Official Indian Subcontinent Challenge - March 2020

[maxwelldeux]

Indian Subcontinent Challenge



Goal
Watch as many movies from the Indian Subcontinent as you can from March 1, 2020 to March 31, 2020.

List of eligible countries/territories

India
Pakistan
Bangladesh
Nepal
Bhutan
Sri Lanka
Maldives

Rules:
- Rewatches allowed.
- A feature film (at least 40 minutes) counts as one point.
- A total of 60 minutes of short films (less than 40 minutes) count as one point.
- For mini-series, each part (at least 40 minutes) counts as one point. If less than 40 minutes, then the short films rule applies.
- A total of 120 minutes of TV Episodes count as one point.

Stats & Formatting:
- Title (Year, Country) is the preferred format. Submissions that do not mention the country will not be counted.
- New posts are preferred over edited posts.

Stuck for ideas of what to watch? Look no further:

Official Lists
Top 100 Bollywood Films
National Film Archive of India List
UNESCO's Memory List India: 328-342
Asian Field Guide List India: 267-355

Non-Official Lists
Bollywood Films: BFI Screen Guide
Golden Lotus Award: Best Feature Film
Top Rated Indian Movies According to IMDb
India's Submissions for the Foreign Language Oscar
Funky Bollywood: The Wild World of 1970s Indian Action Cinema

Not sure how to format your post? Check out the basic rules thread from mightysparks.

Bonus Challenge: The Not-India Challenge
Explore the region. Travel the Indian Subcontinent. See if you can find some gems from this region... just not from India. (If we start getting high enough counts, I may even add in some country-specific leaderboards.)

Leaderboard of Not-India

Rank	Participant	Count
1	Mario Gaborović	12
2	72aicm	10
3	Traveller	7
4	jdidaco	6
5	AssonFire	4
6	sol	3
7	flavo5000	2
7	blocho	2
9	zzzorf	1
9	maxwelldeux	1
9	jeroeno	1
9	RogerTheMovieManiac88	1

Leaderboard Official

Rank	Participant	Count
1	flavo5000	63
2	RogerTheMovieManiac88	58
3	Mario Gaborović	44
3	72aicm	44
5	blueboybob	43
6	Traveller	42
7	OldAle1	37
8	AssonFire	25
9	jdidaco	20
10	jeroeno	17
11	sol	14
12	cinephage	9
13	Lonewolf2003	7
14	hurluberlu	6
15	ororama	4
16	nimimerkillinen	3
17	blocho	2
17	maxwelldeux	2
17	sebby	2
17	Melvelet	2
21	zzzorf	1
21	allisoncm	1
21	Obgeoff	1
21	AB537	1

[RogerTheMovieManiac88]

Thanks for hosting and being receptive to input.

Very much looking forward to this for March. Approximately half of the 100-120 films in my TV planner are Indian films that I've rather deliberately selected over the last year or so, so I have rather a tantalising selection of efforts to choose from. I'll hope to work in a sprinkling from the other places as well, particularly Sri Lanka and Pakistan. It can be hard to track down films from these two countries so I'll see how that quest plays out...

[3eyes]

Yes, thanks for hosting and sorting out the eligible countries, Max. I may show up, who knows?

[flavo5000]

I'm gonna dig into this one a little next month. I've historically slammed Indian films in the past, so I want to see if I can find some diamonds in the rough. Or at least try to have some fun with it.

Speaking of which, here's another list I would suggest adding to the unofficial section that could be a fun one to look at:
Funky Bollywood: The Wild World of 1970s Indian Action Cinema

[Traveller]

Thanks for hosting, max. I have some stuff on the side to watch, but I'll try to watch at least one film a day for this challenge.

The link for the Golden Lotus Award: Best Feature Film list does not work. It's also official now.

[72aicm]

I’m in. Hope for more participants than last time.
Thanks for hosting Max.

[Lonewolf2003]

In the Netherlands Mubi is showing some Indian films this coming month. Don't know if they are also doing it in other territories.
https://mubi.com/specials/indian-cinema

I'm probably in for those and a few that are on Netflix.

[sol]

It starts! First in.

