BEST OF PARALLEL CINEMA
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- DirectorAwtar Krishna KaulStarsSudhir DalviRakhee GulzarMadhavi ManjulaSanjay is on a pilgrimage journey to Varanasi and remembers his life in flashbacks.
- DirectorGovind NihalaniStarsOm PuriNaseeruddin ShahSmita PatilA public prosecutor discovers the harsh realities about life of the scheduled tribes in India during 1980s while defending a case of a tribesman charged of murdering his wife.
- DirectorSaeed Akhtar MirzaStarsNaseeruddin ShahShabana AzmiSmita PatilA man from Mumbai (then Bombay) is angry about various issues in different circumstances.
- DirectorGovind NihalaniStarsOm PuriSmita PatilAmrish PuriA newly appointed police rookie deals with corruption, romance, and brutality.
- DirectorMahesh BhattStarsShabana AzmiKulbhushan KharbandaSmita PatilA film-maker who is having an extra-marital affair with an actress decides to leave his wife. Arth is the story of this women's search for her identity.
- DirectorSaeed Akhtar MirzaStarsDilip DhawanAnjali PaigankarShreeram LagooArvind Desai is the only son of a rich businessman who deals in luxury handicraft products. His feelings for his father are mixed. While he hates his dominating nature, he admires his power and lack of scruples.
- DirectorShyam BenegalStarsSmita PatilAnant NagNaseeruddin ShahA girl learns music from her courtesan grandmother and breaks into the burgeoning show business industry of 1930s Bombay, which eventually leads to decades of superstardom as well as romantic entanglements.
- DirectorSagar SarhadiStarsFarooq ShaikhSmita PatilNaseeruddin ShahA young man challenges traditional customs by standing up to the father of the woman he loves, who has promised her to a wealthy expatriate.
- DirectorRabindra DharmarajStarsSavita BajajArun BakshiSuresh BhagwatAmma lives in Bijapur with her husband and son, Benwa. When a man attempts to sexually molest her, he is killed by her husband, the trio flee, but the husband is shot dead by the police. Amma re-locates to a shanty slum near Dharavi, Bombay, where Benwa grows up and shines shoes for a living. Amma is sexually active with Looka, a hoodlum and extortionist who shows up once in while, and also has a steady relationship with trucker, Anna. Both Looka and Anna are unaware of each other. Looka gets Benwa married to Amli from a nearby slum & Anna gets Amma a much better shelter. All seems to be going well until the Police come looking for an injured Looka, when he robs a pharmacy in order to get medicines for himself. Watch what happens when the Police arrive and find a visibly pregnant Amma with Looka, and the impact this will have on her relationship with Anna.
- DirectorSai ParanjpyeStarsShabana AzmiNana PatekarRaghubir YadavThe Sarpat family, who live in Bhukari, consist of Parsaram, who has been involved in digging a well for the past over 12 years and is now called 'Pagal Parsa'; his brother, Soma, who gets some casual work in the fields; his wife, Hansa, who goes to work at a Bidi factory; and four children ironically named Sharmila, Jeetendra, Amitabh, and Kadhu. Soma's neighbor, Vasant Mandre, is a young man who has recently got married to Phoolwanti, lives with his ailing father, Dashrath, who had taken a loan of Rs.10,000/- in order to have a lavish wedding celebration. Soma is the first one to re-locate to Bombay, and when he immediately sends some money, Vasant too leaves for Bombay. Shortly thereafter, Phoolwanti goes to visit him and is horrified when she finds that Soma and Vasant are sharing a small room with 39 other males from their village; work in a mill; are poorly paid, and in debt. She returns home immediately thereafter. Then Vasant gets a letter from his dad asking him to come home immediately. Watch what happens when Vasant returns and finds out why he has been called back so suddenly.
