By Deven Kothari

Five months into 2017, and with the onset of Netflix and other universal streaming platforms, we’ve not seen as many independent Indian films commercially released in cinemas as the previous few years. And who can blame them? Internet avenues not only bring them back a precious return on investment, but also spares them the onslaught of Censor certifications and print/physical publicity campaigns. Most of them disappear after less than a week in the halls.

Yet, there have been a few who’ve braved all this to go the old-school way this year.

Shubhashish Bhutiani’s lovely Mukti Bhavan has been the top independent title this year: it released in cinemas last month after an extended successful run on the world film-festival circuit. Adil Hussain and Lalit Behl won much introspection and hearts in its critical acclaim, with the young 25-year-old director being placed in the hallowed new-age circle of debut-film wonders comprising of Chaitanya Tamhane (Court), Raam Reddy (Thithi) and Anand Gandhi (Ship Of Theseus).

There was Vikramaditya Motwane’s fantastic survival drama, Trapped, a Phantom Films production, made in less than a month on a shoestring budget at a single location in Mumbai’s Kalbadevi area. This film is perhaps the best depiction of craft thriving on minimal resources, making it one of the most unforgettable and sure-footed cinematic experiences in recent times.

Then there was Nicholas Kharkongor’s Mantra, starring Rajat Kapoor and Kalki Koechlin — a slice-of-life and well-acted 1990s-based movie about a suburban entrepreneurial Delhi family struggling at the turn of the millennium. An intimate behind-the-scenes throwback to the dissolving of the Uncle Chipps empire by Frito-Lays, Mantra went under the radar unlike the well-received Mukti Bhavan.

Then there was the tacky Mantostaan last week which, despite its form, managed a small-scale release in the slip-screen of the intimidating Baahubali2 storm. A cinematic khichri of four Saadat Hasan Manto short stories, the film opened to poor reviews, a classic case where the lack of budget showed glaringly.

There was Shashi Sudigala’s messy Mona Darling in March: a wannabe tech detective campus murder drama that aspired to be too snazzy and oversmart for its own good.

The year started with Shlok Sharma’s long-awaited Haraamkhor, the intriguing Nawazuddin-Shweta Tripathi starrer that premiered at MAMI two years ago — which opened to favourable reviews, and seemed to have set the stage for many competent in-limbo indies to find its way onto screens this year.

A few more to look forward in 2017, irrespective of the medium they premiere on:

LOCAL KUNG FU 2
Dir: Kenny Basumatary
In 2013, an Assamese madcap action-comedy caper called Local Kung Fu broke the mould and subverted the idea of the starkness and seriousness of a conventional low-budget indie. It did well in Assam despite clashing with Besharam, even acquiring cult status in the four years that followed. The director starred in it, and made it on literally a shoestring budget (production budget estimated at less than a lakh) with non-actors, locals, family, friends and a home computer pitching in to complete the quirky, colorful, imaginative and eccentric little film about martial arts and an assortment of nutty characters. Four years on, the sequel is in the news for being snuffed out of theatres in Assam — despite 80% occupancy in its first few days — by Baahubali 2. While the David v/s Goliath battle only had one winner, the film has garnered enough buzz to have its mainstream fans (in Mumbai and other metros) anticipating some kind of commercial release over the next few months. If the first film was anything to go by, Basumatary’s could well be a rare Indian indie franchise whose idea transcends its struggles over time.

SHREELANCER
Dir: Sandeep Mohan
Sandeep’s third feature-length indie after Love, Wrinkle Free and Hola Venky! premiered recently at the New York Indian Film Festival. A semi-autobiographical tale about a freelance copywriter, Shreelancer takes forward the filmmaker’s distinct and clear-headed ambition to create ‘portraits of ordinariness’: most of whose essence he garners from his extended writing stints in Mumbai coffee shops. He has been screening his film in cafes and venues across the country with his Great Indian Traveling Cinema initiative, and plans a small theatrical release this time, followed by perhaps a deal with one of the prime streaming platforms. Either way, there’s much to look forward to and learn from Mohan’s resourcefulness, and his ability to just go ahead and make what he wants to — without excuses, and with plenty of goodwill. Most importantly, both of his previous films were not bad at all.

NEWTON
Dir: Amit Masurkar
Probably the most high-profile indie of them all, Masukar’s (he of slacker-comedy Sulemani Keeda fame) political satire starring Rajkummar Rao has already made the headlines at Berlinale, and has traveled to enough prestigious festivals (Tribeca) across to have us excited. It is about a government clerk on election duty, town between the apathy of security forces and rebels, in the naxal-ridden jungles of Chattisgarh. The international reviews have been positive, and a potential mid-year release could well capitalise on the buzz.

ASCHARYA FUCK IT 
Dir: Samit Kakkad
The eye-popping title aside (a play on the Hindi term, ascharyachakkit), this indie — a comic drama about a Bollywood star, his chauffeur, a prostitute and her pimp — is Kakkad’s third film after his Marathi debut Aayna ka Bayna and Hindi-language Kaaka Muttai remake, Half-Ticket. Not much else is known, except that it is currently under production.

SIDE A SIDE B
Dir: Sudhish Kamath
Former journalist Kamath’s 80-minute musical love story, shot on a 44-hour train ride from Guwahati to Mumbai, has eight songs shot on mobile phones with live sound on the journey — telling the tale of two high-school sweethearts setting off on a new phase of life that means different things to both the hearts involved. The girl wants more life experience, while the boy accompanies her on the train-ride to the ‘big bad city,’ determined to bear his soul over their impromptu jam sessions and last few hours together. An unusual idea for a usual story, Kamath’s little film — his third full-length indie — too premiered at the New York Indian Film festival to decent reviews.

LIPSTICK UNDER MY BURKHA
Dir: Alankrita Shrivastava
In the news recently for being banned by the infamous Censor Board for showing ‘immoral things,’ Shrivastava’s (Prakash Jha’s assistant) second indie has been garnering accolades across the festival circuit, in stark contrast to her barely received first, Turning 30!!! It revolves around four women (Konkana Sensharma, Ratna Pathak-Shah, Aahana Kumra and Plabita Borthakur) trying to break away from social norms and revel in their expression of sexual desire. It had its Indian premiere at MAMI 2016, and Sensharma just won the Best Actress award at the recently concluded NYIFF for her role in this film.

LOEV
Dir: Sudhanshu Saria
After premiering at Tallin Black Nights in 2015, LOEV has been around the globe and back — finally acquired by Netflix and available for viewing for world subscribers. Perhaps India’s first full-fledged gay love triangle, this was never going to get a theatrical release in the very country it was made. The film tells the complicated tale, without any stigma and weightage, of three conflicted Indian men, a road trip and unrequited emotions.

SEXY DURGA
Dir: Sanal Kumar Sasidharan
The Malayalam indie road movie, which premiered and won at Rotterdam and acquired funding for DI at the NFDC Film Bazaar (Goa), is shot completely at night over 21 days, without a story and dialogues. An atmospheric, sinister telling of a 30-something couple on the run hitchhiking with a couple of local gangsters in Kerala, the film was well reviewed and acknowledged for its freewheeling exploration of the region’s teeming patriarchal culture.