99. English-language Indian films
One of the largest cinema hubs in the world, Indian cinema is renowned for its glamour, fashion and mainstream masala films which earns huge box office collections. With thousands of films produced every year Indian cinema has been making records in the history of world cinema.
India is the largest producer of films in the world with approx 1800 films produced every year. It is also one of the most diverse film industries in the world with nine different regions producing films in sixteen different languages. Unfortunately, this diversity is often neglected in the world cinema by mistaking Indian cinema for Bollywood.
Indian cinema is much more than Bollywood. The mainstream masala movies produced in Hindi language are just the ones most highlighted because of the monetary investment, stature of the cast and crew and its mass appeal to the audience. Beyond that is the whole new world of Indian cinema which might not be appealing to the masses but are gems in the eyes of few. Apart from Hindi, we all must have heard of or seen movies made in Tamil, Telugu, Bengali, and Kannada languages. In this article we will be looking at one part of Indian cinema which is less talked about, English-language Indian films.
English-language Indian films are films made by Indian cast and crew in English language. These are at times from the parallel cinema, an alternative to the mainstream commercial Indian cinema. Following are four films from this category which won the hearts of critics.
The Namesake
Based on the novel of the same name by Jhumpa Lahiri, ‘The Namesake’ is a 2006 film starring Irrfan Khan, Tabu, Kal Penn, and Jacinda Barrett. The film is directed by Mira Nair. It is a beautiful journey of an immigrant Bengali couple trying to adjust to their life in America, while their son, Gogol, struggles with his name and its significance.
15 Park Avenue
15 Park Avenue is a National Film Award winning English-language Indian film directed by Aparna Sen released in 2005. Starring Shabana Azmi, Konkona Sen Sharma, Rahul Bose, Dhritiman Chatterjee, it is a story of a schizophrenic woman and her sister. The movie explores the gruesome reality of the Indian society through the struggles of a schizophrenic patient.
Mr. and Mrs. Iyer
Starring Rahul Bose, Konkona Sen Sharma, Bhisham Sahni, Surekha Sikri, and directed by Aparna Sen, Mr. and Mrs. Iyer released in 2002. Set in the middle of community riots, the movie displays the Hindu and Muslim relations in India and violence caused by it. It is a story of a Tamil Brahmin woman who saves an unknown Muslim man’s life by giving him her name.
Hazaaron Khwaishein Aisi
Hazaaron Khwaishein Aisi is Indian political drama film directed by Sudhir Mishra starring Kay Kay Menon, Shiney Ahuja, Chitrangda Singh, and Ram Kapoor. The story revolves around the life of three college friends and how their life progresses in post- independence India.
While these movies are critically acclaimed they did not do well on the box office. The reason might be the lack of mainstream masala and unpopular subjects.
Reference:
https://www.mic.com/articles/54609/3-countries-with-booming-movie-industries-that-are-not-the-u-s
https://www.statista.com/topics/2140/film-industry-in-india/
https://www.indiewire.com/2013/07/10-things-you-should-know-about-indian-cinema-37021/
India is the largest producer of films in the world with approx 1800 films produced every year. It is also one of the most diverse film industries in the world with nine different regions producing films in sixteen different languages. Unfortunately, this diversity is often neglected in the world cinema by mistaking Indian cinema for Bollywood.
Indian cinema is much more than Bollywood. The mainstream masala movies produced in Hindi language are just the ones most highlighted because of the monetary investment, stature of the cast and crew and its mass appeal to the audience. Beyond that is the whole new world of Indian cinema which might not be appealing to the masses but are gems in the eyes of few. Apart from Hindi, we all must have heard of or seen movies made in Tamil, Telugu, Bengali, and Kannada languages. In this article we will be looking at one part of Indian cinema which is less talked about, English-language Indian films.
English-language Indian films are films made by Indian cast and crew in English language. These are at times from the parallel cinema, an alternative to the mainstream commercial Indian cinema. Following are four films from this category which won the hearts of critics.
Based on the novel of the same name by Jhumpa Lahiri, ‘The Namesake’ is a 2006 film starring Irrfan Khan, Tabu, Kal Penn, and Jacinda Barrett. The film is directed by Mira Nair. It is a beautiful journey of an immigrant Bengali couple trying to adjust to their life in America, while their son, Gogol, struggles with his name and its significance.
15 Park Avenue
15 Park Avenue is a National Film Award winning English-language Indian film directed by Aparna Sen released in 2005. Starring Shabana Azmi, Konkona Sen Sharma, Rahul Bose, Dhritiman Chatterjee, it is a story of a schizophrenic woman and her sister. The movie explores the gruesome reality of the Indian society through the struggles of a schizophrenic patient.
Starring Rahul Bose, Konkona Sen Sharma, Bhisham Sahni, Surekha Sikri, and directed by Aparna Sen, Mr. and Mrs. Iyer released in 2002. Set in the middle of community riots, the movie displays the Hindu and Muslim relations in India and violence caused by it. It is a story of a Tamil Brahmin woman who saves an unknown Muslim man’s life by giving him her name.
Hazaaron Khwaishein Aisi is Indian political drama film directed by Sudhir Mishra starring Kay Kay Menon, Shiney Ahuja, Chitrangda Singh, and Ram Kapoor. The story revolves around the life of three college friends and how their life progresses in post- independence India.
While these movies are critically acclaimed they did not do well on the box office. The reason might be the lack of mainstream masala and unpopular subjects.
Reference:
https://www.mic.com/articles/54609/3-countries-with-booming-movie-industries-that-are-not-the-u-s
https://www.statista.com/topics/2140/film-industry-in-india/
https://www.indiewire.com/2013/07/10-things-you-should-know-about-indian-cinema-37021/
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