8. The Meyerowitz Stories
Noah Baumbach is arguably one of the best contemporary writer-directors to capture realism on-screen. With The Meyerowitz Stories, he lays bare the intricate nuances of familial bonds – sibling rivalry, the desperate seeking of parental validation and the love that springs from memory and comfort. The film hosts a range of stellar performances from Ben Stiller, Dustin Hoffman, Elizabeth Marvel, Emma Thompson and especially from Adam Sandler – who shows us, once again, why he has the chops to be a great serious actor.
9. Chillar Party
When Fatka, the new boy hired to wash Chandan Nagar society’s cars, brings his dog Bhidu with him, it does not go down well with the society’s band of 12-year-old boys. Dogs who dirty the cricket pitch are a natural enemy of the group and the boys try their best to get Fatka and Bhidu removed from their society. But this squabble eventually leads to an endearing friendship between them – a bond so strong that it makes the national news. An instant mood-booster, Chillar Party makes for a great family watch.
10. Eternally Confused and Eager for Love
Eternally Confused and Eager for Love offers a bite-sized look at navigating love and sex in the modern age. Ray (Vihaan Samat) is awkward, lonesome and a bit of a loser. For starters, he takes most of his advice from ‘Wiz’ – a miniature figurine. But this constant dialogue with an inanimate object is a brilliant embodiment of an ‘inner voice’, snugly placing the audience into Ray’s mind. His sexual fantasies, his irrationality and his most neurotic thoughts are laid bare, eventually forming the portrait of everyday anxieties that most of us struggle with. Ray’s wins in life might look small to those around him but he knows – and by extension, so do we – that they’re monumental.
11. Us and Them
Directed by Rene Liu, Us and Them traces the journey of a Chinese couple’s relationship: their chance meeting on a train; their gradual friendship, lust and love; their eventual conflict and forked paths. Through the ups and downs of their union emerges a portrayal of growth itself, in all its revelatory and painful glory. Zhou Dongyu and Boran Jing give heartbreaking performances as the lead actors and Liu frames melancholy and loneliness wonderfully, reminiscent of the legendary director Wong Kar-wai.
12. Margarita With a Straw
Malini Chib, a disability rights activist, in conversation with her cousin and director Shonali Bose, expressed the desire to have a normal sex life as an individual with cerebral palsy. Inspired, Bose created Margarita With a Straw, which follows Laila, a teenager with cerebral palsy, on the journey of her own unique experiences of love, sex and freedom. Kalki Koechlin delivers one of her best performances as the indomitable and vivacious protagonist.