1. Duvidha (1973) India



A film about a lonely ghost who impersonates a newlywed man away on business. The film is deliberately framed and shot, with characters often only seen on edges. There are also elongated silences and even some freeze frames as the film attempts a meditative tone. The overly descriptive voice-over narration tends to destroy the mood though and with limited scenes dedicated to the ghost and wife interacting together, the emotions are muted.

[Traveller]

01. Earth (1998, India) - 6/10

[hurluberlu]

1. Duvidha (Mani Kaul, 1973) 8

[maxwelldeux]

1. Duvidha (Mani Kaul, 1973) 8

Country, por favor.

I mean, I have it 'cause sol just watched it, that's just a reminder going forward.

[maxwelldeux]

Also, because I expect India to be super dominant this challenge, I've added in a bonus challenge of Non-India.

[hurluberlu]

Also, because I expect India to be super dominant this challenge, I've added in a bonus challenge of Non-India.

Shall we mention country when it is not India ?

[maxwelldeux]

Also, because I expect India to be super dominant this challenge, I've added in a bonus challenge of Non-India.

Shall we mention country when it is not India ?

Hehehe... well, I'm tracking countries regardless, so... yes?

[72aicm]

1. Pukar (1939, India)
2. Chemmeen (1965, India)
3. Samskara (1970, India)
4. Dakhal (1982, India)

[OldAle1]

In. Don't know for how many or what the Bollywood/Bengal divide will be but in, might be the prime challenge for me this month.

[sol]

The World's Fastest Indian

1. Duvidha (1973) India

2. Saroja (2000) Sri Lanka



Her mother killed by soldiers and her father incapacitated, a young girl traverses the jungles of Sri Lanka and befriends another girl of a different ethnic background, but whether the other girl's family will accept her hangs in the air in this captivating drama. As a message movie, this hardly very subtle, but the bond that develops between the two girls across cultural divides always feels authentic and it is curious seeing around the island nation.

[jeroeno]

01. Samskara (India, 1970)
02. Marupakkam (India, 1990)

[flavo5000]

1. Mahanagar a.k.a. The Big City (India, 1963)
2. Kapurush a.k.a. The Coward (India, 1965)
I thought I'd start off this challenge with a Satyajit Ray double feature, the closest thing I could come up with to a 'gimme' to counteract the inevitable Bollywood garbage I'll end up watching by the end of the month. And actually both of these were quite good. The Big City in particular I enjoyed quite a bit. The Coward was still pretty good though with a little bit of self-deprecation to it given it's about a screenwriter. Here's a bit of dialogue I thought was pretty amusing:

Karuna Gupta: I haven't seen a Bengali film in ages. It would be easy when we go to Calcutta, but you never let me.
Bimal Gupta: [laughing disparagingly] Bengali films!
Amitabha Roy: Why do you laugh?
Bimal Gupta: You know, Mr. Roy, the Bengalis of this present generation have no moral fiber. And that is reflected in everything they do. Everything! Whether films, or politics, or...
Karuna Gupta: Must you really speak this way when we have a Bengali guest?
Bimal Gupta: [addressing Mr. Roy] Certainly! Criticize Bengalis to a Bengali, but praise them to others. Right?
Amitabha Roy: Right.

Spoiler

1. Mahanagar a.k.a. The Big City (India, 1963)
2. Kapurush a.k.a. The Coward (India, 1965)

[Mario Gaborović]

1. Salaam Bombay! (1988) - India
2. Subarnarekha (1965) - India
3. I am Twenty (1967) + On the Move (1970) + Little Terrorist (2004) - India

[cinephage]

01. Drishyam, by Nishikant Kamat (2015) 7/10 - India

Direction ok, but the plot is really fun and interesting. I found out this was a remake, so I'll try and watch the original.

[Lonewolf2003]

1. Duvidha (1973, Mani Kaul) India: 7.0 - This reminded me of Parajanov's movies in how it tells a folkore story with a very stylized mis-en-scene, resulting is some gorgeous shots, but making the plot emotionally distant.

