Hindi Alternative Cinema
Parallel cinema of India
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- DirectorMrinal SenStarsUtpal DuttSuhasini MulayShekhar ChatterjeeA lonely bureaucrat goes on holiday to a Gujarat village where a young peasant woman helps him see beyond his job and develop a newfound empathy for people.
- DirectorRajinder Singh BediStarsSanjeev KumarRehana SultanShakeela Bano BhopaliTells the story of newly weds Hamid and Salma. They move into a rental flat next door to the local red light district. The flat had been the former home of a well known mujra and qawali singer, Shamshad. Men still come to the door in the hope of seeing Shamshad and do not seem too put out by seeing Salma despite her protestations. The couple struggle to live within the bounds of their own moral code while the earnings of prostitution seem to be flaunted around them. Hamid gets more and more angry and seemingly unable to reconcile his morality with the immorality of the world and at one point beats his wife and then rapes her making her into a 'whore' of his fantasy. The story here bears resemblance to the later 'Ek Chadar Maili Si' by the same director and seems to explore the complex world of women and sexuality as viewed by Indian men: mother, goddess, whore. This film also explores the ethos of prostitution in its reality and as a metaphor for the outside world.
- DirectorBasu BhattacharyaStarsSanjeev KumarTanuja SamarthDinesh ThakurMeeta Sen (Tanuja) and Amar Sen (Sanjeev Kumar) have been married for several years. Due to Amar's hectic work schedule, the couple have not had children, as there was no time for intimacy. Meeta decides to take matters into her own hands, gets rid of the servants, save for Hari (A.K. Hangal), and decides to run the household on her own. This gets the couple to be closer, and eventually they do get intimate. And then Meeta's old flame Shashi Bhushan (Dinesh Thakur) not only re-enters Meeta's life, but also gets employed in the same organization as Amar, throwing their marriage again in jeopardy.
- DirectorM.S. SathyuStarsBalraj SahniA.K. HangalGeeta KakIn post-partition India, a Muslim businessman and his family struggle for their rights in a country which was once their own.
- DirectorAwtar Krishna KaulStarsSudhir DalviRakhee GulzarMadhavi ManjulaSanjay is on a pilgrimage journey to Varanasi and remembers his life in flashbacks.
- DirectorShyam BenegalStarsLalu RamMadan LalBabu DasThe film is derived from a classic folktale, originally narrated by Vijaydan Detha, and interpreted as a folk play by Habib Tanvir. The film charts the tumultuous life of a petty thief, Charandas. While running away from Police he encounters a Guru and makes four vows to him as penance, that he would never eat in a gold plate, never lead a procession that is in his honor, never become a king and never marry a princess, thinking all of them are far out possibilities for him. Later, his guru adds a fifth one - never to tell a lie and sets him off on his life's journey which leads him to a kingdom, where the turn of events make him famous, and eventually he is offered the seat of political power which he has to refuse. Later, the local princess Kelavati gets enchanted by him and proposes to marry him. He refuses to do so according to his vows to his guru. As he is put to death, he illustrates the inherent paradox in human existence, where truthful existence becomes an impossibility, for the truthful and the accidentally truthful, alike.
- DirectorSaeed Akhtar MirzaStarsDilip DhawanAnjali PaigankarShreeram LagooArvind Desai is the only son of a rich businessman who deals in luxury handicraft products. His feelings for his father are mixed. While he hates his dominating nature, he admires his power and lack of scruples.
- DirectorSai ParanjpyeStarsShabana AzmiNaseeruddin ShahSudha ChopraAnirudh Parmar is blind, but he does not let this impairment bind him down. He runs a school for the blind as a Principal. He meets with social worker, Kavita. Kavita is attracted to him, and he slowly also gets attracted to her. When marriage is proposed, both agree to marry each other. Then Anirudh starts having doubts whether this marriage is going to succeed, as he feels he is being patronized, and pittied.
- DirectorSatyajit RayStarsOm PuriSmita PatilMohan AgasheUntouchable shoemender Dukhi comes to the Brahmin's and asks him to arrange his daughter's engagement. The Brahmin belongs to a higher caste. He wants Dukhi to work for him (and for free) before agreeing... A plea against the indian system of castes.
- DirectorGulzarStarsSanjeev KumarSharmila TagoreShabana AzmiNamkeen revolves around Jugni, a folk theatre dancer who lives with her three daughters in a remote village, and how their lives change when a truck driver, begins living with them as a tenant.
- DirectorShyam BenegalStarsVictor BanerjeeNoni GangulyPankaj KapurStory of a poor farmer who suffers under a cunning and cruel landlord, amidst rising Naxalism in the 60s.
- DirectorVidhu Vinod ChopraStarsShabana AzmiAmol PalekarNaseeruddin ShahWhen a starlet is murdered on a film location, a detective arrives to investigate the cast and crew.
- DirectorRamesh SharmaRomesh SharmaStarsShashi KapoorSharmila TagoreOm PuriWhen a politician is killed, a journalist discovers that a member of parliament had the man assassinated. As his editor digs deeper, the complicity of higher-placed politicians comes to the surface, which leads to riots in one town and an attempt to suppress his story.
