Team FC
The film is a difficult watch, about how the system can exhaust a person, in this case Manju (played wonderfully stoically by Shrunga). To its credit, it does not take the melodrama route and sticks to fighting out the issue in Court, using the Constitution.
What might happen when a Muslim boy enters a Hindu-majority college in a place called Abachur where there is a history of inter-religious animosity? When the end credits roll, you feel like a small flower in the garden of peace that Tejaswi speaks of.
The happenings in an engineering college hostel over the course of a night, the organic laughter, the suspense and the thrills, all come together to leave you with a film that’s a nostalgia trigger.
This film by Sindhu Srinivasa Murthy is a nostalgia trip in many ways, but it is also a coming-of-age story of the giggly, entitled girl Suma who grows up to become a woman of substance. Ah, you also get to see yesteryear Bangalore.
This film was a breath of fresh air in a world where cinema has traditionally celebrated macho men and toxic traits. Director Shashank begins with familiar tropes before breaking each one of them.
With this emotional magnum opus spread across two parts, Hemanth M Rao proves why he and Gundu Shetty make for one of the more empathetic writer duos.
This deeply philosophical film about life, illness, death and loss is what he came up with next. Starring him as Aniket and the dignified Siri Ravikumar as Prerana, the 100-minute film leaves you gutted, but also speaks of acceptance.
The writing allows you to soak in the world that Vishal has created. This film plays on in your mind long after the end credits roll, and it plays differently for each person.
This film by Umesh K Krupa and produced by Dhananjaya is probably the underdog of the year. It grew from strength to strength by dint of word of mouth and allowed the audience to experience a beautiful slice of rural life.
Toby is about bristling anger, intense love and all the things in between. The unspoken bond between Jenny (Chaithra Achar) and the mute Toby is deeply moving. She’s his daughter in some ways, but also his mother.