Nandita Das
In Bombay's seedy-shiny film world, Manto and his stories are widely read and accepted. But as sectarian violence engulfs the nation, Manto makes the difficult choice of leaving his beloved Bombay. In Lahore, he finds himself bereft of friends and unable to find takers for his writings.
A mock trial during the rehearsal of a play quickly turns into a gripping drama about desire, gender issues, power and control, this is an adaptation of playwright Vijay Tendulkar's Shantata. Court Chalu Aahe (1963).
Despite her fame and fortune, Mina, a successful Indian actress in Mumbai, can't forget her little sister Sita, from whom she was forced to separate after their mother's death in a village. Thirty years later she will finally find out that Sita is alive and well in Barcelona. However, Sita's adoptive parents have erased all traces of her past. She is now called Paula, works as a researcher in Biology and has no recollection of her Indian background, let alone of Mina. Faced with the shocking truths of her past, Paula begins a long journey of self-discovery, aided along the way by her budding romance with the handsome Indian immigrant Prakash. A story of hope and love across Mumbai and Barcelona; from India to the Mediterranean and all the way back.
A skeleton is found at the home of Esther (Nandita Das), whose fisherman husband Arulappasamy (Vishnu) has been missing for the past 25 years. Esther confesses that it was she who murdered her husband but when Agnes (Varsha), the cop assigned to the case, lends a sympathetic ear, she narrates a heart wrenching tale of a loving family ruined by the politics of territorial waters.
I Am is a 2011 Indian anthology film by Onir. It consists of four short films: "Omar", "Afia", "Abhimanyu", and "Megha". Each film shares the common theme of fear and each is also based on real life stories. The film was financed by donations from more than 400 different people around the world, many of whom donated through social networking sites like Facebook. There are four stories but the characters are interwoven with each story. "Abhimanyu" is based on child abuse, "Omar" on gay rights, "Megha" is about Kashmiri Pandits and "Afia" deals with sperm donation. I Am was released with subtitles in all regions as six different languages are spoken in the film: Hindi, English, Kannada, Marathi, Bengali and Kashmiri.
Firaaq is an Urdu word that means both separation and quest. The film is a work of fiction, based on a thousand stories. The story is set over a 24-hour period, one month after a campaign that took place in Gujarat, India, in 2002. It traces the emotional journey of ordinary people- some who were victims, some perpetrators and some who choose to watch silently.
Based on a actual events, the story is about a Pakistani Hindu boy and his father who accidentally cross the border into India from their village in Pakistan at a time of extreme war like tension between the 2 countries and end up spending 5 years in an Indian prison while the mother left behind wonders what has happened to them.
Provoked is the true story of Kiranjit Ahluwalia, a Punjabi woman who moved to London after her marriage with Deepak Ahluwalia. Her husband seemed caring at first but then began to beat her up. He started drinking a lot and sleeping around with other women. he also subjected her to spousal rape. After ten years and having two children with him, out of fear, she sets him on fire.
Set in southern India in the late 1930s, this provocative tale traces the story of three people caught in an inexorable web of forbidden romance and dangerous secrets. After a British spice planter falls in love with his alluring servant, an idealistic young man finds himself torn between his ambitions and his family, his village and his past.
At the end, the only love which lasts is the love that has accepted everything, every disappointment, every failure and every betrayal, which has accepted even the sad fact that in the end there is no desire as deep as the simple desire for companionship." Inspired by this Graham Greene quote, "Podokkhep" is the story of an unusual bond between a retired man and a 5-year-old girl where he rediscovers life in his twilight years through this friendship.
Wonder Pets! is an American animated children's television series. It debuted on March 3, 2006, on the Nick Jr. block of the Nickelodeon cable television network and Noggin on the same day. It won an Emmy Award in 2008 for Outstanding Achievement in Music Direction and Composition in the United States.
Kamli was actually inspired by a K.N.T. Sastry's award winning documentary harvesting babies. K.N.T. Sastry wanted to make a feature film based on the documentary about the plight of tribal women selling their babies for a pittance. He actually contacted and wanted to make film with Soundarya as the main female lead of Kamli, but she died in a helicopter crash, and finally made the film with Nandita Das.
Vishwa Thulasi movie revolves around the emotional story of Thulasi returning to her village to become a dance teacher. She cannot bring herself to forget Vishwa a man she has been in love with for two decades. Sensing their intense love for each other, Pattabhi, the manager at Vishwa's house, helps them overcome their fears. It is then that Fate enters in the form of Siva.
Shubho Mahurat (2003) is an award-winning Indian Bengali feature film directed by Rituparno Ghosh. An actress mysteriously dies after the "Shubho Mahurat," a celebration of the first shot of the film. A journalist and her perceptive aunt investigate.
