Did you know that people in Madurai keep a pebble in their cheek during a drought, when no water can be found? When something is popped in the mouth, one automatically salivates, and this keeps the mouth moist. This was one of the revelations of PS Vinothraj’s Koozhangal (Pebbles, Tamil). It is not often that I have been both hit hard and mesmerised by an Indian debut feature, but Pebbles does just that. In addition to making a film of striking artistry and originality, Vinothraj shows us an India that is everywhere, yet we personally hardly know about it, beyond scrolled headlines. The film had its world premiere in the International Film Festival Rotterdam’s Tiger Competition last week.

The two other Indian films selected at Rotterdam are M Manikandan’s Kadaisi Vivasayi (The Last Farmer, Tamil, starring Nallandi and Tamil star Vijay Sethupathi in a marvellous guest role), and Rajeev Ravi’s Thuramukham (The Harbour, Malayalam, starring Nivin Pauly, Indrajith Sukumaran and Nimisha Sajayan), both in the Big Screen Competition section. So, three South Indian films were selected at Rotterdam, and no Bollywood/Hindi films (unfortunately, The Harbour is no longer displayed on Rotterdam’s website at the time of going to press; not a good sign).