Chhalaang, Cargo, Serious Men, Bhaag Beanie Bhaag And More

It is that time of the year again when we list down the best works that we saw onscreen While the pandemic and subsequent lockdown stopped movie screenings at theaters, it also offered a challenge for artists. The year 2020 brought with it a new subject of quarantine and lockdown, coming up with new ways of shooting amid social distancing and, of course, the growing popularity of the digital platform.

Here is a list of the best films and shows the year, 2020.

Thappad

After impressing critics with his films on communal harmony and caste-ism (Mulk and Article 15), Anubhav Sinha brought Thappad just days before the pandemic induced lockdown forced a shutdown of movie theatres in the country. A woman’s fight against an act of domestic violence as well as the mindset that wants to ignore the violence and misogyny. Mr Sinha maintains his understated and unconventional narrative style in the film and powerful performances by Taapsee Pannu, Kumud Mishra, Tanvi Azmi and Maya Sarao enhance the cinematic experience of the movie.

Cargo

Directed by debutante Arati Kadav, Cargo is a novel idea in Hindi filmmaking. A perfect blend of Hindu mythology and sci-fi, the movie zooms in on the solitude of the protagnists essayed by Vikrant Massey and Shweta Tripathi.

Har Kisi Ke Hisse: Kaamyaab

Sanjay Mishra leads this story which seems similar to his life. Much like Mr Mishra, the film’s protagonist essays character roles and is devoid of the stardom that Bollywood known for, despite his expertise. The authentic way of Hardik Mehta’s narrative empowered by brilliant acting of Mr Mishra, Deepak Dobriyal, Avatar Gill, and the entire cast makes it a touching movie.

Aarya

She ruled Bollywood with her grace and sensuousness in the 90s and is back with the webseries, Aarya, which focuses on the acting abilities of Sushmita Sen. Made by Ram Madhvani (of Neerja fame), the crime thriller becomes interesting majorly because of the emotional layering which is rare in Hindi crime thrillers. Based on Spanish series Penoza, Aarya is primarily the story of a strong-headed woman (Aarya, essayed by Ms Sen) and her reaction to adverse situations that threaten her family.

Unpaused

One of the best anthology films that came amid the pandemic. The theme of all the five films is the pandemic and different filmmakers wove stories around it. Raj and DK directed Glitch,  a film that played upon the fear of human contact during the current times. Nikhil Advani’s Apartment highlights the depressing feeling of being left alone, while also chronicling the historic Me Too movement that saw women reporting incidences of power and sexual abuse at workplace. Tannishtha Chatterjee’s Rat-a-Tat focuses on the importance of human bonds, irrespective of age differences. Avinash Arun’s Vishaanu is the story of a migrant family struggling for their abode while Nitya Mehra’s Chaand Mubarak highlights the importance of narrowing differences to survive loneliness. Gulshan Devaiah (Glitch), Richa Chadha (Apartment), Abhishek Banerjee (Vishaanu), Ratna Pathak Shah (Chand Mubarak) and (Rat-a-Tat), have all made sure the characters are alive and stories, believable.

Chhalaang

A self-righteous man, with no ambitions in life, gets infatuated with a co-worker and a possible threat in his romantic pursuit makes him get serious about his life and work. Sounds pretty much like Salman Khan’s Sultan (2016) . However, filmmaker Hansal Mehta brings his own sensibilities to the character and storyline, making it one of the most well-made films on gender equality, and the importance of sports in school education. Actors Mohd Zeeshan Ayyub, Ila Arun, Suparna Marwah and Satish Kaushik ensure the narrative is also enjoyable.

Serious Men

Based on a book by the same name, Sudhir Mishra’s Serious Men traces a young, and enraged Dalit con artist. The film is romantically beautiful (within the milieu of Indian lower-middle class settings) like Mr Mishra’s Khoya Khoya Chaand and an enjoyable, apt political satire on the current times, much like his Jaane Bhi Do Yaaro.

Bhaag Beanie Bhaag

A middle-class, Indian woman wants to practice comedy as a profession but her family, including her fiance, do not believe she can make it. Therefore, she decides to run away from her engagement to pursue stand-up comedy as her career. The series created by Neel Shah and Ravi Patel, is brilliantly executed and written to voice the concerns of a modern, Indian woman stuck in not-so modern circumstances. Swara Bhaskar does a great job in bringing the lead, Beanie Bhatnagar to life.

Criminal Justice: Behind Closed Doors

After Anubhav Sinha’s Thappad, Criminal Justice: Behind Closed Doors was the second project this year that talked about women’s issues and also dealt with it in the a sensitive, yet realistic way. Written by Apurva Asrani, the series brings forth one of the least-talked about problem in Indian families, marital rape.

AK Vs AK

Directed by Vikramaditya Motwane, AK Vs AK, is being touted a ‘mockumentary’. Starring Anil Kapoor and Anurag Kashyap in a story written as a thriller, the movie becomes extraordinary because it plays on the real life images of the two protagonists – actor Kapoor and director Kashyap. You may enjoy the inside jokes only if you follow the two stars and the gossip around them. However, the thriller will entertain even if you have never followed Bollywood gossip.