- DirectorGovind NihalaniStarsDimple KapadiaShekhar KapurMita VashishtSandhya and Nikhil have been married for 8 years and live a wealthy lifestyle in Bombay, along with a daughter, Rashmi. On their 8th anniversary, they invite several friends, chief amongst them Prabha and her husband, Ramesh; Revati, Gita, and an unexpected guest, a nephew of one their friend's, Rahul. Prabha gets very intoxicated during this get-together, and confides with Sandhya about her rocky marriage. One year later, Nikhil shocks Sandhya when he tells her that he has fallen in love with a much younger woman, Vrunda, and wants to leave her. Sandhya begs and pleads with him to no avail. He does contact Sandhya again after about a year, this time to ask for a divorce. Again, Sandhya pleads with him to return, but he refuses. Then a year later, the estranged couple meet again, and this time it is Nikhil who wants to re-enter Sandhya's life, and this time it is he who is going to be shocked by her candid confessions!!
- DirectorGovind NihalaniStarsOm PuriNaseeruddin ShahMita VashishtRiveting suspense thriller about a dedicated cop who leads an under-cover squad against a group of terrorists. He manages to capture their leader, but finds himself and his family mentally and physically manipulated by the wily terrorist and his followers.
- DirectorMani KaulStarsKana RamRaisa PadamseeHardanFilm is Based on Duvidha by Vijayadan Detha, it's about merchant's son, whose relationship with his young bride, Lachhi is thwarted by his work and a ghost who falls in love with her, resulting in the ghost soon impersonating the husband.
- DirectorMrinal SenStarsShabana AzmiShreeram LagooAparna SenA retired professor suddenly goes missing. Time passes by, life goes on, but his children and wife keep on looking back, trying to find their way through emotional torrents of the past and the present.
- DirectorTapan SinhaStarsShabana AzmiPankaj KapurIrrfan KhanAfter years of painstaking research at the cost of his domestic pleasure, Dr. Dipankar Roy discovers a vaccine for leprosy. The news is flashed over television and overnight, an insignificant junior doctor receives international recognition. Professional jealousy and abuse of power threaten Dr. Roy, even as the Secretary of Health reprimands him for breaking the news to the press. He is asked to report to the Director of Health. Professional colleagues Dr. Arijit Sen and Dr. Ramananda invite him to a lecture but it is merely a pretence to humiliate him. Dr. Roy suffers a mild heart attack but he refuses to go to the hospital. His wife and few others like Dr. Kundu stand by Dr. Roy, but the harassment continues; a letter from an American foundation is suppressed and Dr. Roy transferred to a remote village. The last straw is two American doctors receiving credit for discovering the same vaccine. Dr. Roy is shattered.
- DirectorBasu ChatterjeeStarsDeepak QazirAmitabh SrivastavaPankaj KapurOne dissenting juror in a murder trial tries to influence the verdict with his personal prejudices and biases
- DirectorM.S. SathyuStarsBalraj SahniA.K. HangalGeeta KakIn post-partition India, a Muslim businessman and his family struggle for their rights in a country which was once their own.
- DirectorGulzarStarsRekhaNaseeruddin ShahAnuradha PatelMeeting accidentally five years after their divorce, a couple reflects on how their marriage collapsed despite transparency.
- DirectorIsmail MerchantStarsShashi KapoorShabana AzmiOm PuriA poet of Urdu fame is struggling with his legacy while an aspiring poet and historian comes to document him like never before and in return becomes custodian of the great poets last verses.SHASHI KAPOOR OM PURI SHABANA AZMI...
- DirectorShyam BenegalStarsShashi KapoorRekhaRaj BabbarThis movie tells story of fierce and total competition of two related business families in the days of license raaj India. The overall plot is based on Mahabharat. This movie shows that how the pursuit of self serving ideals even legitimizes killing of family members.
- DirectorSai ParanjpyeStarsNaseeruddin ShahFarooq ShaikhDeepti NavalSecretly in love with his neighbor, a mild-mannered clerk is heartbroken when his much bolder, more charming friend wins her heart instead.
