Here is a sneak peek into films in the Indian Panorama section of the International Film Festival of India 2018. These movies belong to multiple genres and present stories from various parts of India, besides showcasing the best of the talent across the country. .

• Shaji N Karun Director of OLU (Opening Film – Feature Film), this is his seventh film in Indian Panorama.
• Kaushik Ganguly Director of Nagarkirtan, consecutively his film has been selected in Indian Panorama for the 9th time.
• First film in Jasari language (Lakshwadeep) is screening in Indian Panorama i.e. Sinjar, directed by Pampally.
• Nagamese film Nani Teri Morni directed by Akashaditiya Lama is the only film selected from North East
• Ladakhi film Walking with Wind directed by Praveen Morchale will be screened in Indian Panorama.
• Women directors from Feature Film: Pratima Joshi, Priya Krishnaswamy, Meghna Gulzar

AAMHI DOGHI

2018 Marathi 140 min Colour

When teenager Savi is introduced to her stepmother, she doesn’t display any emotion. Having been trained to be practical, Savi leads an independent life which even results in the loss of her love life. Her illiterate stepmother makes her realize that being emotional is not foolish, and if she is independent, so should her emotions be. When the dry, practical Savi finds this point of view of life and the world, she is suddenly like everyone of us.

Director: Pratima Joshi
Producer: White Swan Studios
DOP: Milind Jog
Screenplay: Pratima Joshi & Bhagyashree Jadhav
Editor: Jayant Jathar
Music: Mangesh Dhakade
Cast: Mukta Barve, Priya Bapat, Bhushan Pradhan, Aarti Wadagbalkar

ABYAKTO

2018 Bengali 85 min Colour

The film captures a series of unexplained and unusual events which turn Indra into a man he never thought he would become. These events unfold through the film’s three most integral characters: Indra’s mother Saathi, his father Kaushik and his father’s friend and his favourite uncle Ruudra. The film travels through various time lapses and captures the stirring and unexplainable situations and the intricacies and
complexities of these relationships.

Director: Arjunn Dutta
Producer: Trina Films
DOP: Supratim Bhol (WICA)
Story & Screenplay: Arjunn Dutta
Editor: Sujay Datta Ray
Music: Soumya Rit Nag
Cast: Alpita Chattetjee, Adil Hussain, Anubhav Kanjilal, Samontak Dyuti Maitra, Anirban Ghosh, Kheya Chattopadhyay, Pinky Banerjee, Lily Chakraborty, Debjani Chatterjee

BAARAM

2018 Tamil 92 min Colour

Karuppasamy, a widowed night watchman, lives with his sister and three nephews – Veera, Mani and Murugan – at a small town in Tamil Nadu. While returning from his shift one morning, he breaks his hip in an accident. While his nephews want him to be treated in town, his son Senthil takes him to his ancestral village, to be healed by a traditional healer. After eight days, Karuppasamy dies. At his funeral, Veera hears something that makes wonder. How did Karuppasamy die?

Director, Writer & Editor: Priya Krishnaswamy
Producer: Priya Krishnaswamy
DOP: Jayanth Mathavan
Music: Ved Nair
Cast: R. Raju, Sugumar Shamnugam, SuPa Muthukumarm, Jayalakshmi, and Stella Gobi

BHAYANAKAM

2017 Malayalam 123 min Colour

A First World War veteran is coming to a small backwater village in Kerala as a postman. He is distributing money orders and letters to the family of soldiers as a symbol of happiness. He turns out to be an omen of death once the Second World War starts. The pain and impact of the war is shown through the telegrams and postman’s dilemma.

Director: Jayaraj
Producer: Prakriti Pictures
Screenplay & Dialogues: Jayaraj
DOP: Nikhil S.Praveen
Editors: Jinu, Sobha, AfsalA M.
Music: M.K.Arjunan
Cast: Renji Panicker, Asha, Master Keshav Jayaraj, Sabita Jayaraj

BHOR

2018 Hindi 91 min Colour

Budhni, a poor girl from Bihar’s Musahar community, is split between her desire to study and her family’s demand for marriage. She agrees to marry Sugan after he promises to let her continue her studies. After marriage, she faces
another challenge – ending the practice of open defecation. Sugan agajn supports and facilitates her with innovative makeshift toilet in the house. Bhor captures the nuances and emotions that define the relationship between Budhni and Sugan as she fights for education and sanitation.

Diretor: Kamakhya Narayan Singh
Producer: Gyanesh Film Production House
DOP: Jogendra Nath Panda
Editor: Navanita Sen
Cast: Saveree Gaur, Devesh Ranjan, Nalneesh Neel, Rajeev Pandey, Pavleen Gujral

DHAPPA

2017 Marathi 115 min Colour

A political group in Pune disrupts rehearsals of Anuradha’s new children’s play on environmental issues with the messages of Jesus Christ and Sant Tukaram. They object to Jesus Christ being a part of a play to be staged during the Ganesh festival. While the elders relent, the children don’t find anything
offensive in the play. They try asking their elders but find no acceptable answers. Eventually, they decide to take matters in their own hands and find answers through their play.

