Bollywood Half Yearly Report 2021: Films & Shows That Made a Mark

The first six months of 2021 have already sped by. The year started on a high note, and we even managed a few theatrical releases (though most of them were quite disappointing). Just when we thought the worst was behind us, the second wave pulled us back into tragedy and uncertainty. While we may feel like we are stuck inside a badly-written horror film, where the next jump scare is inevitable, one must be grateful to OTT platforms for giving us the much-needed escape.

Here I pick some of the films and shows that released in the last 6 months, which shouldn’t be missed.

RAMPRASAD KI TEHRVI

This was one of the few films that managed a theatrical release way back in January. Written and directed by Seema Pahwa, who has charmed us with her authentic performances with deceptive ease, Ramprasad ki Tehrvi makes for a beautiful debut. The story might be about death, but the film is a meditative portrayal about life that goes on. Reassuring as the thought is, yet it comes with an impending sense of betrayal to the memory of the departed soul. The film boasts a stellar cast, with Pahwa managing to get together some of the finest actors in the country - from Naseeruddin Shah to Supriya Pathak, Manoj Pahwa, Konkona Sen Sharma, Brijesh Kala, Ninad Kamath and Parambrata Chatterjee. The film is currently streaming on Netflix.

PAGGLAIT

Similar to Ramprasad ki Tehrvi, this one too centres around the death of a loved one and the effect it has on those left behind. However, Pagglait takes a different approach. Just like with everything else, society has a fixed template for mourning. Director Umesh Bisht gives us Sandhya, a young widow who baffles her family and the audience by her seeming nonchalance at her husband's death. But Pagglait slowly delves deeper and lets us in on the complexity of grieving, particularly when the person has left behind a trail of unanswered questions. Coupled with an elegant score by Arijit Singh and a brilliant ensemble, lead by the uninhibited Sanya Malhotra, Pagglait feels fresh and intimate. You can catch the film on Netflix.

GEELI PUCCHI

We have had our share of anthologies this season. Some stories work and some don’t, yet there is always that one film which manages to stay with us. For Ajeeb Dastaans on Netflix, Geeli Pucchi (directed by Neeraj Ghaywan) is an evocatively crafted film. Caste has always played a significant role in Ghaywan’s stories, but here it's not just caste privilege but gender and sexuality too that have been dexterously woven in. Bharti Mandal is the only woman seen toiling away in the factory that doesn’t even have separate washrooms for women. Bharti is a woman, Dalit and gay, which relegates her to the margins of society. Geeli Pucchi is the story of an unlikely friendship between Bharti and an upper caste girl Priya Sharma. Bharti has no misgivings about her place in society, and is mentally prepared to work her way up. Priya, on the other hand, is oblivious of her status. While she has privilege on her side, yet she too is a victim of patriarchy. The exuberant performances by Konkona Sen Sharma and Aditi Rao Hydari add texture to a brilliantly insightful film.

SHERNI

Amit Masurkar has developed a distinct style of making his point effectively without falling prey to mainstream Bollywood contrivances. Sherni is a layered and profound film, with one of the main narrative threads involving Vidya Vincent, an honest Forest Department official who is tasked with saving the life of a tigress. Nothing is formulaic here. A woman pitchforked into unfamiliar territory, condescendingly referred to as 'lady officer', doesn’t respond with a diatribe against patriarchy. Through little touches and the documentary-style detailing, Masurker manages to give us a sense of how it must feel to be on ground zero as the action unfolds. With Vidya Balan in fine form and a host of supremely talented actors, this Amazon Prime Video film is a must watch.

HUNGAMA HAI KYON BARPA

The year 2021 marks the centenary of Satyajit Ray, and Netflix’s new anthology Ray is a tribute to the maestro himself. Based on short stories written by him, it’s a collection of four films created by Sayantan Mukherjee. The best of the lot is Abhishek Chaubey’s Hungama Hai Kyon Barpa. The humour is intrinsic to the screenplay, and the fable-like quality in the storytelling comes closest to that of Ray’s. Musafir Ali, a ghazal singer, and Aslam Baig, a sports journalist, are travelling together in a train. The conversation soon turns to an alluring pocket watch Khushbakht. Time is a great leveller they say, and the said watch apparently has a role to play in it. Manoj Bajpayee and Gajraj Rao are astonishingly convincing, and the music keeps the proceedings buoyant .

WEB SHOWS

Apart from these films there are a couple of web series that deserve our time and commitment. One is Bombay Begums, created by Alankrita Srivastava. Like the name suggests, the show is set in Bombay and primarily focuses on five women (played by Pooja Bhatt, Shahana Goswami, Plabita Borthakur, Amruta Subhash and Aadhya Anand). These women belong to different age groups, want varied things from life and yet the truth of their shared experiences help us relate to them. It’s the writing, in particular, that makes Bombay Begums the insightful show it is, especially the maturity with which it gives us characters with varied hues. The themes of harassment at workplace and #MeToo are also woven in, but without dramatic highs or pitching it in an overwrought shrill territory. It isn’t easy to fall in love with these characters; these are women who will constantly challenge our loyalty towards them. Sometimes one would agree with their actions, but at other times one wouldn't. Yet, the empathetic portrayal brings in a deep sense of humanity and a telling portrait of the times we live in.

The other show, o fcourse, is Season 2 of The Family Man, streaming on Amazon Prime Video. Created by Raj & DK and written by Suparn Verma, it handles well the weight of our expectations and gives us a nine-episode strong series that in some ways is even better than the previous season. The addition of a scintillating Samantha Akkineni in the role of a rebel army fighter in the mix ensures that we stay engrossed and fully invested in the lives of security officials and their shenanigans. We have almost started taking for granted Manoj Bajpayee’s brilliance, who continues to regale us in his various avatars with consummate ease. The Family Man 2 is a gripping drama punctuated with liberal doses of tension and intrigue.