- DirectorKetan MehtaStarsSmita PatilNaseeruddin ShahOm PuriIn colonial India, subedars (tax collectors) went from village to village with soldiers, often demanding more than taxes. A subedar commands Sonbai, a beautiful and confident woman whose husband is away in the city, to sleep with him. She slaps him and flees for safety to a spice factory where women grind chillies into fine powder. The aged factory guard, Abu Mian, locks the door behind her, refusing to open it to the soldiers, to the cowardly village men led by the mayor, and to the subedar himself. The town's teacher, who follows Gandhi, and a few women, led by the mayor's wife, protest ineffectually against this village-approved rape. The stage is set for a final confrontation.
- DirectorKamal SwaroopStarsAnita KanwarGopi DesaiLalit TiwariA carefully constructed nonsense about a teenage boy named Om in a small Indian village.
- DirectorKalpana LajmiStarsRakhee GulzarDimple KapadiaRaj BabbarIn a small village in Rajasthan, India, a woman named Shanichari was born - so named, as shortly after her birth her father died; & her mother, Peewli, ran away with a rich lover, the owner of a drama company, abandoning her. When Shanichari grew up she was married to a male named Ganju who lived with his ailing mother. Shanichari gave birth to a boy and named him Budhwa. The local Landlord, Ram Avtar's son, Lakhsman Singh, would like Shanichari to live with him as his mistress, but she must first abandon her husband and son, which she is unable to do. Her ailing mother-in-law passes away - Shanicharni is unable to weep; Years later, Ganju gets killed after consuming holy water from a temple - Shanichari is unable to weep; When Budhwa get's married to a local prostitute, Mungri, who becomes pregnant, and then subsequently aborts the child - Shanichari is unable to weep; When Budhwa runs away from home, never to be seen again - Shanichari is unable to weep. Then a woman named Bhikni enters her life - she is called Rudaali - one who accepts money in turn for loud laments, weeping, & beating of the chest when a rich man passes away for a small fee, some milk, oil, and flour. Bhikni would like Shanichari to also be a Rudaali, but Shanichari eyes are always dry. When Bhikni is called for a day in another town, it is then Shanichari receives word that Ram Avtar is no more and she is called to be a Rudaali. Knowing fully well that she cannot shed tears, Shanichari does attend the funeral - and it is here that she will receive the news that may bring real tears to her eyes.
- DirectorShekhar KapurStarsSeema BiswasNirmal PandeyRajesh VivekThe story of the bandit queen Phoolan Devi who was sent to prison in 1983 and got free in 1994.
- DirectorSaeed Akhtar MirzaStarsKaifi AzmiKulbhushan KharbandaSurekha SikriThe delicate relationship between a 15-year-old girl and her grandfather is used to describe how the growing political tensions between Muslems and Hindus in 1992 led to the destruction of a medieval Muslim mosque and subsequently, violent rioting in the streets of Bombay. Naseem (urdu: sahar) means Morning breeze, and charts the story of a young school going girl Naseem in the months leading up to the demolition of Babri Masjid in 1992. She shares deep and loving bond with his ill grandfather who represents the era of communal harmony between Hindus and Muslims in India, as he fondly recalls the times he spent in pre-Independent Agra. As communal tension erupts in the city of Bombay, Naseem get increasingly bewildered by changing dynamics at her school and in the neighborhood, while her grandfather watches helplessly at a city getting deeply divided over the Babri Masjid issue.
- DirectorBasu ChatterjeeStarsMadhu ChakravartyRakesh PandeyDina PathakA collegian becomes embittered after being forced to marry.
- DirectorKundan ShahStarsNaseeruddin ShahRavi BaswaniBhakti BarveTwo photographers, who are employed by a magazine editor to expose the scandalous activities of the rich, come across corruption by a builder and accidentally photograph a murder.
- DirectorGovind NihalaniStarsOm PuriNaseeruddin ShahSmita PatilA public prosecutor discovers the harsh realities about life of the scheduled tribes in India during 1980s while defending a case of a tribesman charged of murdering his wife.
- DirectorGovind NihalaniStarsOm PuriSmita PatilAmrish PuriA newly appointed police rookie deals with corruption, romance, and brutality.
- DirectorMani KaulStarsGurdeep SinghGarimaSavita BajajA woman waits for her truck driver husband, everyday, with his daily bread. Her concern for their dying relationship and her sister grows fast as she starts to doubt his loyalty.
- DirectorGulzarStarsSanjeev KumarJaya BachchanGovardhan AsraniA speech and hearing-impaired couple persists through unforgiving obstacles to be accepted by society and live a life of dignity.
- DirectorShyam BenegalStarsShabana AzmiSadhu MeherAnant NagBelonging to a lower caste, Lakshmi and her deaf-mute husband Kishtayya serve the landlord's son, Surya. When Surya's young wife finds out about his affair with Lakshmi, they all find themselves at crossroads.