How I discovered a wealth of films & shows in just the last two years

I've watched some fascinating films and shows in the last two years, especially after the OTT platforms made regional cinema accessible via subtitles. OTT also provides easy reach to gems that lost out in the publicity race against big-budget movies. There's such a wealth of content that it's difficult to sift through the lot, unless one is willing to invest the time to research everything that catches one's fancy. (Guilty! :D) 

Film Clubs:

Some of this has been made easier because of screenings provided by groups such as the The Indian Express Film Club as well as reaction channels on YouTube. It was through the film club that I got to watch the twist-in-the-tale dose of satire and uncomfortable reality that is Super Deluxe in Tamil and Rima Das' languidly beautiful look at childhood in the Assamese film, Village Rockstars.

OTT:

OTT threw open the doors to such gems as Greta Gerwig’s brilliant adaptation of Little Women, Anna Boden & Ryan Fleck’s criminally underrated superhero movie, Captain Marvel, and Taika Waititi’s quirky, wonky Jojo Rabbit. There was also Zakariah Mohammed's light-hearted, & gentle Halal Love Story in Malayalam, the superb modern take on the Vikram Vetal tale, Vikram Vedha, in Tamil and the little gems that were Karthik Subbaraj’s Miracle and Sudha Kongara’s Ilama Idho Idho in the Tamil feature Putham Pudhu Kaalai. 

A few revelations came in the form of Swaroop RSJ’s Telugu comedy thriller Agent Sai Srinivasa Athreya, Saurabh Bhave’s simple and real Marathi feature Bonus, Mukta Barve—fabulously in character—in Pratima Joshi's Aamhi Doghi in Marathi, the practical romance of Prakash Kunte's Coffee Ani Barach Kahi, again Marathi and H. Vinoth's Tamil brutal dacoit thriller Theeran Adhigaaram Ondru. But then, how can I forget the sublime, the satirical, the funny and the poignant moments that make up Arun Prabu Purushothaman’s Tamil film Aruvi?

Among the shows, the ones that blew my mind are the superbly written and crafted Phoebe Waller-Bridge's Fleabag, Neil Cross' Luther, Christopher Lloyd and Steven Levitan's Modern Family, Greg Daniels's The Office along with Raj and DK’s compelling The Family Man and Deepak Kumar Mishra's delightful Panchayat. Fleabag to me is about hope and humour, after I got past the first couple of episodes. Luther (especially the first two seasons) is a riveting character study of a brilliant cop in addition to being a super crime thriller. 

As for Modern Family... the topics, the humour, the characters and the sheer juggling of all of these in 20-30 minutes! Mind-blowing. Yeah, there is some stereotyping in some of the gags that could have been avoided but in the larger scheme of things—a captivating effort. The mockumentary The Office astounded me by its fantastic character study and the office dynamics. It must have been fascinating writing for and playing the no-filter, deluded boss guy, Michael Scott, who knows no limits. Steve Carell is so good! :D Family Man and Panchayat, to me, highlight the freedom afforded by OTT platforms to writers and creators and thus the long-awaited return of great Indian content.  

Reaction Channels:

I enjoyed the ludicrously surreal and entertainingly intriguing experience that was Kaalakaandi, written and directed by Akshat Verma. This was after watching a review on Tried and Refused Productions.

A keen insight, soft & subtle, was Adeeb Rais' short Auntyji that I chanced upon because of a reaction on Jaby Koay's channel.

I was drawn into watching Satyajit Ray’s Bengali classic Nayak after watching a scene from the film on the YouTube channel Our Stupid Reactions. What a fascinating study of an actor and a superstar is the film, coupled with gentleness and self-deprecating humour. So many scenes stay behind... Arindam (the actor) checking up on the young girl down with fever, his interactions with the journalist played by Sharmila Tagore, his easy reactions to and wry acceptance of the judgmental attitudes about his profession, his dissatisfaction and analysis of his performance in his first film, his interactions with wannabe and have-been actors as well as with friends from his early days... Loved the way it is written, shot and performed. Also enjoyed discovering Uttam Kumar. Nayak is on YouTube with subtitles if you want to take a dekko. :)

Another film, I discovered through a scene reaction on Our Stupid Reactions was Adoor Gopalakrishnan's Mathilukal (The Walls) in Malayalam. Again, Mathilukal is available on YouTube with subtitles. Good-natured and good-humoured, writer Vaikom Muhammed Basheer is a revelation. The film traces the time when the writer was incarcerated for expressing himself through his writings, termed treason by the British state, something that echoes through time. His whimsical way of looking at things and his writings, draw admirers among jailers and prisoners alike. So, it is particularly poignant when Mammootty, playing Basheer, finds loneliness and laments that he's lost his laughter. And then begins a conversation with a voice, a woman, a prisoner in the women's prison on the other side of the wall...

The films and shows I've talked about are admittedly limited to the platforms I subscribe or have access to. However, I'm giddily looking forward to more such content that throws my mind wide open to possibilities, ideas and thoughts all while having a rollicking good time! :)

This is not even counting the long list of Malayalam films I've enjoyed in the last few years, which include: 

Jude Anthany Joseph's rom-com Ohm Shanthi Oshaana, the delightful Oru Muthassi Gadha and the thought-provoking Sara's

Lijo Jose Pellissery's loony and poignant Amen and the loonier gang war flick Angamaly Diaries, 

Zakariya Muhammed's heartwarming Sudani from Nigeria, 

Madhu C. Narayanan's beautifully breezy and stirring Kumbalangi Nights, 

Aashiq Abu's mad adventure Rani Padmini and gripping Virus, 

Dileesh Pothan's sly take on Macbeth, Joji, where the camera is practically another character 

Althaf Salim's wry yet heartening look at coping with cancer, Njandukalude Nattil Oridavela 

Rosshan Andrrews' unusual Mumbai Police (that twist in the tale!)

Jeethu Joseph's remarkable crime thrillers Drishyam and Drishyam2, 

Fellini T. P.'s fun take on a chain-smoker's struggles in Theevandi

Anuraj Manohar's dark Ishq, 

Sachy's unusual study of one-up(hu)manship Ayyappanum Koshiyum,

Martin Prakkat's larger-than-life and magical Charlie,

Anwar Rasheed's Ustad Hotel,

Anjali Menon's Bangalore Days,

Dominic Arun's black comedy Tharangam

Sanu Varghese's Aarkkariyam, a film that flows as gently as a stream, eye-popping revelations and all. 

Appu N. Bhattathiri's unusual Nizhal 

Mahesh Narayanan's layered, multi-perspective narrative of the briskly-paced and gripping Malik

Rojin Thomas' #Home. This one's just meant to warm up the heart, messy emotions, social media addiction, therapy, Tai Chi, extraordinary stories and all, including minor clichés. 

and more... 

Starting a list for films from other languages that I've watched and admired since I first wrote this blog:

Amit Masurkar's Sherni, a symbolic representation of the quagmire that is politics, media, forwarded propaganda & unthinking masses that stands for the absurd reality of today.

* I've not mentioned the platforms on which these shows or movies are available since that changes with time. I've found JustWatch a great site to find out what is available to watch where. I searched for Aarkkariyam as an example in the link I've given. :) 

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