Preview of south Asian cinema at this year’s BFI London Film Festival

THIS year’s BFI London Film Festival will once again showcase the best of global cinema from October 9-20, and as always, there will be a strong south Asian representation. 

 New films from diverse genres selected from different countries, along with a remastered version of an iconic Indian classic are among the line-up for 2024.  

Eastern Eye looked ahead to the 68th edition of the cinema celebration with a preview of the south Asian titles being screened.

Santosh: The taut, north India-set thriller had its world premiere in the Un Certain Regard section of the 77th Cannes Film Festival earlier this year. It revolves around a recently widowed housewife who takes her late husband’s police officer job and gets pulled into a high-profile case that has polarised the local community. Directed by Sandhya Suri, the drama is a character study of a reluctant female cop, and blends in themes of caste, oppression, and misogyny with a police procedural.

Sister Midnight: In director Karan Kandhari’s genre-bending comedy, a frustrated and disillusioned newlywed discovers certain feral impulses that land her in unlikely situations. The story focuses on a Mumbai housewife, with zero domestic skills, who feels trapped in her marriage and sets out to explore the city and embrace new desires. This dark comedy, with feminist undertones, features a critically acclaimed performance by the lead star, Radhika Apte. 

 Manthan (The Churning): After a triumphant screening at this year’s Cannes Film Festival, a restored version of Shyam Benegal’s landmark 1976 drama will be screened in London. The film, famously funded by 500,000 farmers, exposes class and caste in rural Gujarat. Based on the true story of the world’s biggest dairy development programme, this extraordinary portrait of social change tackles deep-rooted hierarchies that remain relevant today.

 All We Imagine As Light: The Cannes Grand Prix-winning drama, directed by Payal Kapadia, revolves around three women grappling with the opportunities and hardships of life in Mumbai. The powerful film captures the experience of working-class people in the city, touching on themes of migration, dislocation, friendship and finding hope in darkness. Multiple leading critics gave the award-winning movie five-star reviews.

 Superboys Of Malegaon: This heart-warming true-life tale revolves around a cinema lover and his crew, who crowdsource ingenious spoof films that become a national phenomenon. Reema Kagti directs the comedy-drama starring Adarsh Gourav, Vineet Kumar Singh and Shashank Arora. It had its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival earlier this month.

 A Nice Indian Boy: Directed by Roshan Sethi, this comedy stars Karan Soni and Jonathan Groff, and revolves around a gay Indian wedding. The story of a whirlwind romance leading to an engagement puts an Indian spin on the wedding comedy genre, and is being promoted as a charming, warm-hearted celebration of love and acceptance.  

Shambhala: Directed by Min Bahadur Bham, this drama follows a young pregnant Nepalese woman embarking on a quest to find her missing husband in the Himalayas. She is joined by her husband’s Buddhist monk brother on what becomes a journey of self-discovery and spirituality. The thought-provoking story had its world premiere at the 74th Berlin International Film Festival, in competition, earlier this year and received positive reviews.  

The BFI London Film Festival runs from October 9-20 whatson.bfi.org.uk