IMDb rating: 9.2
Directed by: Vidhu Vinod Chopra
Cast: Vikrant Massey, Medha Shankar, Anant V Joshi, Anshumaan Pushkar, Priyanshu Chatterjee
Release date: 27 October 2023

Synopsis: The story revolves around Manoj Kumar Sharma (Vikrant Massey), a young man who overcomes extreme poverty and several hurdles to become an Indian Police Service officer.

About the film: The film is based on the 2019 eponymous non-fiction book by Anurag Pathak. The film is inspired by the real-life story of IPS Officer Manoj Kumar Sharma and IRS Officer Shraddha Joshi.

IMDb rating: 9.2
Directed by: Koichi Sasaki, Ram Mohan, Yugo Sako
Voice cast: Bryan Cranston, Rael Padmasee, Uday Mathan, Mishal Varma, Noel Godin, Bulbul Mukherjee, Madhulika Varma, Rahul Bose, Pearl Padamsee, Bhargava Krishna, Shagufta Jaffrey, Easo Vivin Mathew, Denzil Smith, Cyrus Broacha
Release date: 10 January 1993

Synopsis: Based on the Indian epic Ramayana, the film narrates the story of Lord Ram after he is sent to exile for 14 years by his father, the king of Ayodhya, Lord Dasharatha. The movie showcases how Lord Rama along with Lord Lakshman and Lord Hanuman fought Ravana after he abducted Goddess Sita.

About the film: Yugo Sako came to know about the story of Ramayana while he was working on The Ramayana Relics, a documentary film about excavations by Dr. B. B. Lal near Allahabad in Uttar Pradesh (India) in 1983. The release of Ramayana: The Legend of Prince Rama was banned in India during the Babri Masjid riots but was later dubbed in Hindi and aired on DD National.

Awards won: The film won the Best Animation Film of the Year award at the Santa Clarita International Family Film Festival in 2001. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences introduced a new category that year called the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature. Ramayana was one of the nine films that were eligible to be nominated.

IMDb rating: 8.8
Directed by: Rojin Thomas
Cast: Indrans, Sreenath Bhasi, Naslen K. Gafoor, Deepa Thomas, Manju Pillai, Johny Antony, Kainakary Thankaraj
Release date: 19 August 2021

Synopsis: The story revolves around Oliver Twist (Indrans), who is a technologically-challenged 60-year-old father and his dysfunctional family which includes his father (Kainakary Thankaraj), his wife Kuttiyamma (Manju Pillai), and his two sons — Anthony (Sreenath Bhasi) and Charles (Naslen K. Gafoor).

About the film: The story, background score, cinematography, social relevance, characterisation and performances of the lead cast were highly appreciated by the critics.

Awards won: The film won the National Film Award For Best Feature Film In Malayalam in 2023.

IMDb rating: 8.8
Directed by: Kiranraj K.
Cast: Charlie (a Labrador dog), Rakshit Shetty, Sangeetha Sringeri, Raj B. Shetty, Danish Sait, Bobby Simha, Aniruddh Roy
Release date: 10 June 2022

Synopsis: Dharma (Rakshit Shetty) is a lonely man who hates dogs. His parents and sister died in a car crash caused by a dog and hence he lives alone. One day a Labrador puppy enters his life accidentally and eventually makes space in Dharma’s heart. The film then follows their journey as Charlie (the dog) suffers from cancer and Dharma does everything in his capacity to make sure that the time they are left with is memorable and the person responsible for Charlie’s condition is punished.

About the film: 777 Charlie follows the journey and bonding between a lonely factory worker and a stray Labrador dog.

Awards won: 777 Charlie became the fifth highest-grossing Kannada film at the time of release and bagged the award for Best Feature Film In Kannada at the 69th National Film Awards.

IMDb rating: 8.8
Directed by: Fazil
Cast: Shobana, Mohanlal, Suresh Gopi, Nedumudi Venu, Innocent, Vinaya Prasad, K.P.A.C.Lalitha, Sridhar, K.B. Ganesh Kumar, Sudheesh, Thilakan
Release date: 25 December 1993

Synopsis: Newly-wed Ganga (Shobana) and Nakulan (Suresh Gopi) decide to live at the family mansion named Madampalli, which is said to be haunted. Ganga discovers a room which is abandoned and goes inside to explore what’s the whole fuss about. The family reveals that the soul of a dancer named Nagavalli resides in the room and it is not right for Ganga to have opened the door. Soon paranormal activities start taking place, putting the family in danger. Ganga gets possessed by Nagavalli, only to be later treated by Nakulan’s psychiatrist friend Dr. Sunny (Mohanlal). Sunny reveals that Ganga suffers from a split personality disorder and devises a plan to make her realise that she herself is Nagavali and not some ghost.

About the film: The story of the film draws inspiration from a tragedy that took place in an Ezhava tharavad, the Alummoottil meda (an old traditional mansion), located at Muttom (near Haripad). The mansion belonged to a central Travancore Channar family in the 19th century and the writer of the film, Madhu K Panicker is a member of the family.

Awards won: The film won the National Film Award for Best Popular Film Providing Wholesome Entertainment and Shobhana bagged the National Film Award for Best Actress for her portrayal of Ganga/Nagavalli.

