Aseem Chhabra picks the finest Indian films in the 2010-2019 decade.
IMAGE: A scene from Bulbul Can Sing.
As the second decade of the young century comes to an end, it is time to look at how Indian cinema fared in the last 10 years.
The good news is there has been an explosion of fresh new voices working with different narratives and cinema techniques.
And these films are finding audiences across the country.
So it is quite possible now to watch Rima Das's Assamese film Bulbul Can Sing in a theatre in Delhi or Mumbai, showing on a prime time slot.
The range of streaming platforms have also created space for indie films to be reach the audience.
A couple of months ago, IndieWire came up a list of 100 Best Films of the Decade.
Unfortunately, the list did not include any Indian film, not even an obvious choice like Ritesh Batra's The Lunchbox, which performed well at film festivals and also had an impressive theatrical life outside India.
I protested against the IndieWire list on Twitter saying it was unfair to ignore Indian cinema.
A friend Lorna Tee, who heads festival management at the International Film Festival and Awards, Macao, suggested that I should draw up a list of my favourite Indian films of the decade.
And this is it.
Since India produces films in many languages, I decided to cap the list at 200.
The list does not include some obvious big-ticket items that broke Indian box office records and theatrical successes outside the country as well.
But it does include popular mainstream films as well the real indies.
Nearly half of them are in the Hindi language.
But the list also covers films in other Indian languages like Malayalam, Tamil, Kannada, Telugu, Bengali, Assamese, Marathi, Gujarati, Punjabi, Haryanvi, Konkani, Kashmiri, Tibetan, Manipuri, Sherdukpen, Garo, Tulu and Gaddi.
For each year, I have selected what I believe to one best film, and it is highlighted in bold.
 |
| # |
Title |
Language |
Director |
| 1 |
Aadhukalam (Playground) |
Tamil |
Vetrimaaran |
| 2 |
Arekti Premer Golpo (Just Another Love Story) |
Bengali |
Kaushik Ganguly |
| 3 |
Band Baaja Baaraat |
Hindi |
Maneesh Sharma |
| 4 |
Daayen Ya Baayen |
Hindi |
Bela Negi |
| 5 |
Dhobi Ghat |
Hindi |
Kiran Rao |
| 6 |
Do Dooni Chaar |
Hindi |
Habib Faisal |
| 7 |
Harud |
Hindi |
Aamir Bashir |
| 8 |
Ishqiya |
Hindi |
Abhishek Chaubey |
| 9 |
LSD: Love, Sex Aur Dhokha |
Hindi |
Dibakar Banerjee |
| 10 |
Memories in March |
English |
Sanjoy Nag |
| 11 |
Peepli (Live) |
Hindi |
Anusha Rizvi |
| 12 |
Shemshook |
Hindi/ Tibetan |
Siddhartha Anand Kumar |
| 13 |
Shor In The City |
Hindi |
Krishna D.K., Raj Nidimoru |
| 14 |
The Japanese Wife |
Bengali |
Aparna Sen |
| 15 |
Udaan |
Hindi |
Vikramditya Motawane |
 |
| # |
Title |
Language |
Director |
| 1 |
Aaranya Kaandam |
Tamil |
Thiagarajan Kumararaja |
| 2 |
Anhey Gorhey Da Daan (Alms For a Blind Horse) |
Punjabi |
Gurvinder Singh |
| 3 |
Delhi Belly |
Hindi |
Abinay Deo, Akshat Verma |
| 4 |
Deool |
Marathi |
Umesh Kulkarni |
| 5 |
Gattu |
Hindi |
Rajan Khosa |
| 6 |
I Am |
Hindi |
Onir |
| 7 |
Inshallah Football |
