(Updated: October 26, 2020) With the ongoing pandemic, several big-ticket films are gearing up for an OTT release. But with so many of them lined up through the year, it’s easy to miss out on some of the smaller, low-budget films from studios and filmmakers known for producing great content. Here are 8 new indie movies from India to keep on your radar, whenever they release, on the big screen or digital media:
1. Bittersweet – Marathi
Director Ananth Mahadevan’s upcoming Marathi feature shines light on the horrifying practice of female labour exploitation by Maharashtra’s sugar barons, the state’s wealthiest business. The film world premiered at the prestigious Busan International Film Festival 2020 today.
2. Ramsingh Charlie
First time producer Nitin Kakkar, who gave us the very charming Filmistaan will be back with Ramsingh Charlie featuring the inimitable Kumud Mishra in a lead role alongside Divya Dutta. Ramsingh, a Charlie Chaplin impersonator who has always lived the life of an artist, performs in a travelling circus. He is unexpectedly thrown into the bigger circus of life where he must juggle between his role as a father and that of a performer, all without a safety net. The film premiered on SonyLiv August 28, 2020.
3. Knock Knock Knock
Sudhanshu Saria, who directed the much-acclaimed Loev (2016), will be back with a psychological thriller. The film played at the Busan Film Festival last year; only Indian film to be screened in the non-feature category. Early this year, it won the Gold Remi at the WorldFest-Houston International Film Festival. Knock Knock Knock (2020) has been made in three languages – English, Bengali and Nepali. It released worldwide on Mubi September 15, 2020.
Saria’s debut feature Loev, a charming, refreshing love story of a gay couple, is available for streaming on Netflix | [Related: Inspiration Behind ‘Loev’: Director Sudhanshu Saria Writes]
Similar to New Indie Movies: Don’t Miss These 9 Indian Indie Movies From 2017
4. Bali: The Victim – Marathi
After the success of Lapachhapi, Vishal Furia is gearing up for his second release Bali: The Victim. It will feature Marathi actor Swwapnil Joshi and is produced by Arjun Singh Baran and Kartik Nishandar. Continuing Furia’s idea of ‘socio-horror’ genre which took off with Lapachhapi, Bali too deals with a very relevant social theme. A father-son story, “Bali is an emotional film that everyone will relate to. It’ll be interesting to see how Swwapnil handles an intense role in a dark genre. The audiences will connect with the characters and story in a strong way. It is an emotional film but will scare the audience to the core,” says Furia. The film is in post-production right now.
5. Nasir – Tamil
The recent communal riots in Coimbatore sparked the idea of Arun Karthick’s second feature film. Based off a short story by writer Dileep Kumar, the Tamil indie feature is a story of a small-town salesman, but one that has a universal appeal. Nasir won a grant of €50,000 as part of the Netherlands Film Fund (NFF) and Hubert Bals Fund (HBF) Co-production Scheme last year. In February this year, Nasir won the prestigious NETPAC Award for the best Asian production at the International Film Festival of Rotterdam.
Recommended: Best Of Tamil Cinema: 21 Best Movies Of the 21st Century
6. Popcity
After Autohead and Megalopolis, director Rohit Mittal is gearing for his third feature film. Produced by Mittal and Chintu Singh (who produced acclaimed Marathi film Kaul – A Calling), Popcity is slated for an OTT release around October this year. It stars Arjun Radhakrishnan (from Shreelancer) and Naina Sareen (of Eeb Allay Ooo!). Music is done by Suprateek Chatterjee. [Related: Dziga Vertov Film Was ‘Extremely Shocking’: Director Rohit Mittal Writes]
7. Chhori
A remake of the hit Marathi horror Lapachhapi, Chhori will star Nushrat Bharucha. Vishal Furia, who directed the Marathi film will be back with writer Vishal Kapoor, who wrote the original. Chhori is produced by Abundantia Entertainment and Crypt, which was founded by Jack Davis and filmaker Eli Roth in 2015.
Nushrat will also be seen this year with Rajkummar Rao in Chhalaang.
8. Bombay Rose
It’s been a year since Gitanjali Rao’s debut feature premiered at the Venice Critics Week (August 28, 2020), the first Indian film to do so. The animated feature has traveled 25 international festivals since and won four awards. A love story that interweaves several social, political issues, Bombay Rose portrays Bombay in a never-seen-before context. Rao, who has also written and edited the film, is gearing for a Netflix release towards the end of this year. And we can’t wait!
There we are! These are some of the upcoming indie movies to keep an eye out for over the course of the year. Bookmark this space as we bring you more great films to add to your watchlist.
By Team Flickside
