Top 20 All India Films of 2022

Here are my Top 20 AllIndia films of 2022 My Top 10 AllIndia Films of 2022 are below and films 1120 follow in my next column1 Sanjay Leela Bhansalirsquos Gangubai Kathiawadi Hindi Powerful mainstream feminist film on a sex worker Alia Bhatt who fights for the rights of sex workers to work and to accommodation their childrenrsquos right to education Shows democracy where a transgender wins local elections and a sex worker defeats her Daringly shows a HinduMuslim romance celebrates the qawwali tributing Muslim socials in time of extreme right wing violence Premiered at Berlin Film Festival On Netflix2 Mani Ratnamrsquos PS1 Ponniyin Selvan1 Tamil Breathtaking adaptation of Kalki Krishnamurthyrsquos novel of 1955 a fiction based on historical facts in the Chola era 9th13th century CE It gets second place because I was unable to follow a lot of the action intercutting time zones and countries as a fivepart novel is squeezed into two parts Reminds us how an epic can be magnificent even without overt dependence on VFX and scale On Amazon Prime Video3 SS Rajamoulirsquos RRR Telugu Spectacular film with Ram Charan and Jr NT Rama Rao remarkable craftsmanship aiming for allIndia and global appeal Inclusive film celebrating Muslims and tribals in a nationalist story yet its right wing agenda is unmistakable Its wonderful Naatu Naatu song is in the Oscar shortlist for Original Song it earned two Golden Globe Nominations for Best Foreign Film and Best Original Song On NetflixAlso read Not besharam enough4 Shaunak Senrsquos All That Breathes documentary Magnificent courageous deeply political philosophical environmental poetic funny and moving film that emphasises why compassion is the way forward On a team of three Muslims in old Delhi devoted to saving black kites birds Is in the Oscar shortlist won LrsquoOeil drsquoOr for Best Documentary at Cannes won Grand Jury PrizeWorld Cinema Documentary Competition at Sundance On HBO in 20235 Pa Ranjithrsquos Natchathiram Nagargiradhu A Star Shoots Across Tamil Refreshing romantic musical with Dushara Vijayan and Kalidas Jayaram that experiment with formmdash cinema theatre art real life gaana songs oppari mourning songs puppetry and aerial dance Selfreflexive on the challenges of creatively commenting on the horrific castebased honour killings that continue unabated On Netflix6 Rishab Shettyrsquos Kantara Mystical Forest Kannada Strong mainstream film that despite its broad strokes explores the vital jaljangaljameen theme and how our present is deeply informed by the past faith and tradition Producer Hombale Films major success crossed to allIndia and international markets On Netflix7 Pan Nalinrsquos Chhello Show Last Film Show Gujarati This IndoFrench coming of age drama is a nostalgic love letter to cinema on 35mm celluloid film as a young boy discovers film in a single screen theatre Indiarsquos entry for the Oscars it is in the Oscar shortlist was at the Tribeca and BFI London Film Festivals On Netflix8 Prasun Chatterjeersquos Dostojee Two Friends Bengali Stunning and courageous debut one of the most lyrical and poignant films I have seen in a long time About the friendship of two charming village imps Palash Asik Shaikh and Shafikul Arif Shaikh adults fall prey to religious bigots following the demolition of the Babri Masjid in 1992 and the Bombay Bomb Blasts of 1993 but the mishti friendship of the innocent boys survives every challengemdasheven fate itself At 20 film festivals worldwide9 Anamika Haksarrsquos Ghode Ko Jalebi Khilane Le Ja Riya Hoon Taking the Horse to Eat Jalebis Hindi UrduRemarkable original voice docufiction that combines documentary footage animation fantasy and folk art to express the dreams and nightmares of Old Delhirsquos street people At Sundance and Museum of Modern Art multiple festivals awards worldwide And the delish intoxication of an Indian woman making her debut feature at 5910 Sanal Kumar Sasidharanrsquos Vazhakku The Quarrel Malayalam Intriguing thoughtprovoking film with Tovino Thomas Kani Kusruti and Sudev Nair that explores the fundamental irony of how an abusive husband fleeing his wifersquos divorce petition spontaneously tries to rescue a stranger anotherrsquos wife in a distressing marriage with fantastic cinematography by Chandru Selvaraj At IFF KeralaMeenakshi Shedde is India and South Asia Delegate to the Berlin International Film Festival National Awardwinning critic curator to festivals worldwide and journalistReach her at meenakshisheddemiddaycom