Kashmiri/ Hindi |
Ashvin Kumar |
| 8 |
Kshay |
Hindi |
Karan Gour |
| 9 |
No One Killed Jessica |
Hindi |
Raj Kumar Gupta |
| 10 |
Noukadubi |
Bengali |
Rituparno Ghosh |
| 11 |
Shala |
Marathi |
Sujay Dahake |
| 12 |
Sound of Heaven: The Story of Bal Gandharva |
Marathi |
Ravi Jadhav |
| 13 |
You Don't Belong |
Bengali |
Spandan Banerjee |
 |
| # |
Title |
Language |
Director |
| 1 |
B.A. Pass |
Hindi |
Ajay Bahal |
| 2 |
Chittagong |
Hindi |
Bedabrata Pain |
| 3 |
Filmistan |
Hindi |
Nitin Kakkar |
| 4 |
Gangs of Wasseypur 1 & 2 |
Hindi |
Anurag Kashyap |
| 5 |
Gulabi Gang |
Hindi |
Nishtha Jain |
| 6 |
Hansa |
Hindi |
Manav Kaul |
| 7 |
I.D. |
Hindi |
Kamal K.M. |
| 8 |
Investment |
Marathi |
Ratnakar Matkari |
| 9 |
Kahaani |
Hindi |
Sujoy Ghosh |
| 10 |
Miss Lovely |
Hindi |
Ashim Ahluwalia |
| 11 |
Paan Singh Tomar |
Hindi |
Tigmanshu Dhulia |
| 12 |
Patang |
Hindi |
Prashant Bhargava |
| 13 |
Peddlers |
Hindi |
Vasan Bala |
| 14 |
Shahid |
Hindi |
Hansal Mehta |
| 15 |
Shanghai |
Hindi |
Dibakar Banerjee |
| 16 |
Ship of Theasus |
Hindi |
Anand Gandhi |
| 17 |
Talaash |
Hindi |
Reema Kadgti |
 |
| # |
Title |
Language |
Director |
| 1 |
A Death in the Gunj |
Hindi |
Konkana Sen Sharma |
| 2 |
An American in Madras |
Tamil/ English |
Karan Bali |
| 3 |
Ankhon Dekhi |
Hindi |
Rajat Kapoor |
| 4 |
Anumati |
Marathi |
Gajendra Ahire |
| 5 |
Astu (So Be It) |
Marathi |
Sumitra Bhave, Sunil Sukthankar |
| 6 |
D-Day |
Hindi |
Nikkhil Advani |
| 7 |
Goynar Baksho |
Bengali |
Aparna Sen |
| 8 |
Kai Po Che |
Hindi |
Abhishek Kapoor |
| 9 |
Kanyaka Talkies (Virgin Talkies) |
Malayalam |
K.R. Manoj |
| 10 |
Katiyabaaz |
Hindi |
Deepti Kakkar, Fahad Mustafa |
| 11 |
Lootera |
Hindi |
Vikramditya Motawane |
| 12 |
Monsoon Shootout |
Hindi |
Amit Kumar |
| 13 |
Pune 52 |
Marathi |
Nikhil Mahajan |
| 14 |
Qissa: The Tale of a Lonely Ghost |
Punjabi |
Anup Singh |
| 15 |
Rangbhoomi |
Hindi |
Kamal Swaroop |
| 16 |
Sulemani Keeda |
Hindi |
Amit Masurkar |
| 17 |
The Lunchbox |
Hindi |
Ritesh Batra |
 |
| # |
Title |
Language |
Director |
| 1 |
Asha Jaoar Majhe (Labour of Love) |
Bengali |
Aditya Vikram Sengupta |
| 2 |
Chotoder Chobi (A Short Story) |
Bengali |
Kaushik Ganguly |
| 3 |
Court |
Marathi |
Chaitanya Tamhane |
| 4 |
Crossing Bridges |
Shertukpen |
Sange Dorjee Thongdok |
| 5 |
Dedh Ishqiya |
Hindi |
Abhishek Chaubey |
| 6 |
Fandry |
Marathi |
Nagraj Manjule |
| 7 |
Haider |
Hindi |
Vishal Bhardwaj |
| 8 |
Jigarthanda |
Tamil |
Karthik Subbaraj |
| 9 |
Kaaka Muttai |
Tamil |
M.Manikandan |
| 10 |
Killa |
Marathi |
Avinash Arun |
| 11 |
Liar's Dice |
Hindi |
Geethu Mohandas |
| 12 |
Placebo |
Hindi/ English |
Abhay Kumar |
| 13 |
The Last Adieu |
Hindi |
Shabnam Sukhdev |
| 14 |
Titli |
Hindi |
Kanu Behl |
| 15 |
Ugly |
Hindi |
Anurag Kashyap |
 |
| # |
Title |
Language |
Director |
| 1 |
A Far Afternoon |
English |
Sruti Harihara Subramanian |
| 2 |
Aligarh |
Hindi |
Hansal Mehta |
| 3 |
Badlapur |
Hindi |
Shriram Raghavan |
| 4 |
Bajirao Mastani |
Hindi |
Sanjay Leela Bhansali |
| 5 |
Chauthi Koot (The Fourth Direction) |
Punjabi |
Gurvinder Singh |
