Top 20 all-india films 2024

Here are my Top 20 AllIndia Films of 2024 Films 110 are below films 1120 will be next week1 All We Imagine as Light by Payal Kapadia Malayalam This gorgeous film on friendships between women in Bombay loneliness and desire won the Grand Prix at the Cannes Film Festival FF is in the running for the Oscar Stars Kani Kusruti Divya Prabha Chhaya Kadam Hridhu Haroon Distributed in India by Rana Daggubatirsquos Spirit Media Still in some theatres See It Now Woman director2 Ullozhukku Undercurrent by Christo Tomy Malayalam Stars Parvathy Thiruvothu Urvashi Secrets lies and unexpected bonding between motherinlaw and daughterinlaw deliver kicks fatal to the institution of marriage Powerfully feminist film Malayalis have spent sleepless months arguing over which actressrsquo performance was betterAmazon Prime Video3 Village Rockstars2 by Rima Das Assamese Stars Bhanita Das Basanti Das Wrenching comingofage sequel to her Village Rockstars 2017 it follows a teenage girlrsquos relentless pursuit of her musical dream Won the Kim Jiseok Award at Busan FF North East Woman director4 Rhythm of a Flower Phool ka Chand by Amit Dutta Hindi Evocative metaphorical animation feature on the late Hindustani classical vocalist Kumar Gandharvarsquos creative resilience with animation by Allen Shaw Won the Golden Gateway Mami Mumbai FF5 Padatik The Guerrilla Fighter Srijit Mukherji Bengali Stars Chanchal Chowdhury the popular Bangladeshi actor is marvellous as Mrinal Sen in this fine tribute to the mastermdashone of the key filmmakers who birthed Indiarsquos parallel cinemamdashand his film Padatik 1973 warts and all Intercut with archival footage from his films6 Boong A Little Boy by Lakshmipriya Devi Manipuri On Boong who is raised by a single mother boldly feminist funny and poignant witness of history given the ethnic violence and devastation in Manipur TIFF Toronto Asia Pacific Screen Award APSA for Best Youth Film North East woman director7 Aavesham Rage by Jithu Madhavan Malayalam Stars Fahadh Faasil Riproaring actioncomedy about a goon FaFa who befriends three paavam college kids as he craves love rather than fear I kept laughing out loud in the theatre and others took selfies with the end credits Ever seen that Amazon Prime Video8 The Fable by Raam Reddy Hindi English Stars Manoj Bajpayee Mysterious fires on a Himalayan estate trigger philosophical introspection Rare chance to see Manoj casually put on wings and fly off the cliffs Was in Berlinalersquos Encounters section Thithi Kannada director does the big switch with a Bollywood star and Hindi9 Kottukkaali The Adamant Girl by PS Vinothraj Tamil Stars Soori Anna Ben Explores misogynist casteist Indian traditions A man loves a woman who already has a low caste lover so their families drag her off for a disgusting exorcism ritual to ldquocure herrdquo by ldquoerasingrdquo memories of her lover In Berlinale Forum On Amazon Prime VideoVinothraj had won the Tiger Award at IFF Rotterdam for Koozhangal Pebbles10 In Retreat by Maisam Ali Ladakhi Hindi Stars Harish Khanna who plays a middleaged man who is always away and late and having missed his brotherrsquos funeral lingers at the threshold of his old home At Cannes FFrsquos ACID Association for the Distribution of Independent Cinema sidebar programme Busan and Mami Mumbai FFs Melancholic and poignant debut feature by this Iranborn Ladakhi filmmakerMy favourite shorts of 2024 include Sunflowers Were the First Ones to Know by Chidananda S Naik Kannada that won the first prize in the La Cinef section at the Cannes FF Nishi Dugarrsquos Anaar Daana Sour Candy woman director that was in the Berlinalersquos Generation K Plus section Subarna Dashrsquos The Girl who lived in the Loo animation short woman director that was also in the Berlinalersquos Generation 14 plus section and Naga director Theja Riorsquos Ade On a Sunday in the Tenyiedie language North East and shot on 16mm film that was at IFF Rotterdam and won Mami Mumbai FFrsquos Royal Stag Large Barrel Short Film AwardThis list features five films by women directors and three films from the North East Continuing films 1120 next weekMeenakshi Shedde is India and South Asia Delegate to the Berlin International Film Festival National Awardwinning critic curator to festivals worldwide and journalistReach her at meenakshisheddemiddaycom