[Traveller]

02. Imagination (1948, India) - 7/10

[72aicm]

5. Prem Sanyas (1925, India)
6. Sagar Sangamey (1959, India)

Spoiler

1. Pukar (1939, India)
2. Chemmeen (1965, India)
3. Samskara (1970, India)
4. Dakhal (1982, India)
5. Prem Sanyas (1925, India)
6. Sagar Sangamey (1959, India)

[maxwelldeux]

01. Drishyam, by Nishikant Kamat (2015) 7/10

Direction ok, but the plot is really fun and interesting. I found out this was a remake, so I'll try and watch the original.

Country, please.

[maxwelldeux]

1. Andhadhun (2018, India)

So a friend of mine at work is from India and only moved here a few years ago, so I asked him for some recommendations (esp. Crime/DbW recs). This was his first rec for Crime, and a good one at that. Very interesting thriller about a blind piano player who witnesses a crime he shouldn't know about. Though it drug just a tad at times, it nonetheless felt well-paced overall for a ~135m film. Fun plot twists and good humor make this a really solid watch. On Netflix.

[sol]

The World's Fastest Indian

1. Duvidha (1973) India
2. Saroja (2000) Sri Lanka

3. 3 Idiots (2009) India



This film has gained a mixed reputation from its inclusion in the IMDb Top 250, but I thoroughly enjoyed it. Some of the humour is a little juvenile (lots of flatulence gags) and the life messages about being who you want to be are obvious, yet the film also offers a great satire on education, teaching and studying versus real life skills. Aamir Khan is excellent too - constantly cool and collected and wise beyond his years. Hilarious "screwed" speech too.

[flavo5000]

3. Ghost Stories (India, 2020)
Here we've got a new horror anthology on Netflix. India doesn't have the best track record when it comes to horror, either relying on cheese z-grade monster masks or naga (snake women) to generate thrills back in the day. Modern Indian horror seems to rely a lot on ghosts with ill-placed music numbers that destroy the tension sporadically placed throughout (see 1920, Raaz, etc.). In both those respects, this one is a nice change of pace. None of the stories have awkwardly placed musical numbers and the effects work is generally pretty decent (aside from a couple of places). The first and fourth stories are pretty generic ghost stories that barely leave an impression (although the first one in particular is fairly well directed). Ironically, it's the two non-ghost stories that leave the biggest impact. The second story from Anurag Kashyap (Gangs of Wasseypur, No Smoking, Dev.D) is certainly the most memorable just for the WTF factor. Skillfully directed in places with an interesting sepia-toned look and an abstract pacing that jumps back and forth in time and blurs the line between what's real and what isn't, it also features some legitimately gross effects like a miscarried fetus gasping for air and an ending that might make vague sense if you squint... The third story is a sort of hybrid of A Quiet Place and a zombie film with a good use of sound and some good direction in places even though it ultimately doesn't come together quite as well as I had hoped. Overall this anthology isn't the revolution in Indian horror I had hoped, overall being pretty mediocre, but there are flashes of something better to give me hope for the future.


4. My Name Is Khan (India, 2010)
Hot Garbage. This is exactly the sort of saccharin, overacted, ham-fisted shit that gives Bollywood a bad reputation. I could write so much more about how terrible it is, but I don't want to get myself too agitated this early in the morning.

Spoiler

1. Mahanagar a.k.a. The Big City (India, 1963)
2. Kapurush a.k.a. The Coward (India, 1965)
3. Ghost Stories (India, 2020)
4. My Name Is Khan (India, 2010)

[Mario Gaborović]

4. Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham... (2001) - India
5. Hum Aapke Hain Koun...! (1994) - India

Spoiler

1. Salaam Bombay! (1988) - India
2. Subarnarekha (1965) - India
3. I am Twenty (1967) + On the Move (1970) + Little Terrorist (2004) - India

[Traveller]

03. Who Pays the Piper (1983, India) - 7/10
A bit stupid at times, but surprisingly funny and enjoyable most of the time. Honestly expected worse.