IMDb rating: 8.7
Directed by: R. Madhavan
Cast: R. Madhavan, Simran, Ravi Raghavendra, Rajit Kapur, Muralidaran, Misha Ghoshal, Shyam Renganathan, Karthik Kumar, Amaan, Dinesh Prabhakar, Mohan Raman, Ron Donachie, Phyllis Logan
Release date: 1 July 2022

Synopsis: The story revolves around the life of Nambi Narayanan (R. Madhavan), a scientist at the Indian Space Research Organisation. The plot revolves around his days as a graduate student at Princeton University and his work as a scientist. The film then talks about the false espionage charges placed upon him and how that affected his career.

About the film: The film is based on a true story that talks about how Nambi Narayanan was accused in the ISRO espionage case and later exonerated.

Awards won: Rocketry won the National Film Award for Best Feature Film in 2023. R. Madhavan won the Best Director award at IIFA Awards 2023 as well.

IMDb rating: 8.7
Directed by: Mari Selvaraj
Cast: Kathir, Anandhi, Yogi Babu, Lijeesh, Vannarpettai Thangaraj, Shanmugarajan, G. Marimuthu, Karate Venkatesan
Release date: 28 September 2018

Synopsis: The film narrates the story of Pariyan (Kathir), who belongs to an oppressed caste. Pariyan enrols himself into a law college and strikes up a friendship with Jothi Mahalakshmi (Anandhi). Since Jothi belongs to an upper caste, it irks Jothi’s family members that she is friends with Pariyan. The family starts harassing Pariyan which makes him wake up to the realities of caste oppression and discrimination.

About the film: Pa Ranjith approached Mari Selvaraj to produce the film after reading Mari’s works like Thamirabaraniyil Kaapatrapattavargal, a short story and Marakavae Ninaikiren, a fictional series in Ananda Vikatan.

Awards won: The film received four Ananda Vikatan Cinema Awards including Best Story and Best Director for Selvaraj, it got two wins at the 8th SIIMA Awards and an award for Best Film at the 66th Filmfare Awards South. The film was honoured at the Toulouse Indian Film Festival and the 16th Chennai International Film Festival, receiving an award for the best feature.

IMDb rating: 8.6
Directed by: Sundar C
Cast: Kamal Haasan, R. Madhavan, Kiran Rathod, Nassar, Santhana Bharathi, Seema, Uma Riyaz Khan
Release date: 15 January 2003

Synopsis: The film revolves around Nallasivam (Kamal Haasan) and Anbarasu (R. Madhavan). The two men accidentally meet at the Biju Patnaik Airport in Bhubaneswar and engage in a conversation. Their contrasting personalities clash and Anbarasu decides to part ways. However, he ends up embarking on an unexpected journey from Bhubaneswar to Chennai with the stranger, bringing several life lessons to him.

About the film: Anbe Sivam sheds light on themes such as communism, atheism, and altruism and illustrates Haasan’s humanist views.

Awards won: R. Madhavan was vested the Best Actor at the 2003 Tamil Nadu State Film Awards.

IMDb rating: 8.6
Directed by: Mani Ratnam
Cast: Kamal Haasan, Saranya, Karthika, Janagaraj, Vijayan, M. V. Vasudeva Rao, Delhi Ganesh, Nizhalgal Ravi, Nassar, Tara
Release date: 21 October 1987

Synopsis: Sakthivel “Velu” (Kamal Haasan) is raised by Hussain (M. V. Vasudeva Rao), a kind-hearted smuggler living in the Dharavi slums after his father is killed by police. Situations force him to enter the smuggling business where he eventually succeeds in becoming a highly respected don. However, life soon humbles Velu when his daughter, Charumathi (Karthika) decides to disown her father and start a new life for herself.

About the film: Nayakan is loosely based on the life of the Bombay underworld don Varadarajan Mudaliar and is inspired by the American film The Godfather (1972).

Awards won: Kamal Haasan earned the National Film Award for Best Actor for his performance in the film. Nayakan also earned the National Awards for Best Cinematography (Sreeram) and Best Art Direction (Thota Tharani).

IMDb rating: 8.5
Directed by: Hrishikesh Mukherjee
Cast: Utpal Dutt, Amol Palekar, Bindiya Goswami, David, Deven Verma, Dina Pathak, Manju Singh, Shubha Khote, Yunus Parvez, Keshto Mukherjee
Release date: 20 April 1979

Synopsis: Ramprasad Dashrathprasad Sharma (Amol Palekar) starts living a double life to get out of a lie he told his boss, Bhavani Shankar (Utpal Dutt). However, the lies don’t stop here. When his boss’ daughter asks to meet his mother, Sharma recruits a socialite, Kamala Srivastava (Dina Pathak) to play the role. The circus keeps growing when Sharma’s boss decides to marry his daughter, Urmila Shankar (Bindiya Goswami) to Ramprasad, not knowing the real truth behind his family ties.

About the film: The film was remade in Tamil as Thillu Mullu (1981), in Kannada as Aasegobba Meesegobba (1990), in Malayalam as Simhavalan Menon (1995), and in Sinhala as Rasa Rahasak.

Awards won: The film won three awards at the 27th Filmfare Awards (1980) including Best Actor for Amol Palekar, Best Comedian for Utpal Dutt and Best Lyricist for Gulzar’s Aane Wala Pal.