| 6 |
Cities of Sleep |
Hindi |
Shaunak Sen |
| 7 |
Detective Byomkesh Bakshy |
Hindi |
Dibakar Banerjee |
| 8 |
Dil Dhadakne Do |
Hindi |
Zoya Akhtar |
| 9 |
Dum Lagake Haisha |
Hindi |
Sharat Katariya |
| 10 |
Elizabeth Ekadashi |
Marathi |
Paresh Mokashi |
| 11 |
For The Love Of A Man |
Tamil |
Rinku Kalsy |
| 12 |
G Kutta Se |
Haryanvi |
Rahul Dhaiya |
| 13 |
Highway Ek Selfie Aarpar |
Marathi/ Hindi |
Umesh Kulkarni |
| 14 |
Island City |
Hindi |
Ruchika Oberoi |
| 15 |
Kadambari |
Bengali |
Suman Ghosh |
| 16 |
Kothanodi |
Assamese |
Bhaskar Hazarika |
| 17 |
Life in Metaphors: A Portrait of Girish Kasaravalli |
English |
O.P. Srivastava |
| 18 |
Loev |
Hindi |
Sudhanshu Saria |
| 19 |
Margarita, With a Straw |
Hindi |
Shonali Bose |
| 20 |
Masaan |
Hindi |
Neeraj Ghaywan |
| 21 |
Nachom-ia-Kompasar |
Konkani |
Bardroy Baretto |
| 22 |
NH 10 |
Hindi |
Navdeep Singh |
| 23 |
O Kadal Kanmani |
Tamil |
Mani Ratnam |
| 24 |
Ozhivudivasate Kali (An Off-Day Game) |
Malayalam |
Sanal Sasidharan |
| 25 |
Piku |
Hindi |
Shoojit Sircar |
| 26 |
Talvar |
Hindi |
Meghna Gulzar |
| 27 |
The Silence |
Marathi |
Gajendra Ahire |
| 28 |
Thithi |
Kannada |
Raam Reddy |
| 29 |
Visaaranai |
Tamil |
Vetrimaaran |
| 30 |
White Nights |
Malayalam |
Razi Muhammed |
 |
| # |
Title |
Language |
Director |
| 1 |
Ae Dil Hai Mushkil |
Hindi |
Karan Johar |
| 2 |
An Insignificant Man |
Hindi |
Kushboo Ranka, Vinay Shukla |
| 3 |
Cinemawala |
Bengali |
Kaushik Ganguly |
| 4 |
Colours of Innocence |
Bengali |
Manas Mukul Pal |
| 5 |
Feluda 50 Years of Ray's Detective |
Bengali/ English |
Sagnik Chatterjee |
| 6 |
Gurgaon |
Hindi |
Shanker Raman |
| 7 |
Kaasav |
Marathi |
Sumitra Bhave, Sunil Sukthankar |
| 8 |
Kaadu Oiikkunna Neram |
Malayalam |
Bijukumar Damodaran |
| 9 |
Kammattipaadam |
Malayalam |
Rajeev Ravi |
| 10 |
Kapoor & Sons |
Hindi |
Shakun Batra |
| 11 |
Kuttrame Thandanai (Crime is Punishment) |
Tamil |
M. Manikandan |
| 12 |
Lady of the Lake |
Manipuri |
Haobam Paban Kumar |
| 13 |
Lathe Joshi |
Marathi |
Mangesh Joshi |
| 14 |
Lipstick Under My Burkha |
Hindi |
Alankrita Shrivastava |
| 15 |
Machines |
Hindi/ English |
Rahul Jain |
| 16 |
Moh Maya Money |
Hindi |
Munish Bhardwaj |
| 17 |
Mukti Bhawan |
Hindi |
Shubhashish Bhutiani |
| 18 |
Ottayaal Paatha (The Narrow Path) |
Malayalam |
Satish & Santosh Babusenan |
| 19 |
Pink |
Hindi |
Aniruddha Roy Chowdhury |
| 20 |
Sairat |
Marathi |
Nagraj Manjule |
| 21 |
Shaheb Bibi Golaam |
Bengali |
Pratim Dasgupta |
| 22 |
The Threshold |
Hindi |
Pushan Kriplani |
| 23 |
Tope |
Bengali |
Budhadev Dasgupta |
| 24 |
Trapped |
Hindi |
Vikramditya Motawane |
| 25 |
Tu Hai Mera Sunday (You Are My Sunday) |
Hindi |
Milind Dhaimade |
| 26 |
Udta Punjab |
Hindi |
Abhishek Chaubey |
| 27 |
Wrong Side Raju |
Gujarati |
Mikhil Musale |
 |
| # |
Title |
Language |
Director |
| 1 |
Anarkali of Aarah |
Hindi |
Avinash Das |
| 2 |
Angamaly Diaries |
Malayalam |
Lijo Jose Pellissery |
| 3 |
Bhasmasur |
Hindi |
Nishil Sheth |
| 4 |
Juze |
Konkani |
Miransha Naik |
| 5 |
Newton |
Hindi |
Amit Masurkar |
| 6 |
