The Resurgence of Parallel Cinema in Bollywood

With our focus being parallel cinema this month, BollyCurry brings to you five such movies that have left an impact on the audiences in the last few years.

Published: Tuesday,Mar 31, 2015 22:11 PM GMT-06:00

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Once upon a time, parallel cinema was at its peak with directors like Guru Dutt and Bimal Roy making movies with hard hitting concepts wrapped in a realistic portrayal of the story without the coat of glamour and masala such as Pyaasa (1957) and Do Bhiga Zamin (1953). Alongside movies with social messages, parallel cinema also had movies like Mausam (1975), Aandhi (1975) and many more which focused on stories based on human lives and the complications they faced. But around 1990s parallel cinema took a nosedive as commercialization came to the fore and Bollywood became more about cash registers and less about intellectually challenging movies.

Recently though, due to some effort from directors and story tellers, parallel cinema has seen a resurgence in the last decade. Parallel cinema, also called art cinema, is rising from the background and catching the eyes of current generation movie goers. With our focus being parallel cinema this month, BollyCurry brings to you five such movies that have left an impact on the audiences in the last few years.

Black Friday (2004)

Black Friday is a crime film based on a book written by Hussain Zaidi of the same name. Directed and written by Anurag Kashyap, the movie focuses on the 1993 bombings without sugar coating the story. The story is narrated from different points of view with the focus on the events that lead to the bombings. Winner of Grand Jury Prize at Indian Film Festival at Los Angeles, this movie is not for the weak-hearted!

Dor (2006)

Nagesh Kukunoor, a well known figure in the world of parallel cinema, directed the sensible but heart warming movie Dor. The movie is about two women, who are totally different from each other, from their nature to their backgrounds to the places they live. And the reason behind the world of these two diverse ladies colliding with each other forms the crux of the story. Produced by Elahe Hiptoola and written by T.A. Hazak, this movie is proof that even without glamour and dance, a movie can draw audiences to the theaters!

Dhobi Ghat (2011)

Dhobi Ghat is a movie that shows us the life of four people and how they impact each other's lives through their aspirations and expectations. Directed by Kiran Rao and produced by Aamir Khan, Dhillin Mehta and Tshephel Namgyal, this movie shows us the actual world of Mumbai and how different people from different strata of society are connected to each other. Showing us the Mumbai we have never really seen, its unique way of direction has made this movie a fine example of parallel cinema.

Ship of Theseus (2012)

Directed by Anand Gandhi and produced by Soham Shah, Mukesh Shah and Amit Shah, this movie follows three different stories, each leaving us with a question in our mind. Questioning our beliefs and thinking seems to be the theme of this flick. Winner of the Best Feature Film at the 61st National Film Awards, this is a movie that simulates our brain and makes us think!

The Lunchbox (2013)

A movie that created curiosity among all Indians, The Lunchbox is directed by Ritesh Batra and produced by various film studios including DAR Motion Pictures, UTV Motion Pictures, Dharma Productions, etc. A simple movie that shows how a mistaken delivery of a lunch box can change people's lives, it was one of the few parallel movies that got attention from every Indian, whether he was a movie-lover or not. This film has won many awards including Best Screenplay at Asia-Pacific Film Festival and Best Debuting Director at Filmfare Awards.

And that concludes our list of recent movies that have played a role in reviving parallel cinema and generating interest in the field from current audiences. These are not the only movies from art world; there are many more that are not mentioned here due to obvious reasons. But that should not stop you from making your own list. If you think any other movie should be added to this list, then let us know through your comments!

We hope that parallel cinema continues to thrive and people continue to appreciate these simple but meaningful movies!

Writer: Kalpana K.C.

Editor(s): Peehu A. and Gunia K.

Graphics: Komal P.

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