Contemporary Indian masterpieces

Digital cinema threatens the survival of a small town movie theatre in West Bengal, leading to a tussle between the owner and his son.

"Kaafiron Ki Namaaz" is about a recently court martialed army officer, a writer and a musician who confess their most personal secrets to each other on a rainy Christmas Eve somewhere in Srinagar, Kashmir. What begins as a dramatic discussion between the army officer and the writer in an old, abandoned hotel soon turns into a chilling meeting raising some pertinent issues. Meanwhile, the writer's camera assistant stands as a mute spectator and records everything on his camera.

Four labourers are tortured by the police to confess to a theft they have not committed.

In a small town near Varanasi, a clash happens between the offering of the routine morning prayers of the Muslim cleric and his neighboring Hindu priest. The Hindu priest tortures Muslim cleric, but the cleric is more bothered about his twelve year old son 'Janu' who is a good friend of his rival- the Hindu Priest and pays regular visit to the temple. He has scolded and punished Janu several times and elucidated him that he may be cursed to hell if he continues this. The cleric loses his temper when he comes to know that his son has participated in the annual Hindu mythological play Ramleela and played the role of the Hindu God- Hanuman. He gets upset, punishes his son and explains him the difference between the two religions. But Janu absconds from his home. His father seeks him everywhere. He realizes that he is first a father to his son before being a cleric. But will anxious father be able to find him ever?

"Teenkahon (Three Obsessions)" is a triptych film in Bengali by debutante filmmaker Bauddhayan Mukherji. It is an international art house film from Bengal which, as a piece of social document, tries to capture the changing face of morality, the degeneration of values, the increasing pollution of the spoken language, and the changing social fabric of Bengal through three stories. Spread over a hundred years, the three stories are structured in the manner of the classical Three Act Play with each act (read story) exploring one facet of an obsessive relationship outside the purview of marriage. ACT 1 The first film NABALOK (time period 1920-1954) is shot in black and white. This period piece is the story of an 8-year-old boy's emotional attachment and obsession with a newly-married girl. The film opens in Calcutta and moves to rural Bengal. ACT 2 The second film POST MORTEM (time period 1978) is a technicolor film. It is an ambitious single-room drama about two men - the lover and the husband - of a woman who has ended her life the evening before. Through the dialogue between the two characters we see a third emerge and discover the frailties of each relationship and what role each man had in the woman's suicide. ACT 3 The third film TELEPHONE (time period 2013) is the modern age digital film. This Roald Dahl-esque story with a series of twists and turns looks into the darkness that looms beneath the surface of human beings and how manipulative human relationships have become.

This is a story of Shiv. Shiv, with a supportive family, a close group of friends and a normal life in all respects, sets out on a journey to discover what he seeks in the outside world, not knowing when, if at all, he will return. He is searching for something but isn't sure what exactly he seeks. Experiencing a whole new life is simultaneously frightening, exhilarating and intense as he ventures out, completely vulnerable, on a journey that takes him through diverse landscapes of life arid, vast, claustrophobic, open, abundant. He faces insecurity, enjoys adventure and freedom and learns about different philosophies. A trembling mind has set out on a journey into the unknown towards light. Its own light.

When an aging activist is arrested, the lives of the accused, the lawyers, and the judge intertwine to reveal bigotry that underscores the judicial system.

Tashi, a man in his early thirties is forced to come back to his village in the remote northeast region of india after eight years when he loses his job in the city. As he stays in the village waiting for news of any new job in the city to go back to, he begins to experience the life and culture of his native place and his people. He gradually begins rediscovering his roots, which he had never paid attention to earlier. He meet and falls in love with a girl, Anila, a school teacher in the village who helps him in the process. The experience in the village begins to slowly change him and he decides to finally stay back in the village and not go back even after he gets the news that he has found himself a new job in the city.

This is life story of Paigam, an Assmese tribal, who faces a tough life from childhood to old age.

Pramit, an independent filmmaker who is yet to experience the spell of love in his otherwise not-so exciting life, starts shooting a documentary film on love. His exploration leads him to the baffling knowledge of an unforetold mysterious village, existent on what is believed to be the threshold of reality and fantasy. If anyone ever reaches there, stumbling upon a series of coincidences, cannot steer clear of the cupid's arrow, and readily falls in love. Pramit, along with his cameraperson starts looking for the village and subsequently passes through a succession of events which can be termed nothing but magical! Love, with all its colours - sublime as well as physical - doesn't fail to come his way too, or, does it really?

Focusing on the predicaments of those born with genetic defect causing dwarfism, the film is the love story between Khoka and Soma.

It is about a teenager from a Dalit (Oppressed caste) family, who lives at the village fringe, and falls in love with an upper caste girl.

Dnyanesh and Mukta's family financial condition isn't good.Their late father had made a cycle called Elizabeth which their mother plans to sell.But Dnyanesh and Mukta try all possible ways to save Elizabeth as they are very close to it.

Rafiq and his family are struggling to come to terms with the loss of his older brother Tauqir, a tourist photographer, who is one of the thousands of young men who have disappeared, since the onset of the militant insurgency in Kashmir. After an unsuccessful attempt to cross the border into Pakistan,to become a militant, Rafiq returns home to an aimless existence. Until one day when he accidentally finds his brother's old camera.

A day in the life of a family in a village in Punjab as they deal with social and labor trials and inequities, leading to a night of a lunar eclipse.

Sent to cover a story on the exploitation of tribal people, Upin meets a woman he believes is the epitome of Indian beauty. His pictures of her change both of their lives forever.

A boy in abject poverty works in a hotel and becomes obsessed with a swimming pool in the opulent hills of Panjim, Goa, India. His life gets turned upside-down when he attempts to meet the mysterious family who lives at the house.

A woman's need for an unfinished sculpture blossoms into an obsession.

When Amal impresses an eccentric millionaire with his humility and humanity, he unknowingly becomes the old man's beneficiary.

Along India's Ganges River, four people face prejudice, a strict moral code and a punishing caste system as they confront personal tragedies.

The account of Human Rights lawyer Shahid Azmi, an ordinary citizen with an extraordinary commitment to justice.

A teacher helps a young boy come to terms with the harsh realities of life. Just when the boy is starting to learn his lessons, his teacher disappears. Now, he decides to find her.

This is a story of isolation and hope, of a writer in exile. The writer is banished for her attack on religious fundamentalism and patriarchy and her cat is suddenly left alone.

A poor aging couple struggle to fulfill their lifelong dream of going to Mecca for pilgrimage.

The film explores questions of identity, justice, beauty, meaning and death through an experimental photographer, an ailing monk and a young stockbroker.