Comedy - Aditya is a young man who does not believe in astrology, but when a friend makes his astrological chart and explains to him that he is fated to marry a woman whose name begins with the letter V, Aditya decides to see for himself if this is true. *Subtitles not available for this feature* - Purab Kohli, Nandita Das, Rajiv Gopalakrishnan
The film depicts a place of India where people live peacefully and love each other despite the hatred and violence that scars the rest of the nation.
A small town in rural India gets to witness a confrontation between two fathers - one a rich, powerful, influential, and cruel Zamindar Thakur Avadh Narayan Singh - who wants the man who filed a police complaint against his two sons to be killed immediately. And the other is Rudra, a poor laborer employed by Avadh, who wants justice when he finds out that his nine year old daughter, Durga, has been beaten and brutally raped by Avadh's sons, Bachhu, and Bhola. Amidst this background we have a corrupt doctor, who is willing to change his medical report after he is bribed appropriately; and a Police Inspector, Ramnarayan Bhardwaj, who is willing to drop any charges against Avadh's sons provided he gets his "dues" from the Thakur.
A little girl is told by her parents that she is adopted. Determined to find her birth mother, her family eventually agrees to take her to Sri Lanka, where they are abducted by the terrorist group known as the Tamil Tigers.
Based on the true stories of families, politics and tribes in Nagpur, India. Growing crime and military-style gangs have created chaos in local communities. This musical action film pits Dr. Kanna's allegiance to his childhood love, Rupi, against his increasingly militaristic brother Ghisu.
Shanmugam (Parthiban), a veterinary doctor, lives in the city with his wife Valarmati(Devayani) and their two children. In school, Shanmugam was in love with his classmate Dhanalakshmi but fate had forced them to go their separate ways, with Dhanalakshmi (Nandita Das) being forced to wed her brother-in-law. One day, Shanmugam spots Dhanalakshmi, who, having lost her husband, now lives a life of poverty on the platforms with her son, Balu. After an unsuccessful attempt to find her a job in a friend's house, he hires her as their servant-maid. However, memories of the past starts to create a tension between Shanmugam and Dhanam, despite their attempts to maintain a distance.
This film is based on five shot stories of Rabindranath Tagore's Jibito O Mrito, Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay's Abhagir Swarga, Gour Kishore Ghosh's Aei Daha, Prafulla Roy's Satgharia and Dibyendu Palit's Kaanch.
Family Planning issues in a Muslim Hyderabadi family struggling between new and old values
Shoba T. Mathur works for the Central Government in India and her job is to create awareness against child-marriage and other social evils that prevail due to general misinterpretation of the Hindu Shastras that demean women, particularly in Dhabri, a village in the state of Rajasthan. She does succeed in recruiting a young housewife, Saanvri, the mother of a young girl, Kamli, and wife of rickshaw driver, Sohan. Saanvri goes around the village raising awareness, and incurs the wrath of the village elders, mostly members of the Gujjar family.
On his journey to self realization, Biswaparakash faces a changing value system in a new consumerist culture and that conflict with his beliefs, values and traditions.
Dibyanath Chatterji, his bank-employed wife, Sujata, and only child, a son, Brati, live a middle-class existence in Calcutta, West Bengal, India, circa early 1970s. Sujata is a quiet, devout Hindu, religious, and compassionate woman, and Brati has finished his school and is now attending college. His parents are proud of him, and keep track of his progress. Then their world is shattered during the early hours, when they are informed by the police that Brati has been killed.
Based on a folk tale from Rajasthan, "Parinati" deals with the inherent tragedy of human avarice, which must inevitably lead to self-destruction. Ganesh, the protagonist, is a potter who leads a happy and contented life in a remote village. The only ambition he and his wife Kurjan share is to get their only son Laxman married and bring a daughter-in- law home. Destiny, however, has ordained otherwise. Ganesh is hand picked for his honesty and dedication by a local charitable Seth to become the caretaker of his inn in the middle of the desert. There, Ganesh and Kurjan meet a wealthy couple, who are greatly pleased with their service and hospitality. They offer to take their son Laxman to distant lands, teach him trade and make him fabulously rich.
“ Whisper… Speak… Shout. Your Voice Will be Heard! ” The film is a spontaneous response to the irony of “STAY HOME, STAY SAFE” for millions of women in India and around the world. The film is adding its voice to a conversation that is much needed in the public space. It reminds us that speaking up is only possible when women know that there is someone listening. This pandemic has taught us that our lives are deeply intertwined, and so we must respond to the realities beyond ours.
