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Indian Film Season 2023

Channel 4’s annual Indian film season returns on Sunday 5th November with eight films throughout November, the first of which will be screened on Film 4, that represent a cross-section of the best contemporary and classic Indian cinema.

Curated by longstanding season consultant and Indian cinema expert Nasreen Kabir, the annual Indian film season is the longest running strand in Channel4 ‘s history, running over 30 years. This year’s season spans drama, thriller, documentary and social realism, exploring class, racial, political and gender divide.

The films will be available for a limited time post broadcast on Channel 4 Streaming.

 

KHAMOSH PANI (SILENT WATERS, 2003)

This sensitive and courageous film from first-time director Sabiha Sumar examines the effects of the Partition when the Indian sub-continent was divided into India and Pakistan in 1947.  Set in the 1970s it tells the story of a middle-aged widow Ayesha (Kirron Kher) who lives with her teenage son Saleem (Aamir Malik) in a Pakistani village near the Indian border. When President General Zia-ul-Haq comes to power, Ayesha helplessly watches as her son is swept up in religious fervour which in turn leads to tragic consequences.

THE ROAD TO KUTHRIYAR (2021)

Network Premiere

In this keenly observed film by Bharat Mirle, a city-based wildlife researcher Dhruv (Dhruv Athreye) is thrown into the deep end when he sets out to conduct a survey of mammals across the 600 square kilometre Kodaikanal Sanctuary in Tamil Nadu.   Accompanied by the increasingly wayward alcoholic local guide Dorai (Chinna Dorai) and 40 year-out-of-date maps, Dhruv soon finds his mission spinning out of control,  but in the midst of this challenging journey, they reach an unexpected understanding and deep friendship, with Dhruv made to confront his own prejudices and pre-conceptions.

DOSTOJEE (TWO FRIENDS) (2021)

Network Premiere

Director Prasun Chatterjee’s tender and intelligent debut from 2021,  is a bittersweet film documenting the friendship of two eight-year olds Safikul and Palash (played by newcomers Arif Shaikh and Asik Shaikh).  Inseparable best friends they spend all their time together either at school or playing in the rolling green paddy fields around their small village in rural Bengal, but following the aftermath of the destruction of the Babri Masjid Mosque in 1992, Palash, the son of a Hindu Brahmin, and Safikul, whose father is a Muslim weaver, soon find themselves forced apart by growing religious tensions in the community.

SHANKAR’S FAIRIES (2021)

Available to view on Channel 4 Streaming
Network Premiere

Documentary-maker Irfana Majumdar’s debut feature is a charming and evocative piece, delicately preserving a time and place.  The film revolves around the family of a senior police officer in Lucknow in the 1960s and viewed through the eyes of its young protagonist Anjana (Shreeja Mishra), paints an intimate family portrait, whilst commenting on the class system by focusing on the relationship between Shankar (Jaihind Kumar), the gentle domestic who runs the household, and Anjana, the young child of the house, who he brings up.

 

iTALES (2021)

Available to view on Channel 4 Streaming
Network Premiere

All shot using an iPhone by women filmmakers iTales is an anthology of five minute films,  providing both diverse and engaging tales of life in both North and South India.

SHAHTOOT: A migrant labourer and his disabled son make their way to their village during Covid Lockdown when all the trains have been suspended.

WHY? MAA!: A critically acclaimed writer resolves the ending to his latest novel after a visitation from his dead mother.

DISTORTED MIRRORS: A documentary short exploring the traditional Lavani folk dancer-courtesans of Maharashtra through the stories of its exponents.

AGAMUGAM: A female poet who lives alone and isolated finds human contact in an unexpected way.

SPACES: A middle-aged wife finds her husband’s retirement and his niggly ways a huge imposition on her daily life. She finds a way to take revenge in this comic short.

LADIES ONLY (2021)

Available to view on Channel 4 Streaming
Network Premiere

In this engaging documentary from filmmaker Rebana Liz John, we explore the lives, views and experiences of a diverse cross section of female passengers travelling in the ladies’ compartment of local trains in Mumbai.  Set against a backdrop of imagery and a soundscape of music, poetry and site-specific sounds, the film takes us on a journey into the female experience in modern-day India, questioning the patriarchal system while shining a light on the hopes, dreams and ambitions of women living in this complex, industrial, money-driven metropolis.

EMUTHI PUTHI (A VERY FISHY TRIP) (2022)

Available to view on Channel 4 Streaming
Network Premiere

This debut feature from female director Kulanandini Mahanta, is a light-hearted Assamese road movie with three generations of determined women at its heart.  Frustrated by her ever-watchful  mother, Indira (Neetali Das) a Police Officer,  teen Ritika (Srishti Sharma) is persuaded by her quirky grandmother Makhoni (Pratibha Choudhury) to run away with her so she can fulfil her dying wish to visit a lake 500km away, where legend has it that an angel will row the departed to the afterlife.

AANI MAANI (2019)

Available to view on Channel 4 Streaming
Network Premiere

Set against the backdrop of the rise of Hindu fundamentalism, this film paints a gentle portrait of the daily life of a Muslim family. Bhutto (Farrukh Seyer) the family’s main breadwinner runs a kebab stall in the city market, he manages to look after his wife Tarrannum (Priyanka Verma), mother, cranky father and sharp-tongued Nazo (Neha Singh),  his divorcee sister, who has a seven-year-old daughter Ayat (newcomer Arni).  When a new law is passed making the sale of beef illegal, one complication after the other leads to a bigger tragedy that devastates the family.