- DirectorBasu ChatterjeeStarsPankaj KapurSupriya PathakRoopa GangulyKamla Ki Maut is a 1989 Hindi drama film directed by Basu Chatterjee. The film set in Mumbai, deals with issue of love, pre-marital sex and relationships in modern India.
- DirectorAmrit NahataStarsShabana AzmiRaj BabbarChaman BaggaThe story of an evil politician.
- DirectorShyam BenegalStarsShabana AzmiSmita PatilNaseeruddin ShahForbidden love, fraying loyalties and flagrant hypocrisy emerge when sanctimonious politicians drive a madam's brothel from the heart of Hyderabad.
- DirectorShekhar KapurStarsNaseeruddin ShahShabana AzmiJugal HansrajA happy family goes through turbulent times because of a big mistake by one of the family members.
- DirectorGulzarStarsSanjeev KumarSharmila TagoreOm ShivpuriA medical student, Amarnath meets and falls in love with the daughter of a herbal medicine healer, Chanda while preparing for his exams in Darjeeling. He returns to Calcutta to sit his exams. Fast forward two decades Amarnath sets out to search Chanda. His encounter and involvement with a prostitute, Kajli has far reaching implications for both of them. How did Kajli, whose mother wanted her to become a doctor end up in a whorehouse. The three way relationship between the madam of the whorehouse, Kajli and Amarnath comes to a head when in a humane moment the madam gives away a fortune. What does Kajli have to do to restore her relationship with Amarnath?
- DirectorKetan MehtaStarsSmita PatilNaseeruddin ShahOm PuriIn colonial India, subedars (tax collectors) went from village to village with soldiers, often demanding more than taxes. A subedar commands Sonbai, a beautiful and confident woman whose husband is away in the city, to sleep with him. She slaps him and flees for safety to a spice factory where women grind chillies into fine powder. The aged factory guard, Abu Mian, locks the door behind her, refusing to open it to the soldiers, to the cowardly village men led by the mayor, and to the subedar himself. The town's teacher, who follows Gandhi, and a few women, led by the mayor's wife, protest ineffectually against this village-approved rape. The stage is set for a final confrontation.
- DirectorGulzarStarsSanjeev KumarSharmila TagoreShabana AzmiNamkeen revolves around Jugni, a folk theatre dancer who lives with her three daughters in a remote village, and how their lives change when a truck driver, begins living with them as a tenant.
- DirectorSaeed Akhtar MirzaStarsKaifi AzmiKulbhushan KharbandaSurekha SikriThe delicate relationship between a 15-year-old girl and her grandfather is used to describe how the growing political tensions between Muslems and Hindus in 1992 led to the destruction of a medieval Muslim mosque and subsequently, violent rioting in the streets of Bombay. Naseem (urdu: sahar) means Morning breeze, and charts the story of a young school going girl Naseem in the months leading up to the demolition of Babri Masjid in 1992. She shares deep and loving bond with his ill grandfather who represents the era of communal harmony between Hindus and Muslims in India, as he fondly recalls the times he spent in pre-Independent Agra. As communal tension erupts in the city of Bombay, Naseem get increasingly bewildered by changing dynamics at her school and in the neighborhood, while her grandfather watches helplessly at a city getting deeply divided over the Babri Masjid issue.
- DirectorShyam BenegalStarsGirish KarnadShabana AzmiAnant NagA man whose wife is abducted seeks to have the culprits prosecuted for their crime, but no one will help him. Meanwhile, the wife-abused and berated by her abductors-cannot bring herself to face her husband.
- DirectorGoutam GhoseStarsNaseeruddin ShahShabana AzmiUtpal DuttThis is Goutam Ghose's speculative commentary on poverty and exploitation in rural Bihar, based on Bengali story Paathi.
- DirectorBasu ChatterjeeStarsVidya SinhaAmol PalekarDinesh ThakurA Delhi-based woman in a steady relationship with her boyfriend is forced to come to terms with her true feelings when a job interview in Mumbai brings an old flame back in her life.
