(January 15, 2023) The Indian movie industry is one of India’s biggest soft powers. Producing and consuming the largest number of movies in the world annually, India is home to some of the most creative filmmakers in the world. However, the last few years have been quite eventful for cinema that was made only for domestic viewership, including movies being made in languages such as Telugu, Tamil, Kannada, and Bengali. With the world moving to OTT platforms, these movies and their brilliance are available for the world to see, showcasing the talent of moviemakers to the entire globe. Case in point – RRR.
Now, these movies are being nominated and winning big in several international film award functions. As the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences releases its first contention list for the Academy Awards 2023, Global Indian takes a look at the movies with are not just a part of that list, but also capable of winning it big.
RRR
Director: SS Rajamouli
Cast: Ram Charan, NT Rama Rao Jr, Alia Bhatt, Ajay Devgn, and Olivia Morris
The team of RRR made India very proud quite recently by winning the Global Globe awards. Beating several eminent international artists, including Lady Gaga, Rihanna, and Taylor Swift, RRR became the first Asian movie to win the award in the Best Song category. The Telugu-language movie – which narrates a fictional story bringing together two real-life Indian freedom fighters – also garnered a lot of love from audiences in other countries.
Hoping that the movie wins again at the Oscars, director SS Rajamouli shared with an American daily, “It really feels great to have won the Golden Globe. In India, we make thousands of movies but we hardly get any recognition outside our country. If it puts the spotlight on our films and helps our filmmakers take our stories to the world, it’ll be really great.”
Rocketry: The Nambi Effect
Director: R. Madhavan
Cast: R. Madhavan, Simran, and Ranjit Kapur
Picking a well-known celebrity and making a biopic on them is a formula that has been tried and tested by various filmmakers over the last decade. However, to portray a flawed personality on the screen – who has been more or less forgotten in public memory – and yet be able to hold the audience’s attention for a two-and-a-half hour, now that’s what we call a win!
Narrating the story of the ISRO scientist Nambi Narayanan, who was wrongly accused of espionage, the movie not only managed to change a false public perception of Dr. Narayanan but also leave the audience completely amazed with its brilliant screenplay. Actor Madhavan’s first attempt at directing the movie was well-received by audiences and critics alike. Chronicling the episodes of Nambi being arrested on false charges of selling the nation’s secrets and being accused as a traitor, which leads to unfair imprisonment, third-degree treatment at the hands of cops, and being shunned by society – Rocketry: The Nambi Effect does leave a lasting impact on watchers.
Gangubai Kathiawadi
Director: Sanjay Leela Bhansali
Cast: Alia Bhatt, Ajay Devgn, Shantanu Maheshwari, and Vijay Raaz
When she first appeared on Student of the Year (2012), no one could have imagined that Alia Bhatt would be able to pull off a strong character like Gangubai Kathiawadi on screen. But she did, and how!
Dragging the audiences, who had lost the appetite for movies in the theatre, out of their houses, Gangubai broke several records and won millions of hearts. Narrating the story of the famed brothel madam of Kamathipura, Gangubai Kathiawadi, the movie takes audiences through the old and rustic lanes of Mumbai that people might not want to go to, even today. Of course, as with any other Bhansali production, the film is shot on beautiful sets that transport you back in time to the 50s and 60s in India, with on-point styling of all the characters in the movie. With the audiences – in India and abroad – pouring in love for the movie and the leading actress, it seems like Gangubai Khatiawadi might give tough competition to other movies on the Oscars list.
Kantara
Director: Rishab Shetty
Cast: Rishab Shetty, Sapthami Gowda, Kishore, Manasi Sudhir, and Achyuth Kumar
Not a single person who left the theatre after witnessing this masterclass movie can deny that it was an absolute visual treat! Deemed one of the biggest successes of the Karnataka movie industry, Kantara portrays a tale set in three very different eras – 1847, 1970, and 1990 – with a beautiful amalgamation of action, thrill, faith, and mythology. Set deep in the local folklore, director Rishab has managed to narrate this story of ignorance and misunderstanding in a colourful and visually engrossing manner.
The movie’s cinematography is so assured and kinetic that it doubles up as a performance. Its powerful imagination made it one of the most-watched Kannada movies in the Hindi-speaking states of India, of all time. Breaking the language barrier, people in the northern parts of India were seen waiting patiently outside theatre box offices to buy their Kantara tickets.
The Kashmir Files
Director: Vivek Agnihotri
Cast: Anupam Kher, Mithun Chakraborty, Pallavi Joshi, and Darshan Kumar
While some called it disturbing, many Indians agreed that this film was as close to reality as it can get. Set in the realities of an event yet to be addressed on an international level, The Kashmir Files might prove to be very difficult for the Oscar Jury to ignore. Retelling the stories of lakhs of Hindus who were displaced from various parts of Jammu and Kashmir in the early-1990s, the movie managed to propel an alternative view of the Kashmir issue.
The director, Vivek Agnihotri, narrative triggers varied emotions coupled with some of the finest performances, and emotionally moving scenes. While Kashmiri Pandits continue to hope for justice even after over 30 years, the film attempts to document the ordeal of these displaced families with authenticity and not just for a cinematic recreation. Characters in The Kashmir Files are nothing short of ‘real people’. The way they emote on screen makes you feel their pain, leaving a lump in your throat. Anupam Kher as Pushkar Nath delivered by far his strongest and most convincing performance.
