26 December, 2016

Sharafat Gayi Tel Lene (2015)

Synopsis:
A mysterious sum of money is credited into Prithvi Khurrana, a commoner's bank account. It is allegedly done by a top notorious don.This forms the crux of the film leading to subsequent comical situations.

Starring:
Talia Bentson
Tina Desai
Zayed Khan

Director: Gurmmeet Singh

Utt Pataang (2011)

Synopsis:
Mumbai-based Ramvilas Sharma has just broken-up with Sanjana Mahadik, a former bar dancer, with whom he had a six month relationship. His private-detective friend, Nandan Pandey, attempts to counsel him over this break-up, and even encourages him to meet other women. Ramvilas does meet with a homeless woman, Koel Datta, befriends her, and even brings her to spend the night in his flat but will be interrupted when Sanjana will come to take her belongings back and will leave a bag full of cash. Everyone will find their respective lives turned upside when they will be 'interrogated' by a suave French-speaking crook, Lucky Sardana, after the bag goes missing.

Starring:
Vinay Pathak
Saurabh Shukla
Mahie Gill

Director: Srikanth Velagaleti

Dhanak (2015)

Synopsis:
Rainbow is an uplifting, enchanting, magical fable set in Rajasthan that reinforces the belief that life is beautiful. The story revolves around the wonderful relationship between a 10-year old girl Pari and Chotu, her 8-year old brother who live in a picturesque village nestled among the sand dunes. Having lost their parents to an accident at a very early age, they live with their uncle and aunt. Chotu is blind but he is anything but sad. Happy, precocious and a smart ass, he is the life of the village.Pari is his eyes, his guide and his best friend. And Chotu is the center of Pari's universe. As children sometimes do, not truly understanding the consequences, Pari has promised Chotu that he will be able to see by the time he turns 9 and as always, Chotu believes her unconditionally. On their weekly trip to the neighboring village to see a movie, Pari sees a poster with Sharukh Khan (SRK) appealing to people to donate their eyes. Pari is convinced that her reel life hero can help her.

Starring:
Krrish Chhabria
Hetal Gada
Vipin Sharma

Director: Nagesh Kukunoor

Dangal (2016)

Synopsis:
Biopic of Mahavir Singh Phogat, who taught wrestling to his daughters Babita Kumari and Geeta Phogat. Geeta Phogat was India's first female wrestler to win at the 2010 Commonwealth Games, where she won the gold medal (52 kg) while her sister Babita Kumari won the silver (55 kg).

Starring:
Aamir Khan
Sakshi Tanwar
Fatima Sana Shaikh

Director: Nitesh Tiwari

Kasba (1991)

AKA: The Township

Starring:
Navjot Hansra
K.K. Raina
Manohar Singh

Director: Kumar Shahani

Damul (1985)


AKA: Till the death

Synopsis:
Damul (Bonded Until Death) highlights the ill effects of Bonded Labour System while narrating the story of a bonded labour who is left with no choice but to steal by his landlord.

Starring:
Annu Kapoor
Sreela Majumdar
Deepti Naval

Director: Prakash Jha

Brick Lane (2007)

Synopsis:
A young Bangladeshi woman, Nazneen, arrives in 1980s London, leaving behind her beloved sister and home, for an arranged marriage and a new life. Trapped within the four walls of her flat in East London, and in a loveless marriage with the middle aged Chanu, she fears her soul is quietly dying. Her sister Hasina, meanwhile, through letters to Nazneen, tells of her carefree life back in Bangladesh, stumbling from one adventure to the next. Nazneen struggles to accept her lifestyle, and keeps her head down in spite of life's blows, but she soon discovers that life cannot be avoided - and is forced to confront it the day that the hotheaded young Karim comes knocking at her door.

Starring:
Tannishtha Chatterjee
Satish Kaushik
Christopher Simpson

Director: Sarah Gavron

24 December, 2016

Bhopal: A Prayer for Rain (2014)

Synopsis:
The story follows a young rickshaw-puller in Bhopal who gets a menial job at a chemical plant, but in December of 1984 a chemical spill in India takes the lives of almost 15,000 people and injuring more than 100,000. The film follows how the industrial disaster in the city changes his life and those of others.

Starring:
Mischa Barton
Martin Sheen
Kal Penn

Director: Ravi Kumar

Kaafiron Ki Namaaz (2013)

Synopsis:
"Kaafiron Ki Namaaz" is about a recently court martialed army officer, a writer and a musician who confess their most personal secrets to each other on a rainy Christmas Eve somewhere in Srinagar, Kashmir. What begins as a dramatic discussion between the army officer and the writer in an old, abandoned hotel soon turns into a chilling meeting raising some pertinent issues. Meanwhile, the writer's camera assistant stands as a mute spectator and records everything on his camera.