Ottamuri Velicham |
Malayalam |
Rahul Riji Nair |
| 7 |
Rukh |
Hindi |
Atanu Mukherjee |
| 8 |
Sexy Durga |
Malayalam |
Sanal Sasidharan |
| 9 |
Shreelancer |
Hindi |
Sandeep Mohan |
| 10 |
Take Off |
Malayalam |
Mahesh Narayan |
| 11 |
The Argumentative Indian |
Bengali/ English |
Suman Ghosh |
| 12 |
The Summer of Miracles (Athisayangalude) |
Malayalam |
Prasanth Vijay |
| 13 |
The Sound Man Mangesh Desai |
English/ Hindi |
Subash Sahoo |
| 14 |
Thondimuthalum Driksakshuyum |
Malayalam |
Dileesh Pothan |
| 15 |
Village Rockstars |
Assamese |
Rima Das |
 |
| # |
Title |
Language |
Director |
| 1 |
Andhadhun |
Hindi |
Shriram Raghavan |
| 2 |
Badhaai Ho |
Hindi |
Amit Sharma |
| 3 |
Balekempa (The Bangle Seller) |
Kannada |
Ere Gowda |
| 4 |
Bhavesh Joshi Superhero |
Hindi |
Vikramditya Motawane |
| 5 |
Bhoga Khidkee (Broken Window) |
Assamese |
Jahnu Barua |
| 6 |
Bhonsle |
Hindi |
Devashish Makhija |
| 7 |
Bulbul Can Sing |
Assamese |
Rima Das |
| 8 |
c/o Kancharapalem |
Telugu |
Maha Venkatesh |
| 9 |
Dithee |
Marathi |
Sumitra Bhave |
| 10 |
Ee. Ma. Yau |
Malayalam |
Lijo Jose Pellissery |
| 11 |
Gali Gulieyan |
Hindi |
Dipesh Jain |
| 12 |
Hamid |
Hindi |
Aijaz Khan |
| 13 |
Kadakh |
Hindi |
Rajat Kapoor |
| 14 |
KD |
Tamil |
Madhumita Sundararaman |
| 15 |
Ma.Ama |
Garo |
Dominic Megam Sangma |
| 16 |
Mahanati |
Telugu |
Nag Ashwin |
| 17 |
Mard Ko Dard Nahin Hota |
Hindi |
Vasan Bala |
| 18 |
Mayurakshi |
Bengali |
Atanu Ghosh |
| 19 |
Mehsampur |
Punjabi/ Hindi/ English |
Kabir Singh Chowdhry |
| 20 |
Merku Thodarchi Malai (Western Ghats) |
Tamil |
Lenin Bharathi |
| 21 |
Mulk |
Hindi |
Anubhav Sinha |
| 22 |
Nude |
Marathi |
Ravi Jadhav |
| 23 |
October |
Hindi |
Shoojit Sircar |
| 24 |
Paddayi |
Tulu |
Abhaya Simha |
| 25 |
Pariyerum Perumal |
Tamil |
Mari Selvaraj |
| 26 |
Raazi |
Hindi |
Meghna Gulzar |
| 27 |
Sir |
Hindi |
Rohena Gera |
| 28 |
Sivaranjani and Two Other Women |
Tamil |
Vasanth S. Sai |
| 29 |
The Gold-Laden Sheep & The Sacred Mountain |
Gaddi |
Ridham Janve |
| 30 |
The Sweet Requiem |
Tibetan |
Ritu Sarin, Tenzing Sonam |
| 31 |
To-Let |
Tamil |
Chezhiyan |
| 32 |
Tumbaad |
Hindi |
Rahi Anil Barve, Adesh Prasad |
| 33 |
Urojahaj |
Bengali |
Budhadev Dasgupta |
| 34 |
Vada Chennai |
Tamil |
Vetrimaaran |
 |
| # |
Title |
Language |
Director |
| 1 |
Aamis |
Assamese |
Bhaskar Hazarika |
| 2 |
Article 15 |
Hindi |
Anubhav Sinha |
| 3 |
Bombay Rose |
Hindi |
Gijantali Rao |
| 4 |
Cat Sticks |
Bengali |
Ronny Sen |
| 5 |
Chippa |
Bengali |
Safdar Rahman |
| 6 |
Chola (Shadow of Water) |
Malayalam |
Sanal Sasidharan |
| 7 |
Gully Boy |
Hindi |
Zoya Akhtar |
| 8 |
Jallikattu |
Malayalam |
Lijo Jose Pellissery |
| 9 |
Kattumaram |
Tamil |
Swarnavel Eswaran |
| 10 |
Kumbalangi Nights |
Malayalam |
Madhu C. Narayanan |
| 11 |
Moothon |
Mala/ Hindi |
Geetu Mohandas |
| 12 |
Noblemen |
English |
Vndana Kataria |
| 13 |
Paani |
Marathi |
Adinath Kothare |
| 14 |
Sonchiiriya |
Hindi |
Abhishek Chaubey |
| 15 |
Soni |
Hindi |
Ivan Ayr |
| 16 |
Super Deluxe |
Tamil |
Thiagarajan Kumararaja |
| 17 |
Virus |
Malayalam |
Aashiq Abu |
