THE LOCKDOWN CINEMA LIST

Good movies, like all works of art, are more than entertainment. They (should) have the power to “comfort the disturbed and disturb the comfortable”, as the Mexican poet and academic Cesar A Cruz has said.

It was during the tough, depressing and nightmarish lockdown times three years ago, while most of us were in pain all around and the atmosphere was heavy and gloomy, one sought refuge in entertainment, movies and OTT series specifically. This list is borne out of those times.

This is an eclectic collection of no particular theme or style or even language, except that they all touched my heart equally well, diverse as their stories, genres, languages and treatment might have been. In these comparatively happy times, while I sincerely hope and wish that the worst is behind us, I have compiled my first to-watch list for you:

ANUPAMA
A yesteryear gem (1966) from Hrishikesh Mukherjee, this is a sensitive story of a young girl and her troubled relationship with her father, which becomes all the more problematic when a romantic interest creeps in. A handsome, sensitive Dharmendra and reticent, adorable Sharmila Tagore play the main lead, but in my view, the film should be also watched by Shashikala and David who have played their parts consummately. The film has a very well-written script and the songs are, well, incomparable. (Mubi and probably YouTube too)

RAMMAT GAMMAT
This short Gujarati film by Ajitpal Singh is about two school friends, their close friendship and how it negotiates the class and caste divide between the friends. With crisp storytelling, this 18-minute film engages one deeply and leaves one with a curious feeling of not being able to do enough. (Mubi 2021)

AGANTUK
Made in 1991, this was the last film of Satyajit Ray. A long-forgotten relative turns up and disturbs the placid domesticity of a family. There is a whole conflict about his identity and the film beautifully and sensitively brings out how the family deals with the incredulity and continual doubt about his identity. If you know the master actor Utpal Dutt from only his “Bhatwadekar” style roles in Hrishikesh Mukherjee’s films, this (and one more which I have watched) film should be watched to appreciate his subtle skills and also Ray’s. (Mubi & YouTube)

ARANYER DINER RATRI
Satyajit Ray’s magic is at work in this 1970 movie, while he tells a story about how four friends take a weekend off from their city lives and go to a jungle, and how their city-bred selves come to re-examine themselves in these new settings. All characters are beautifully fleshed out, but the ones to watch especially are Soumitra Chatterjee and Sharmila Tagore. There is this scene when the group plays a memory game, which shows Ray’s expert and innovative camera work, and also the tense interaction between the characters. (YouTube)

BIWI AUR MAKAN
A 1966 Hrishikesh Mukherjee film with the fun quotient up there at the top. Mehmood, Biswajeet and Keshto have done exceedingly well. Laugh riot with such melodious songs, it is a proper afternoon entertainment. A situational comedy with males in drag, this movie must surely have proven inspiring for a whole bunch of movies thereafter, even today. (YouTube)

IN WHICH ANNIE GIVES IT THOSE ONES
This 70s college movie is straight from that stable of “parallel cinema” which was quite de rigour in those times. Though featuring SRK in a blink-and-miss debut, the actual star (if you could try imposing commercial cinema terminology onto this movie), is a young Arundhati Roy. The movie explores this tantalising combination of frivolousness and the seriousness of the final-year students of an Architecture Course. A lot of us who have been to hostels in a professional course and waiting to be thrust into the real world would identify with it. The whole hostel and college setting is so real and gives a glimpse into those times. What about the curious title, you say? Well, watch it and find out. (Youtube)

PAROMITAR EK DIN
This 2000 Bangla film by Aparna Sen (she acts too in this) is about how a woman married into a traditional Bengali family tests, and surmounts, the limits of patriarchy, convention and tradition. That she has tacit support from her mother-in-law is something of a rarity. The movie deftly explores relationships with very good acting by the whole cast. (Remember the masterful character actor Rajesh Sharma of Khosla Ka Ghosla fame? I didn’t know he was a Banglarooted artist!) (Mubi)

PLACEBO
A hard-hitting documentary which explores the dark alleys of the mental landscape of students in the premier and unarguably the most coveted medical college of India - AIIMS. With candid camera work and some animation too, the director Abhay Kumar introduces viewers to the extremely highpressure situation which college students face and some even take the unfortunate way out, of suicide. The film tracks the college lives of four students, one of whom is the younger brother of the director himself. This 2014 movie was a much-acclaimed film. (Mubi)

EEB ALLAY OO
This is such a charming nugget of a movie! A bittersweet tale of an entirely unseen Delhi of migrants and monkeys, which many of us won’t even know exists. Each frame shines with such beautiful and fresh cinematography. The icing on the cake, nay, the cake actually, is consummate acting by all. This 2020 film by Prateek Vats is to be watched for its sensitive portrayal of migrants' lives in Delhi and their hopes and tribulations. It is a sure-shot winner if you are looking for some sensitive “hat ke” film. (Netflix, 2020)

NAYAK
Uttam Kumar and Sharmila Tagore star in this 1966 film by the master Satyajit Ray. Uttam Kumar plays himself, well sort of because he plays a film actor and a superstar. He travels on a train to Delhi to collect an award and during the journey meets Sharmila Tagore, a journalist who is not much conversant with his work and his fame too. The movie is about how these two diverse people interact with each other, both from the vantage points in their respective lives. Ray is a master at exploring interactions between personalities and here too it is a treat to watch on the screen. (YouTube)

NOTTURNO
This was a documentary I caught by chance on Mubi, the digital streaming platform which shows a curated collection of acclaimed movies from all over the world. I didn’t know what to expect but once I started watching, it caught me by the scruff of my neck and I could not get up without finishing it. It is a kaleidoscope of stark, haunting shots of the aftermath of the warlike life people are leading in areas of Lebanon, Iraq, Kurdistan & Syria. With minimal dialogue and no voiceover even, the characters (real, all of them) tell their story with their mostly vacant eyes and mechanical lives. There are the scenes of families dealing with the loss of life and money and continual tension, of their dilapidated homes, of men and women - as desperate citizens and resigned soldiers and parents and wage earners. Made by Giafranco Rosi, this seems like a collage of shots- breathtakingly beautiful and inconsolably sad at the same time. (Mubi)