Documentary or Non-Fiction films are a very eminent part of our film making fraternity. It requires a scrupulous and methodical interest of the film maker to put life into a Documentary. Although, in India, they are not blessed to enjoy the commercial success as the Indian Bollywood films. There have been some great documentaries made by a few really good Indian Filmmakers over the past decade. These movies based on real life events and experiences have gone the distance to win many prestigious awards at national as well as international level.
1. An American in Madras. (2013)
An American in Madras uncovers the cinematic journey of American-born filmmaker Ellis R. Dungun in India. He was born on 11th of May, 1909 in Barton, Ohio, USA and was the alumnus of the University of Southern California. He moved to India on February 25th, 1935 intending to stay for 6 months but ended up staying for 15 years. During this period, he helped the Tamil Film Industry flourish, providing a sense of professionalism into its film making. He introduced many technical transformations between the period of 1930 – 1940. Some of them included the mobile camera, modern make-up and cabaret dance numbers which is now a days more popularly famous as the item numbers. What makes it more appreciable is the fact that he did all of this without the knowledge of their language. Dungan made his directorial debut with Sathi Leelavathi, which also happened to be the first film of the Tamil superstar MGR. He also made one hindi film called Meera. The film traces Dungun’s connection with India till the year 1994, when he was felicitated by the Tamil Film Industry in Chennai. The film is directed by Karan Bali and produced by Alex Anthony.
2. A Poet, a City and a Footballer. (2014)
As the name suggests, this film is shown in three chapters. The chapters cover the desire of the Poet (filmmaker), Goutam Sen to make a film with the footballer, P.K.Banerjee and the charismatic beauty of the city, Kolkata. Goutam Sen’s desire however remained vexed as he lost his battle to cancer in 2013. But director Joshy Joseph decided to capture the complete story with a different approach. The film shows the long conversations with Goutam Sen on his hospital bed, his family and former partner along with the footage of P K Banerjee which Goutam Sen had shot in spite of his condition. Hats off to the director and the cinematographer who have, very gracefully shaded the film with beautiful shots exhibiting the city of Kolkata and its life in order to keep the audience engaged. Joshy Joseph has won five national awards from the president for his films (including this one) and also for his writing on cinema. This film was produced by Film Division of India. As quoted earlier, A Poet, a City and a Footballer is ” a film on a film that never got made“.
3. Khoob Asti Afghanistan? (Are you Aright Afghanistan?)
Khoob Asti Afghanistan is a documentary directed and co-produced by the Indian Filmmaker, Soumitra Ranade of Jajantram Mamantram fame. Soumitra Ranade grew up in Kabul as a teenager. He left the country 26 years ago, until he returns to post 9/11 Afghanistan to revisit the defenitive years of his youth. In a country devastated by war, he rediscovers its beauty through his memories and encounters with the people there. The filmmaker has shown that side of Afghanistan that is often ignored by the Western media. The film takes us on a hopeful journey through past and present of a country that has yet to see lasting peace.
4. But, who killed my childhood.
Directed by well known editor in the Bollywood film industry, Aseem Sinha, But, who killed my childhood, is a heart warming story of a six year old girl ‘Anjali’. Her life is limited inside the four walls of the jail where she is staying with her life imprisonment convict mother. Anjali is soon to turn six. As per the jail manual, no child above six can stay with their mother in jail and Anjali too has to get rehabilitated outside. The foremost year of child’s psycho-somatic growth is 4-7 years and that lasts long in his/her life. The film encompasses bonding & separation of mother- child, the ironical conditioning of upbringing in the shadow of unexpressed sufferings and their impact on their life after the rehabilitation.
5. Nilamadhaba (2010)
Nilamadhaba is a musical tribute to the unique singing style of Dr. Sunanda Patnaik. Sunanda Patnaik (born 7 November 1934) is an Indian classical singer of Gwalior gharana from Odisha. Popularly known as “guruma”, she is considered one of the great dames of Hindustani music. Interspersed between her live concerts at Varanasi and Kolkata are her music classes, her interviews, her boat journey on the Ganges river and her informal performances at Puri. The film explores her relationship with her disciples and also tries to recreate her past musically through her bandishes. The film is directed by Oriya Director Dilip Patnaik.
6. The Boxing Ladies. (2011)
Anushka Nandakumar’s The Boxing Ladies tells the story of three brave sisters living in a small slum in Kolkata with their families. These three teenage sisters, Zainab, Bushra and Sughrawho dared to dream of becoming a boxer and eventually break through stereotypes of Muslim women to rise above their living conditions and become national-level boxers. The film shows their journey, obstacles, struggle and their fighting spirit against the odds.
