Top 20 All-India films in 2021

Illustration/Uday Mohite

Here is Film List 11-20. List 1-10 was out last Sunday.

'Some films are not ready, or have working titles. Others were shown at film festivals in 2020, and hopefully the wider public can see them in 2021. In no particular order.

11. No Land's Man by Mostofa Sarwar Farooki, Bangladesh, English: This is a big one for Farooki, one of Bangladesh's top directors. Starring Nawazuddin Siddiqui and Australian actress Megan Mitchell. About a South Asian man, whose life becomes complicated after he meets an Australian woman in the US. A US-India-Bangladesh co-production. Big coup: AR Rahman is both music composer and executive producer. Producers include Farooki, Siddiqui and Shrihari Sathe.

12. Adh Chanani Raat (Crescent Night) by Gurvinder Singh, Punjabi: Returning home after many years in prison, Modan tries to rebuild his life, but an old anger simmers beneath. With Jatinder Mauhar and Mauli Singh. Producer Bobby Bedi. Singh's Fourth Direction was at Cannes, and Alms of the Blind Horse was at the Venice Film Festival.

13. Sthalpuran (Chronicle of Space) by Akshay Indikar, Marathi: Haunting ode to a small boy, troubled by his family's move from Pune to small-town Konkan, while grappling with his parents' separation. Premiered at the Berlin Film Festival, and won the Asia Pacific Screen Award's Young Cinema Award (Australia).

14. Alborada (The Dawning of the Day) by Asoka Handagama, Sri Lanka; English, Spanish, Tamil, Sinhala: Inspired by Chilean poet Pablo Neruda's life, complicated by desire, when posted to Ceylon as Consul in 1929-30. With Luis J Romero, Rithika Kodithuvakku.

15. Pedro by Natesh Hegde, Kannada: Striking debut feature that was at Film Bazaar and Cannes Market Online 2020. A middle-aged electrician in small-town Karnataka, accidentally causes an incident, that galvanises the villagers, with unexpected consequences. Producer Rishab Shetty.

16. Gangubai Kathiawadi by Sanjay Leela Bhansali, Hindi: Starring Alia Bhatt, the film is about a famous madam of a brothel in Kamathipura, Mumbai. Based on S Hussain Zaidi and Jane Borges's book Mafia Queens of Mumbai. Kathiawadi's adopted son has filed a defamation suit.

17. Laal Singh Chaddha by Advait Chandan, Hindi: Starring Aamir Khan and Kareena Kapoor Khan, it is an official remake of six-Oscar winner Forrest Gump, starring Tom Hanks. On how a man with low IQ can be wiser than the smarties. Release moved to Christmas 2021.

18. Kamli by Sarmad Sultan Khoosat, Pakistan, Urdu: A lyrical love story set in rural Punjab, with lush images, feminist tones and a tragic fate. With Saba Qamar (Hindi Medium), Sania Saeed (Manto), Nimra Bucha (Churails web series) and hottie Hamza Khawaja. Produced by Sarmad Khoosat and sister Kanwal Khoosat's Khoosat Films. Woman producer. Khoosat's daring Zindagi Tamasha, Pakistan's Oscar entry, had earlier won the Kim Ji-Seok Award at the Busan Film Festival.

19. Ajob Karkhana (Song of the Soul) by Shabnam Ferdousi, Bangladesh, Bengali: Parambrata Chatterjee plays a popular rock star, whose life is transformed when he does a TV series on traditional Bangladeshi folk singers. Produced by Samia Zaman. Woman director, woman producer.

20. Kathaputali (The Puppet) by Veemsen Lama, Nepal, Nepali: A Nepali supernatural horror film by a Nepali soldier-turned-filmmaker, based in London? I'm all ears! Based on Nepali folk tales, shaman rituals, palace intrigues and the royals' exploitation of women, with special effects.

Honourable special mentions would include Jayaraj's Hasyam, Gitanjali Rao's Bombay Rose, Mahesh Narayanan's C U Soon, Nithin Lukose's Paka-The River of Blood and Irfana Majumdar's Shankar's Fairies. And some very strong shorts, including Karishma Dube's Bittu, that won a Student Oscar, Ekta Mittal's Gumnaam Din (Missing Days, that was at Berlin), Sushma Khadepaun's Anita (Gujarati, that was at Venice), Alisha Tejpal's Lata (Sundance) and Aarti Neharsh's The Song We Sang (London Indian Film Festival); also Mohammad Rafi's Layla (Bangladesh).

''The above list is only indicative; it is impossible to include all my favourite films/tip-offs from thousands of films from six South Asian nations, many of which are not ready.

Meenakshi Shedde is India and South Asia Delegate to the Berlin International Film Festival, National Award-winning critic, curator to festivals worldwide and journalist. Reach her at meenakshi.shedde@mid-day.com