- DirectorMani KaulStarsBharat GopyM.K. RainaVibhuti Jha
- DirectorSai ParanjpyeStarsShabana AzmiNaseeruddin ShahSudha ChopraAnirudh Parmar is blind, but he does not let this impairment bind him down. He runs a school for the blind as a Principal. He meets with social worker, Kavita. Kavita is attracted to him, and he slowly also gets attracted to her. When marriage is proposed, both agree to marry each other. Then Anirudh starts having doubts whether this marriage is going to succeed, as he feels he is being patronized, and pittied.
- DirectorShyam BenegalStarsLeela NaiduNeena GuptaAnita KanwarA Goan native returns to his now-derelict, palatial childhood home, recalling his family's interpersonal drama during the end of Portuguese rule.
- DirectorMani KaulStarsGurdeep SinghGarimaSavita BajajA woman waits for her truck driver husband, everyday, with his daily bread. Her concern for their dying relationship and her sister grows fast as she starts to doubt his loyalty.
- DirectorGirish KarnadStarsRekhaAmjad KhanKulbhushan KharbandaBased on the circa 2nd century BCE to 2nd Century CE, Sanskrit play "Daridra-Charudatta" by the famous Indian playwright Bhasa, "Utsav" faithfully follows Bhasa's story-line. Vasantasena, a courtesan who dances at the King Palaka's court hides in Charudatta's house while running away from the amorous attentions of the king's brother-in-law. She falls in love with Charudatta, though he is married and penniless. They have an affair. Meanwhile, the rightful heir to the throne - King Palaka's brother - escapes from prison. While he is being pursued by the king's troops, Charudatta helps him. The king's brother-in-law strangles Vasantasena when she refuses to submit to him and leaves her for dead. When Charudatta tries to have her jewels pawned, he is arrested for her murder. What happens to him and the other characters constitutes the final part of the film.
- DirectorSatyajit RayStarsSanjeev KumarSaeed JaffreyShabana AzmiIn 1856, two obsessed noblemen ignore everything while playing chess and fail to notice British rule extending into their Indian province.
- DirectorShyam BenegalStarsRajit KapoorRaghubir YadavSiraj AhmedOn a lazy afternoon, a man shares his memories of a storyteller friend who once narrated a convoluted love story with intertwined plots. As these plots unravel, reality mixes with fiction.
- DirectorBasu BhattacharyaStarsRajesh KhannaSharmila TagoreDina PathakAmar and Mansi live a rather peaceful and happy married life, that is, until Amar's job in an advertising agency requires him to work closely with beautiful models, which leads to some serious trouble in paradise.
- DirectorRituparno GhoshStarsAjay DevgnAishwarya Rai BachchanAnnu KapoorAll he wanted was to see her just once. Manu was from a village in the backwoods. Neeru was the girl next door, his lost love.
- DirectorRajat KapoorStarsRanvir ShoreyNeha DhupiaNaseeruddin ShahA two-bit actor faces challenges after he is asked by Police to impersonate a look-alike gangster.
- DirectorRajinder Singh BediStarsSanjeev KumarRehana SultanShakeela Bano BhopaliTells the story of newly weds Hamid and Salma. They move into a rental flat next door to the local red light district. The flat had been the former home of a well known mujra and qawali singer, Shamshad. Men still come to the door in the hope of seeing Shamshad and do not seem too put out by seeing Salma despite her protestations. The couple struggle to live within the bounds of their own moral code while the earnings of prostitution seem to be flaunted around them. Hamid gets more and more angry and seemingly unable to reconcile his morality with the immorality of the world and at one point beats his wife and then rapes her making her into a 'whore' of his fantasy. The story here bears resemblance to the later 'Ek Chadar Maili Si' by the same director and seems to explore the complex world of women and sexuality as viewed by Indian men: mother, goddess, whore. This film also explores the ethos of prostitution in its reality and as a metaphor for the outside world.