Favourite 5 - Films and Series (2021)

My top five films and series (up till the annual year 2021) are Cinema Paradiso (Dir. Giuseppe Tornatore), Parched (Dir. Leena Yadav), Pyaasa (Dir. Guru Dutt), Village Rockstars (Dir. Rima Das), Amour (Dir. Michael Haneke) and This is Us (Series).

Two things that are evident at first glance from the list of my top five are –

Films are primarily a visual medium. Moving images have their own language and narrative, even devoid of a script or written material, as wonderfully demonstrated by the historically important documentary ‘Man with a Movie Camera’ directed by Dziga Vertov. It is this knowledge that becomes crucial in creating a masterpiece for screen, letting frames and shots breathe, have a life of their own. That is also why, language is no barrier in a well-made film. Cinema Paradiso, Village Rockstars and Amour are all films in languages I am not familiar with.

1) Emotions are, to me personally, of pivotal importance in cinema. Visual elements like art direction and lighting in a film can bring out emotions that sometimes dialogues fail to deliver. Film production becomes crucial in these experiences that rely heavily on mise-en-scène. Backdrops that consistently add to the character’s emotional depth and arc, have been used beautifully in all of my favourite films.

2) Cinema based on human conflict, condition, class, society and women’s issues, is by far the most interesting to me as I firmly believe, films are a reflection of society. Even Tarkovsky’s poetic films touch upon elements of religion, sex, psychosis and class. Every great filmmaker derives from the world around them, even those that make science fiction and fantasy adventures. Yes, Harry Potter with all its magic would be just another spell book devoid of elements of friendship, betrayal, loyalty and family, among others. The films I chose for my list are on it for different reasons.

Cinema Paradiso is a film about a child, who grows up to become a filmmaker, and his undying love for cinema that is undeterred by his financial conditions, growing up. The focus of film though is his friendship with an older, complex man (a projectionist) who is slightly annoying in instances, but I ended up falling in love with his flaws and rough edges, a character so complex from title to end credits, that it made me wonder if it was indeed a fictional character or did it take heavy inspiration from someone the writer actually knew. I grew up watching films on DD National (no cable at the Singh house) and issued DVDs from the British Library. An unlikely yet lethal combination, that much like Toto, aroused in me a passion for the world of films at a young age. It was how close this film hit home that made me re-watch it 3 times in the past 4 years.

Parched is a film about women and the beauty in their relationships with each other. Friendship and unity are strong themes, unlike your usual film/media that pits women against each other, Parched makes women stand with each other. Women from all walks of life, all kinds of families (or the lack thereof), different age groups and tells a story of the struggles an Indian woman faces, in whatever choices she makes. The film deals with subjects like adultery, prostitution, rape, child marriage, abuse, old-age, fertility and raising a man in a really nuanced manner. Dealing with such a range of issues and doing all of them justice by showing how interwoven and ever-present they are, is a big victory for the film. It was the character of Janki, a mother who despite her empathetic and intelligent nature, though to an extent interwoven in patriarchy that she has accepted as part of life, has raised a teenager son who is a rapist, sex addict and alcoholic. The way she deals with this knowledge, still trying to love and do best by her own child is the reflection of so many mothers around the world who are at constant war between protecting their children or standing by the victims of their own sex. It is relevant to me, despite being born and brought up in a developed city, because the stories the film told, were no stranger to me and won’t be to any other woman. The fact that it is directed by a female filmmaker is an added point, I believe it is the reason why the cinematic experience is so authentic and heartfelt.

Pyaasa is a masterpiece directed by Guru Dutt ji. It shows evidently his personal experience with depression, alcoholism and mental struggle in life in all of its frames, scenes and songs. Pyaasa is a feeling, more than it is an intended construction. It left me with a heavy heart, mesmerized by the darkness that is reflected in the lighting in all of the film’s frames. It too, is a very strong film in terms of dealing with prostitution and the Indian class system. Pyaasa is such an important film, as it was the film that made me realize that songs are actually one of the most unique aspects of Indian cinema when compared to world cinema, and that they can drive the narrative of a film in big ways as opposed to being a mere token piece or item song. I have listened to ‘Mera joota hai jaapaani’ on the radio since I was 5 and it has never failed to make me laugh, still never does at 21. Though it is a very different song from the rest of the album, an album with songs that have recently made me cry with their lyrics. It is the one that is associated with childhood memories, which brings me to the next film on the list.

Village Rockstars is a nostalgic ride of my days as a young teenager, days spent at my Nani’s place, summer vacations were spent there annually. In the wheat fields, plucking imli off branches, pulling at the hand pump with all my might and splashing into puddles. Village Rockstars is one of the most beautiful coming of age films India has to offer, full to the brim with symbolism. Dhunu - a young girl from a remote village in Assam, wants to be the guitarist in a rock band. Her widowed mother is her biggest inspiration and supporter. But the uniqueness of the film is that it is visual poetry. It's as if the location is the primary character - the lush, wet village and the hardships that it brings. So many scenes are just a beautiful treat to the eyes with so much to say, different stories, plaiting across like hair strands tied loosely together. The plot isn't the driving force, the soul is. And the folk music touches in its rawness, in the untrained voices and beats, in the melody that rings in my ears long after the credits rolled.

Amour is a film showcasing an age group that is surprisingly, very rarely dealt with in films in primary protagonist roles, despite the possibilities and conversations it offers. Amour not only shows old age in a way that is understood by young people, but it does so with minimal use of dialogue. It is a film that took me through a rollercoaster of emotions, not because it is loud and dramatic, it is a rollercoaster of cold silences, of unreciprocated gazes, the unimaginable and inevitable loss of a loved one after a life spent together, the loss of self that comes with it and the horrific, deafening end (ironically, as it is without a single sound). The film is shot from start to finish in just one location apart from one scene at a theatre in the beginning. It is fascinating because in a way it is a representation of the sedentary lifestyle and lack of movement that comes with madness as well as illness. It is probably one of the most terrifying ‘horror’ films I have ever watched and one that I might never watch again.

This is Us is an ongoing television series, it has included the pandemic in its latest season (Season 5). This is Us is on my list for a different reason than the rest above. I started watching the series with my parents at the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic, when the world was in lockdown. It was the first series that my parents ever binge-watched, first in a long list now though. 'This is Us' as a TV series spanning across 5 seasons (6th and final in 2022), brings up so many important and relevant subjects in society today. My brother, mother, father and me, could identify ourselves in more than one of the protagonists through their growth. Every episode ended in a sure stream of tears down our faces and a case for blurry vision. We bonded over tea after a long day (spent doing nothing mostly) in front of the television, had conversations about each other’s pasts and present(s), problems we had dealt with growing up. This is Us pushed me to understand my parents in a way I didn’t see them before, as multifaceted people who are a product of their circumstances. People who have had tough pasts, who have fought against so many odds to get where they are to give me the comfortable life I have today. People who have had bad days, as teenagers and as adults. People who have had crushes on teachers and heartbreaks. People who admit to falling in love at first sight, when in fact their marriage was arranged. People who granted me the choice to take them for granted since the day I was born. That is my family, that is us.

To sum it all up, my top 5 are films and series I can connect to in more ways than one, about subjects I have pondered on for years and deeply care about, and most of all films that make me want to make films myself.