Starring:
Alok Chaturvedi
Chandra Shekhar Dutta
Joydip Mukhopadhyay

Director: Ram Ramesh Sharma

Kajarya (2013)

Synopsis:
Set in the present times against two backdrops. New Delhi with its shining buildings and apparent cosmopolitan veneer, thinly veils an underbelly of crimes against women and corruption at all levels. And a small village just 80 kilometers from New Delhi that is stuck in a time warp. Kajarya a woman in her early thirties has a strange but important place in the village social structure; she murders unwanted girl infants in the garb of religion. Meera is a rookie reporter. She breezes into the village and the villagers feed her the story of Kajarya being a demonic baby killer. The story is juicy and one sided. Meera gets the front page of the newspaper. Kajarya goes to jail.

Starring:
Nasir Ali
Manoj Bakshi
Shashi Bhushan

Director: Madhureeta Anand

23 December, 2016

Trapped in Tradition: Rivaaz (2011)

AKA: Rivaaz

Synopsis:
Mumbai-based Rahul accompanies his friend, Amar Singh, to a village called Bhedia in order to attend the marriage of Supriya, the latter's sister. While on the way there, he sees a young woman and instantly falls in love with her despite of being told that she is destined to be a prostitute according to the tradition prevailing in this community where local police actually procure young women for wealthy Zamindars/landlords. Unable to get her out of his mind, he approaches a pimp, Manghi, and through him finds out her name is Bela, who lives with her mother, Paro, and father, Mangatram. His overtures to get married to her will be met with strong opposition from her parents who are all set to sell her to the highest bidder. Rahul, however, meets Bela on the sly and both fall in love. The community finds out, they feel threatened as all males are dependent on the flesh trade, and hold a special Panchayat Meeting. After a short discussion the Mukhiya finds the couple guilty, instructs.

Starring:
Deepti Naval
Vijay Raaz
Meghna Naidu

Director: Ashok Nanda

Rahasya (2015)

Synopsis:
A Doctor stands accused of killing his own eighteen-year old daughter. While this aggrieved father protests his innocence, all evidence points towards him irrefutably. While his own wife suspects him too, the C.B.I. sleuth on the case concludes that the doctor could not have killed his own daughter. So then, who did it? And why? As the C.B.I sleuth seeks these answers, he uncovers a vicious web of adultery and hidden family secrets.

Starring:
Kay Kay Menon
Ashish Vidyarthi
Tisca Chopra

Director: Manish Gupta

Parched (2015)

Slogan
यत्र नार्यस्तु पूज्यन्ते रमन्ते तत्र देवता

Synopsis:
The film revolves around four women living an unwanted life in a village of north-western region of India, which still suffers from old, age-ridiculed traditions like forced child marriages and other social issues like financial difficulties, spousal and familial rape, and physically and emotionally abusive alcoholic husbands. Rani (Tannishtha Chatterjee), who has been a widow for half of her life, is trying with all her might to get her son, Gulab (Riddhi Sen), married to a beautiful girl, Janki (Lehar Khan), from the neighboring village. Then there is Lajjo (Radhika Apte), a friend of Rani. They both are skilled and work for a local entrepreneur named Kishan (Sumeet Vyas). Lajjo is childless and wants to conceive desperately but fails. On top of this, her alcoholic husband, Manoj, batters her every night. The fourth woman is Bijli (Surveen Chawla), a local erotic dancer, who is a feast for the eyes of village men. She not just dances but fulfils inner desires of many men during dry, sensuous nights of the village. The men of village fear the development and skill of the women and want to live the lifestyle left by their forefathers. The entwined story of these four women shows how they live in a tightly controlled world, hemmed in by tradition, but in their private spaces, they talk about love, sex, and their dreams for the future. The twist to the story comes when Rani discovers Janki is dishonored in her village, Lajjo is tired of the brutality of her husband, and Bijli is jealous of a new girl who might replace her. This leads to a journey of freedom and finding solace in each other together.

Starring:
Tannishtha Chatterjee
Radhika Apte
Lehar Khan

Director: Leena Yadav

Global Baba (2016)

Synopsis:
A conman finds refuge in becoming a baba and carries out his various criminal activities under the guise. A policeman, a journalist and politicians get entangled in his Web of deceit.

Starring:
Sandeepa Dhar
Ravi Kishan
Pankaj Tripathy

Director: Manoj Tiwari

Chauranga (2014)


Starring:
Dhritiman Chatterjee
Tannishtha Chatterjee
Delzad Hiwale

Director: Bikas Ranjan Mishra