Less known and less hyped films spring a surprise: the pleasure of watching hidden gems

As Home Ministry guidelines keep cinema halls and multiplexes in lockdown even as many other sectors get unlocked, new films in the foreseeable future are likely to be released “direct to digital” on OTT platforms.

Not being a compulsive film goer, it was not the new releases on Fridays that I missed since COVID-19 kept us indoors and cinema halls shut down. In the last two years, there has not been a single Bollywood trailer that made me want to take the trouble of going to a cinema nearby and spend three hours, the temptation of the caramel popcorn notwithstanding.

But when Irrfan Khan lost the battle to cancer, watching him on celluloid, I felt, would make the tragedy of losing the versatile and very talented actor, a wee bit less. That was when one of those “promo” channels grabbed my attention. And the pinch was no more than Rs 75 a month. It was about a channel called “Bollywood Premiere” that was going to show films of Irrfan and Rishi Kapoor, back to back for a good one week.

With just a WhatsApp message, I subscribed to that channel, and saw some great acting by the best Khan who strangely did not count among the Bollywood Khans with a box office pull. The much appreciated “Hindi Medium” was good, even if highly exaggerated as a theme. The protagonist, a Chandni Chowk resident played by Irrfan and his wife go to unheard of extremes to garner a seat for their daughter in a top ranking English medium school. Anyone can be forgiven for wondering if that could indeed be true, but Irrfan’s acting ensured it was paisa vasool with the very first film I saw on Bollywood Premiere. There were some other films of the late actor.

But my discovery was “Madaari”, a film that never made it at the box office and bombed. The film, produced by Irrfan and his wife along with some others, can easily count among his best. A beautiful story of a single father, his grief at the loss of his son, and to what extent he will go before he is ready to bid a final adieu to his son’s

school bag and water bottle. But more importantly, it is a story of a man angry with the corruption that has gripped the political establishment. he next few films I randomly picked over the next fortnight , seemed altogether new with their name.

The next few films I randomly picked over the next fortnight , seemed altogether new with their names and posters looking unfamiliar. Many coincidentally touched that “Madaari” theme as protagonists and characters expressed their anger against the nexus of the corrupt and the politicians. None of them had the grand box office ingredients, the actors were not stars, the locations were drab and dry—as real Uttar Pradesh is.

Strangely, “Daas Dev”, director Sudhir Mishra’s interpretation of the classic Devdas, was set in Uttar Pradesh and targeted corruption in the form of violence to protect dynastic politics.

“Mirza and Juliet”, also set in Uttar Pradesh, gave one the impression of being a desi take on Romeo and Juliette, but we learn it is inspired by the Punjabi Mirza Sahibaan ! Gutsy performances by unknown actors, and real, raw films on life. And yet another, shot in Benares was a psycho thriller, Kashi in Search of Ganga!

Mainstream life ‘Before COVID-19’ (BC) had good films we missed, simply on account of our notions of what is good and what is bad as cinemas go, howsoever subjective that may be. Bollywood mainstream is injurious for us, and there is a lot that we have missed out.