Director: Nipun Avinash Dharmadhikari
Producers: Ink Tales & Aarbhat Films
DOP: Swapnil Sonawane
Screenplay: Girish Kulkarni, Nipun Dharmadhikari
Editor: Suchitra Sathe
Music: Gandhaar Sangoram
Cast: Akash Kamble, Sharavi Kulkarni, Akshay Yadav,Vrushali Kulkarni, Shrikant Yadav, Irawati Harshe, Girish Kulkarni, Sunil Barve, Umesh Jagtap

EE MA YO

2018 Malayalam 120 min Colour

Vavachan, a master mason belonging to the Latin Catholic community in Kerala, shares memories of his fathers burial with his son Eesy. He expresses a desire of a grand funeral for himself, which Eesy promises. After Vavachan’s sudden death, Eesy tries to arrange a decent funeral for him but is met with unpredictable obstacles and reactions from different quarters. The subsequent events bring to the fore the conflicts within the family and the deep ethical crisis simmering in the community.

Director: Lijo Jose Pellissery
Producer: OPM Cinemas
DOP: Shyju Khalid
Story & Script: P.F.Mathews
Editor: Deepu Joseph
Cast: Chemban Vinod, Vinayakan.T.K. Dileesh Pothan, Kainagiri Thnkaraj, Pouly Valsan, Krishna Padmakumar, Arya K. S.

MAHANATI

2017 Telugu 176 min Colour

Mahanati chronicles the life of South Indian film industry’s first lady superstar – Savitri. Despite unmatched beauty and talent, Savitri initially faces rejection. She eventually gets a break as a lead actress in Pelli Chesi Choodu (1952), and her life changes forever. Her journey to fame, marriage to Tamil star Gemini Ganesan and dramatic downfall make her story one of the most heart wrenching romantic tragedies ever.

Director: Nagashwin
Producer: Swapna Cinema
DOP: Dani Sanchez-Lopez
Screenplay: Nagashwin
Editor: Venkateswara Rao Kotagiri
Music: Mickey J.Meyer
Cast: Keerthi Suresh, Dulquer Salmaan, Samantha Ruth Prabhu, Vijay Deverakonda

MAKKANA

2018 Malayalam 114 min Colour

The film unveils the repercussions and tantrums of an orthodox couple, when their daughter elopes and marries a man belonging to a different religion. The love for their daughter and deep-rooted religious dogma creates a dilemma among the parents. The film ends with a note of their realisation that all religions must be propagating humanistic values and brotherhood, and that their daughter is far more important than the religion they believe in.

Director: Raheem Khader
Producer: 4U CreatiOns
DOP: Abid Shah
Screenplay & Story: Raheem Khader
Editor: Mendos Antony
Music: Arshad Sridar
Cast: Indrans, Santosh Kizhattoor, Sajitba Madathil, Thasni Khan, Meenakshi, Madhu Raghav, Praveen ViSvanath, TR Rajendran, Santhakumari, Kulappulli Leela

NAGARKIRTAN

2017 Bengali 115 min Colour

Born as a boy in rural Bengal, Parimal realised he is a woman trapped in a man’s body. He seeks refuge at a transgender shelter in Kolkata, and become Puti. There ‘she’ meets the love of her life Madhu, a flute player. Realising that even the transgenders won’t accept their relationship, they flee. But their plight had only begun. The film explores their devotion to eternal love in a rigid society where many such love stories are lost to social shame.

Direcor: Kaushik Ganguly
Producer: Acropolis Entertament & Mojo Productions
DOP: Sirsha Roy
Screenplay: Kaushik Ganguly
Editor: Subhajit Singha
Music: Prabuddha Banerjee
Cast: Ritwick Chakraborty, Riddhi Sen

OCTOBER

2018 Hindi 115 min Colour

Dan, 21, leads a carefree life, revolving around a bunch of friends and fellow hotel interns. Shiuli, a colleague, is often at the receiving end of Dan’s audaciousness. Life goes on until a sudden turn of events smashes Dan and Shiuli’s lives together in an unusual bond. The emotional connection between them goes through a metamorphosis that brings out a form of love that’s unlike other, and leads to an internal awakening. October is a story of love…yet not a love story.

Director: Shoojit Sircar
Producers: Rising Sun Filma & Kino Works
DOP: Avik Mukhopadhyay
Editor: Chandraasekhar Prajapati
Music: Shantanu Moitra, Anupam Roy, Abhishek Arora
Cast: Varun Dhawan, Banita Sandhu, GitanjaliRao

OLU

2018 Malayalam 109 min Colour

Olu (She) is the tale of a gypsy girl who mysteriously survives under the Kerala backwaters where she has been sunk by her rapists. Only during full moon nights, can she see the world above water. It is on such a night that she happens to meet Vasu, a young untalented painter, rowing his boat. Out of love, she empowers him to create paintings that will change his life. But their contrasting inner visions oflove may remain unbridgeable.

