FIVE LESS KNOWN REGIONAL MOVIES TO WATCH IN LOCKDOWN

After a long wait Unlock 1.0 is finally here, and people are braving up to the new reality post pandemic. Streets are starting to fill up again and we are certainly making baby steps back to recovery. Even then, the normal things like watching a movie in theatre, attending cultural programmes and sport events seems to be distant future.

During the period of strict lockdown, most of us spent time watching popular series on OTT platforms and many actually ticked off all their bucket list movies and shows. But there are many gems yet to be discovered on this platforms, specially some splendid Indian regional movies that will leave you thinking about them long after it had ended. The pure magic of native nuances are unmatched compared to run of the mill Bollywood and Hollywood movies. From alluring cinematography to splendid performances, these movies represents the best of inspired storytelling.

 The below list of top movies belong to different genres and languages but the one thing in common among them is universality of cinema.

 1.      Ea.Ma.Yau (Malayalam) : Set in the coastal village of Chellanam in Kochi, the movie unfolds through the happenings between two evenings. The plot revolves around the death of Vavachan Mesthiri and the efforts of his son Eeshi to arrange a “grand funeral” (the one he promised) for his father. Eeshi is a failure at dealing with and drawing practical solutions for his problems. It is his friend and local politician, Ayyappan, who coordinates everything for him.

But, as hours pass by, unprecedented events, tensions, and absurd doubts about the death of Vavachan sprout up, and, finally, Eeshi reaches a stage where he cannot cope with the world around him. The church vicar (Dileesh Pothan), who is overly obsessed with detective novels, plays a very important role in the twists and turns in the plot. Ee.Ma.Yau is a clear reference of how religion can sometimes play the unlikely villain in people's lives, denying them even a decent funeral

Available On : Amazon Prime

2. Super Deluxe (Tamil) : Super Deluxe gives us four stories and the protagonists in each of these stories are tested in their beliefs in the strangest ways. For the married couple Vembu and Mukil, the situation in which they get into is a test of their marital relationship. It is a test of her love for her son for Shilpa, a transgender who has come back to her family. For Arputham, who has survived the tsunami and found a new God, and Leela, who is desperately trying to save her injured son, Soori, it is a test of their belief in God and humanity respectively. And there are also three lads who face a literal test of bravery

Available On : Netflix

3.  C/O Kancharapalem (Telugu) :

It’s a noisy-little suburb in a big town, a close knit community that stands by each other in the time of need, united by their love for art. Trains pass between two parallel colonies through the day, everyone has an opinion on almost everything that surrounds them- a lot about Kancharapalem is heartwarmingly simple, ordinary and most importantly identifiable. It’s rare for a film to do a commentary on religion, stature, age and love while never stating the obvious, C/O Kancharapalem shows more than it tells and you want to pick up a piece of the place as you leave the film.

Available On : Netflix

4. Baishe Srabon (Bengali) : Several murders have taken place through out the city of Kolkata. A Serial killer is believed to be responsible. The mods operandi being that the killer always caries out the murder according to verses in Bengali poetry. He leaves behind the verses next to the victim. The police are baffled. There lead detective struggles to solve the case. This leads to his superiors deciding to bring back an ex-cop to help solve the case. The ex-cop was suspended for orchestrating a fake encounter and is well known for his bad temperament. Now the ex-cop and the lead detective must work together to catch the serial killer before another innocent loses his life.

Available On : Disney + Hotstar

5. Aamis (Assamese) : The film is set in Guwahati.  On a sleepy Sunday morning, a pediatrician Nirmali is asked to treat a young man writhing in pain. It’s indigestion – he’s a vegetarian who tasted meat for the first time and couldn’t stop eating.  Later, as Nirmali walks back to her house with the man’s friend Sumon, she tells him – meat isn’t the problem, gluttony is.  Nirmali is married and has a son.  Sumon is younger – he is a PhD student writing a thesis on meat-eating habits in the North-east.  Sumon takes his meat very seriously – it must be fresh and cooked the right way.

Slowly a friendship develops and Sumon initiates Nirmali into the joys of the flesh.  Meat becomes a metaphor for life, passion, connection.  Food becomes a source of rapture and transcendence.  Their relationship remains undefined and because of societal codes, repressed and yet it has an intimacy that eventually becomes unnerving.  Their desire finds expression in meals of wild rabbits and catfish with colocasia. As Sumon says at one point: The definition of normal isn’t universal.

Available On : Moviesaints

Happy Binging☺️ !!