Here’s my Top 20 All-India films list of 2023. Starting with films 1-10 here; 11-20 appears next week. The list is not in order, as it includes fiction features, documentaries, mainstream and indie films that cannot be compared. I acknowledge Bollywood separately here, as it is in a class by itself—including Shah Rukh Khan’s box office hits, such as Siddharth Anand’s Pathaan and Atlee’s Jawan, as well as Karan Johar’s Rocky Aur Rani Kii Prem Kahaani—since indie films are not on the same playing field. Here goes:

1.RIMDOGITTANGA, Rapture, by Dominic Megam Sangma, Garo, Meghalaya, North East:  Stunning film that was at the Locarno, Busan and Jio Mami Mumbai Film Festivals; it won the Asia Pacific Screen Award, APSA Cultural Diversity Award. On how the politics of fear—as well as religion and the state—can stoke suspicion, leading to violence. Evokes many worlds; hyperlocal but universal.