Films for the home theatre
As you self-quarantine, discover what lies beyond Bollywood
Who could have imagined that the contentioustheatre- vs-streaming debate would be halted, at least temporarily, by a virus? Covid-19 has shut down multiplexes in parts of India. Elsewhere, people are staying away out of concern for public health and their own. One of the biggest Indian releases of the year — Sooryavanshi — has been postponed indefinitely. The new James Bond film,
No Time to Die, has been put off.
With the theatrical experience no longer an option, I recommend that you use this time to discover what lies beyond Bollywood. Here are three titles to start with.
Sudani from Nigeria: Sudani is a strapping player recruited to play in a local football club in Ker ala’ s Ma lap pu ram district. The folks around him don’ t know enough about the African continent so they call him, various ly, Nigerian (which he is ), Ugandan( which he isn’ t) and even
Sudanese, which leads to the nickname Sud a ni and Sud u—which is from where the film gets its title.
Sud a ni is a star player, but unfortunately he gets injured. The team’s manager, Majid, who can’ t really afford it, decides to nurse Su du back to health in his own home.
Majid’s mother, Jameela, her close friend, Bee yum ma, and Ma j id become Sudu’ s caretakers and cheerleaders. The two women can barely communicate with Sudu, but through their warmth and generosity, they help him heal. Majid tells Sudu: Any need, call mother.
Sudu in turn helps heal Majid. His hurt and resentment are slowly replaced by a capacity to love and forgive. Debutant director Zakariya Mo hammed delicate ly weaves a story about the ties that bind us. These characters have little in common except a shared humanity.
Sudani from Nigeria features a terrific performance by Soubin Shahir (who you may remember from Ku mb alangi Nights ). You can watch it on Netflix.
’96: I’m a great admirer of the Tamil actor, Vi jay
Sethupathi. In this film, he offers a veritable master class on how to bea swooning romantic hero without six-pack abs or snazzy styling. Vijay plays Ram, a travel photographer who meets his childhood sweetheart, Janaki, at a school reunion. They haven’t seen each other for 22 years. Circumstances force them to spend the night together. This could have been at rite, moony tale of thwarted love, but writer-director C Pr em Kumar tell sit with such tenderness that you invest in it completely. My favourite scene is the one in which Ram and Jan a ki meet for the WHAT COULD HAVE BEEN A TRITE, MOONY TALE OF THWARTED LOVE IS TOLD WITH SUCH TENDERNESS THAT YOU INVEST IN ’96 COMPLETELY first time as adults. He hides from her and then keeps his back to her. When she forces him to turn around, he can’t look at her. He’s a grown man acting like a blushing boy. Vijay is a wonder to watch .‘ Bach pankap ya ar’ is a hackneyed trope but ’96 makes you believe in it again. You can watch the film on Sun NXT and YouTube.
Aamis:
The word is Assamese for meat-eater, but this is a love story. Which is what makes
A am is haunting, lyric al and quietly horrifying.
The film is about the relationship between a pediatric ian named N ir mali and a PhD student named Sum on. He is writing a thesis on meat eating habits in the northeast. Slowly a friendship develops between them, and Sum on introduces N ir mali to the unique joys of eating meat, which becomes a source of rapture and connection.
Nirmali is married and has a son, so their relationship remains necessarily undefined. But their sharing of and love for food give it an intimacy that becomes almost unnerving. Their desire finds expression in meals of wild rabbit and catfish with colo casi a. As Sum on says at one point: The definition of normal isn’t universal.
Director Bhaskar Hazarika skillfully moves the narrative into dark places and steers it to a memorable finish. You can watch the film on moviesaints.com.