Regional Cinema going global

The vastness and diversity of India is now being reflected in cinema. Regional cinema in India explores a wide range of themes and genres, from comedy and romance to drama and action and often deal with social and political issues in a way that mainstream Bollywood has not. With its growing popularity, regional films have now put themselves on the map. We give you a lowdown on a few that are making the rounds this year.

Viduthalai Part I and II
Tamil Cinema has been scaling greater heights with lots of promising content-driven movies. Another one by director Vetri Maaran’s Viduthalai franchise is going global. The producer of the two-parter, RS Infotainment’s Elred Kumar has announced the films will be showcased at the Rotterdam International Film Festival in 2024 on January 31 and February 3 under the Limelight category.

Devastated
Ashish Avikunthak’s political film Vidhvastha (Devastated) which is a commentary on the Bhagavad Gita while responding to contemporary times, will have its world premiere at the International Film Festival of Rotterdam. Avikunthak is an associate professor of film and media at the University of Rhode Island and has been widely applauded for his cinema.

Naangal
Debut feature film by Avinash Prakash is inspired by his unsettled childhood days in Southern India. Set in the late 1990s and early 2000, the film is a story of three siblings, unidentical twin boys of eight and their 12-year-old elder brother, who are forced to grow up with their strict and unreasonably proud and arrogant father who is going through a major financial and personal crisis and is separated from their mother. They live in a massive house nestled in the verdant hills of Tamil Nadu, southern India, but cannot afford water, electricity or a decent meal. The father’s frustration with the failure of his business ventures and all efforts to stay afloat forces him to shift from being a considerate parent into a militant one obsessed with controlling his children who know no other way but to obey him.

Sthal
Jayant’s debut film, Sthal (A Match), is set in his native village and delves into the intricacies of arranged marriages in rural India, shedding light on deeply ingrained societal issues. After being screened at TIFF last year, the film is still travelling to important festivals and garnering immense popularity.


Words Hansika Lohani
Date 15.01.2024