; Jio Mami Mumbai FF.

14. FAMILY BY DON PALATHARA, MALAYALAM: Quietly daring film exposing how Church and community protect predators of child sexual abuse, in a devout Christian community in Kerala; Rotterdam FF.

15. WHISPERS OF FIRE & WATER BY LUBDHAK CHATTERJEE, BENGALI: Remarkable experimental film commenting on mining and exploitation of nature, using sound as a means of exploration. Brilliant concept, unforgettable images. Locarno FF.

16. GURAS BY SAURAV RAI (RHODODENDRON, NEPALI): A little Darjeeling girl embarks on an adventure while looking for her missing dog Tinkle. Deeply felt, beautifully crafted. Indo-Nepali co-production. Proxima Special Jury Prize-Karlovy Vary, Busan and Jio Mami Mumbai FFs.

17. BAHADUR THE BRAVE BY DIWA SHAH, NEPALI, KUMAONI: Sensitive portrait of the plight of Nepali migrant labour in India during the pandemic. Debut feature; won Kutxabank Award of R45 lakh equivalent at San Sebastian FF; Silver Gateway at Jio MAMI Mumbai Film Festival. Woman director.

18. SAPTA SAGARADAACHE ELLO BY HEMANTH M RAO, SOMEWHERE BEYOND THE SEVEN SEAS, KANNADA: Well-directed, tragic love story of a middle class couple (Rakshit Shetty, Rukmini Vasanth), in two parts. Released theatrically; "Side A" is on Amazon Prime Video.

19. JOSEPH'S SON BY HAOBAM PABAN KUMAR (MANIPURI FILM IN TANGKHUL, MEITEI LANGUAGES, NORTH EAST): As Joseph (Guru Rewben Mashangva) travels, looking for his missing son, the violence and tragedy he witnesses implies the film anticipates the ethnic conflict that besets Manipur (with 35 different tribes) and North East today. Shanghai FF; Special Jury Award, Kolkata FF.

20. KAYO KAYO COLOUR? BY SHAHRUKHKHAN CHAVADA (WHICH COLOUR?, HINDI, GUJARATI): This humanist, black-and-white debut feature follows the routine life of Razzak and his lower middle class family in Ahmedabad, Gujarat, as he struggles to buy a rickshaw. As non-stereotyped, ordinary Muslim life is significantly erased from our mainstream cinema, except in a few pockets, this film is a quietly courageous revelation. Rotterdam; Melbourne, NETPAC Award, Jogja-NETPAC Asian FF; Rashid Irani Young Critics' Choice Award, Jio Mami Mumbai FF. Woman producer Wafa Refai, with Chavada.

Films I Also Loved: Senior director Anurag Kashyap won't mind if his Kennedy (Cannes FF) makes way on the list for young filmmakers. Kiran Rao's brilliant Laapataa Ladies, too (TIFF Toronto), will instead be on my Films to Watch For in 2024. Here I'd include Avinash Arun's Three of Us (MOST exquisite; also in my 2022 list), Aamir Bashir's Maagh (The Winter Within, Kashmiri, Urdu), Kanu Behl's Agra (Cannes' Directors' Fortnight); Varun Grover's All India Rank (Rotterdam); Karan Tejpal's Stolen (Venice Film Festival), Achal Mishra's Ri (Ladakhi), Pushan Kripalani's Goldfish (English); Atul Sabharwal's Berlin, Parth Saurabh's Pokhar Ke Dunu Paar (Hindi/Maithili); Jude Anthany Joseph's 2018 (Malayalam, India's Oscar submission); Anupama Srinivasan and Anirban Dutta's Flickering Lights (IDFA Amsterdam), woman director; Harshad Nalawade's Follower; Shruthi Sharanyam's B32 Muthal 44 Vare, woman director; Anand Ekarshi's Aattam and Sujay Dahake's Shyamchi Aai (Marathi).

Indian shorts I loved: Also selected at top festivals, include, of many worthy ones, Yudhajit Basu's Nehemich (Always, Marathi, FTII, stunning; Cannes La Cinef); Reema Maya's Nocturnal Burger (Sundance, woman director), Rishav Kapoor's Next, Please (written, produced by Chaitanya Tamhane; Jio Mami Mumbai FF); Pranjal Dua's The Flamingos & Other Migratory Birds Tour; and Subarna Dash and Vidushi Gupta's This is TMI (SRFTI animation, TIFF Toronto, women directors). This list includes films by 10 women directors and producers.

Meenakshi Shedde is India and South Asia Delegate to the Berlin International Film Festival, National Award-winning critic, curator to festivals worldwide and journalist.
Reach her at meenakshi.shedde@mid-day.com