[jeroeno]

03. Village Rockstars (India, 2017)

[72aicm]

7. Anuradha (1960, India)
8. Mahanagar (1963, India)
9. Shorts:

Raja Harishchandra (1913, India) 17min
I Am Twenty (1967, India) 19min
Figures of Thought (1990, India) 33min

Spoiler

1. Pukar (1939, India)
2. Chemmeen (1965, India)
3. Samskara (1970, India)
4. Dakhal (1982, India)
5. Prem Sanyas (1925, India)
6. Sagar Sangamey (1959, India)
7. Anuradha (1960, India)
8. Mahanagar (1963, India)
9. Shorts:
Raja Harishchandra (1913, India) 17min
I Am Twenty (1967, India) 19min
Figures of Thought (1990, India) 33min

[Traveller]

04. Kaliya Mardan (1919, India) - 4/10
05. Cry of the Wounded (1980, India) - 8/10
Pretty good. Have to check out more from Nihalani.

[hurluberlu]

2. The Stranger / Agantuk (Satyajit Ray, 1991) [India] 7+

CiNamaste

1. Duvidha (Mani Kaul, 1973) [India] 8

[72aicm]

10. Charachar (1994, India)
11. Lal Darja (1997, India)
12. Jago hua savera (1959, Pakistan)

Spoiler

1. Pukar (1939, India)
2. Chemmeen (1965, India)
3. Samskara (1970, India)
4. Dakhal (1982, India)
5. Prem Sanyas (1925, India)
6. Sagar Sangamey (1959, India)
7. Anuradha (1960, India)
8. Mahanagar (1963, India)
9. Shorts:
Raja Harishchandra (1913) 17min
I Am Twenty (1967, India) 19min
Figures of Thought (1990, India) 33min
10. Charachar (1994, India)
11. Lal Darja (1997, India)
12. Jago hua savera (1959, Pakistan)

[tommy_leazaq]

01. Drishyam, by Nishikant Kamat (2015) 7/10 - India

Direction ok, but the plot is really fun and interesting. I found out this was a remake, so I'll try and watch the original.

Yeah, Drishyam plot is fun but this is about the worst of the dozen remakes done from the original Malayalam language version.

[jeroeno]

04. Tabarana Kathe (India, 1986)
05. Nirmalyam (India, 1973)

[flavo5000]

5. Mughal-E-Azam (1960)
While I didn't care too much for the bloated story line and unnecessary dance numbers, I will say that I was pretty impressed by the garishly vibrant costume and set design.


6. Fakira (1976)
So I think '70s Bollywood action movies might be my sweet spot. Like Sholay, if the painfully out-of-place musical numbers were extracted from this one, it would make for a breezy Robin Hood-esque action flick. I had fun with it despite the seemingly interminable romance angle.


7. Gangs of Wasseypur Part 1 (2012)
8. Gangs of Wasseypur Part 2 (2012)
So yes, this has a bunch of musical numbers and yes, both parts together are over five hours BUT despite all that, I really liked this one. This incredibly brutal and gritty anti-pattern to the typical Bollywood slick veneer tells a pretty interesting story of multi-generational gang warfare with some very good direction from Anurag Kashyap, director of No Smoking (another Bollywood movie I actually liked) as well as respected movies like Dev.D. While I would say Gangs isn't quite as good as the likes of City of God and Goodfellas, it is still much better than 95% of Bollywood movies I've seen.

Spoiler

1. Mahanagar a.k.a. The Big City (India, 1963)
2. Kapurush a.k.a. The Coward (India, 1965)
3. Ghost Stories (India, 2020)
4. My Name Is Khan (India, 2010)
5. Mughal-E-Azam (1960)
6. Fakira (1976)
7. Gangs of Wasseypur Part 1 (2012)
8. Gangs of Wasseypur Part 2 (2012)

[Traveller]

06. Devdas (1936, India) - 6/10

[maxwelldeux]

I prefer my continents between 2 pieces of bread

1. Andhadhun (2018, India)

2. The Red Phallus (2018, Bhutan)
Slow burn film with gorgeous scenery and a surprising amount of red wooden dicks. Focuses the story on a 16yo woman who's dealing with family and cultural expectations for her. I appreciated it a lot, but didn't quite get pulled in emotionally. Currently streaming on MUBI.