Top 20 all-India films of 2021

Illustration/Uday Mohite

Here is my list of Top 20 All India and South Asian films to watch out for in 2021. Some films are not yet ready, thanks to COVID-19. Others were already at film festivals, and hopefully the wider public can see them in 2021. This film list is from 1-10; 11-20 will be up next week; and it includes features, a documentary and shorts, in no particular order.

1. Laila Aur Satt Geet (The Shepherdess and the Seven Songs) by Pushpendra Singh, Gojri and Hindi: Exquisite, feminist, political and philosophical allegory about Laila, a Kashmiri woman. Inspired by 14th century Kashmiri mystic Lal Ded, Laila frees herself of the wretched men in her life in an unexpected manner. It was at the Berlin Film Festival's Encounter section, and New Directors/New Films at Film at Lincoln Center/MoMA, New York, in 2020.

2. Koozhangal (Pebbles) by Vinothraj PS, Tamil: Stunning debut. Furious with his father for thrashing his mother at her parents' home, little Chellapandi tears up their bus money, forcing father and son to walk miles home in the scorching sun. In the International Film Festival Rotterdam's Tiger Competition. Producer Nayanthara and Vignesh Shivan of Rowdy Pictures and Sai Devanand S. Woman producer.

3. Kadaisi Vivasayi (The Last Farmer) by M Manikandan, Tamil: Octogenarian farmer Nallandi is the last farmer standing in the village. When arrested for burying three dead peacocks he found on his farm, he is worried who will water his standing crop. Tamil star Vijay Sethupathi graciously plays a guest role. In the International Film Festival Rotterdam's Big Screen Competition.

4. Thuramukham (The Harbour) by Rajeev Ravi, Malayalam: Period film on the exploitation of labour by overlords in Cochin port in the 1950s, including the chappa system, by which labourers fought each other for metal tokens entitling them to a day's work. About two brothers - one becomes the overlords' chief goon, and the other, a labour activist. In the International Film Festival Rotterdam's Big Screen Competition.

5. Churuli by Lijo Jose Pellissery, Malayalam: Pellissery, whose Jallikattu is India's entry for the Oscars for 2021, spins a surreal, atmospheric fable in which two policemen look for a criminal deep in a Kerala forest, where nothing is what it seems. In the International Film Festival of Kerala's International Competition.

6. Maagh (The Winter Within) by Aamir Bashir, in Bakarwali and Hindi: Nargis, a Kashmiri who works as a maid, is fired when her employer finds out her long-disappeared husband Manzoor, is a militant. But Manzoor reappears, dramatically altering the life of the "half-widow". Indo-French co-production with Claire Lajoumard's Acrobates Films and Aamir Bashir and Shanker Raman's Sangbaaz Films. Woman producer.

7. Once Upon A Time In Calcutta (earlier Aquarium/ Memories and My Mother) by Aditya Vikram Sengupta, Bengali: Estranged from her husband, Ela tries to claim her share of an old theatre from her step-brother. Film is shot by Turkish cinematographer Gökhan Tiryaki (who shot Nuri Bilge Ceylan's Once Upon a Time in Anatolia, Winter Sleep). Indo-French-Norwegian film; producers include Catherine Dussart, Ingrid Lill Høgtun, Anshulika Dubey and Priyanka Agarwal (last two of Wishberry Films). Four women producing!

8. Fire In The Mountains by Ajitpal Singh, Hindi (earlier called Swizerland and Chandra): Debut feature about a woman saving money to take her wheelchair-bound son to school and physiotherapy, but her husband prefers a shaman's cure instead. Produced by Jar Pictures, co-produced by Amit Mehta and Mauli Singh. The film is in the Sundance Film Festival's World Cinema Dramatic Competition. Woman co-producer.

9. Dostojee (Two Friends), by Prasun Chatterjee, Bengali: About two little boys who live on the Indo-Bangladesh border, whose friendship survives the barriers of religion. But will it survive fate? Debut feature, that was at the online Cannes Marche 2020, Hong Kong Asia Film Forum and Film Bazaar. Produced by Prasun Chatterjee, Prosenjit Ranjan Nath, Soumya Mukhopadhyay and Ivy Yu-Hua Shen (Taiwan). A woman producer.

10. Writing With Fire by Rintu Thomas and Sushmit Ghosh: Documentary feature on the remarkable Khabar Lahariya (News Wave), India's only newspaper run by Dalit women, also online. Chief Reporter Meera Devi, based Banda, rural UP, and team use smartphones to redefine grassroots democracy. At the Sundance Film Festival's World Cinema Documentary Competition. Woman co-director.

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