Director: Shaji N.Kanu
Producer: AVA Productions
DOP: M.J.Radhakrisnan
Screeplay: T.D.Ramakrisnan
Editor: Sreekar Prasad
Music: Isaac Thomas Kottukapally/Sreevalson
Cast: Shane Nigam, Esther Ani!

PADDAYI

2017 Tulu 100 min Colour

Paddayi is a modem day adaptation of Shakespeare’s Macbeth. Madhava and Sugandhi is a newly-married couple from the fishing community of south India. Their lust for better life is ignited by the prophecies from the spirit that wander the land. Dinesha, owner of a fleet, gives them new dreams. But when their life was on a new high, he betrays them. Now the couple is determined to take a bitter revenge. The story soon turns into a tale of murder and regrets.

Director & Writer: Abhaya Simha
Producer: Gopal Pai Films
DOP: Vishnu Prasad P.
Editor: Prashant Pandit
Music: Kadri Manikanth
Cast: Gopinath Bhat, Mohan Sheni, Bindu Raxidi, Chandrahas Ullal

PADMAAVAT

2018 Hindi 165 min Colour

The legend of Queen Padmavati’s exceptional beauty reaches Allaudin Khilji. Obsessed with Padmavati, the sultan lays siege on the impregnable Chittorgarh fortress. After a gruelling six months, he returns to Delhi empty handed but returns with a bigger army. A fearsome battle ensues with Chittor King Maharawal Ratan Singh, who dies defending his kingdom and his queen. Khilji manages to breach the fortress but fails to capture Padmavati as she commits johar (self immolation) to protect her dignity.

Director: Sanjay Leela Bhansali
Producer: Viacom18 Motion Pictures & Bhansali Productions
DOP: Sudeep Chatterjee
Screenplay: Prakash R. Kapadia, Sanjay Leela Bhansali
Editor: Rajesh Pandey
Music: Sanjay Leela Bhansali
Cast: Deepika Padukone,Ranveer Singh, Shahid Kapoor

PERANBU

2018 Tamil 148 min Colour

Unable to cope up with a child with spastic paralysis, Amudhavan goes to Dubai to work. He has to return to take care of his daughter Paapa when his wife elopes. When she attans puberty, he addresses her biological needs. But he loses himself and his assets to an affair wi1h a maid. When Paapa explores her sexuality just like he did, Amudhavan couldn’t bear it, but hope comes in the form of a transgender who helps them resurrect a new life.

Director & Writer: Ram
Producer: Shree Raaja Lakshmi Films
DOP: Theni Eswar
Editor: Suriya Pradhaman
Music: Yuvan Shankar Raja
Cast: Mammootty, Sadhna, Anjali, Anjali Ameer, Paavel Navageethan, Samuthirakani

PARIYERUM PERUMAL BA.BL

2018  Tamil 154 min Colour

Pariyerum Perumal a.k.a Pariyan is pursuing his law degree in Tirunelveli, Tamil Nadu. Back in his village, he has a hunting dog Karuppi. When the pet is suddenly killed, he is devastated. At the college, a girl Jo offers help in studies and they develop friendship. Meanwhile, the mysterious killer, who is killing unsuspecting innocents, is now lurking around Pariyan. The more he tries to evade the war, the more he is sucked into it. This is a tale of romance, rage and resilience.

Director & Screenwriter: Mari Se1Varaj
Producer: Neelam Productions
DOP: Sridhar
Editor: Selva R.K.
Music: Santosh Narayanan
Cast: Kathir, Anandbi, Yogi Babu, Lijeesh, Marimuthu

POOMARAM

2018 Malayalam 106 min Colour

Poomaram conveys that ‘Art is life’ and the ‘life is an art’. At the annual youth festival, several colleges participate with music bands and dance troupes but only a few can win. As teams arrive with aspirations, Professor Anandan teaches his students to go beyond the spirit of competition and while performing, experience the purest form of art – enjoyment. His students are committed to the cause but then there are others who have different plans. A clash is inevitable.

Director: Abrid Shine
Producer: Dr.Paul’s Entertaimnent
DOP: Gnanam Subramaniam
Editor: K.R.Midhun
Music: Gopi Sundar, Faisal Razi, Prumbaboor G, Rveendranath, Leela L, Girikuttan, Nasil, Sayoojya Das, Vishnu
Cast: Kalidas Jayaram, Neetha Pillai, Joju George

RAAZI

2018 Hindi 140 min Colour

Raazi is a true life espionage thriller set in 1971. A 20-year-old Delhi university student, Sehmat is called back home to Kashmir by her parents. Her father, an influential businessman, has fixed Sehmat’s marriage with Pakistani Brigadier’s son. The real reason for Sehmat’s marriage is a covert mission: she is to be sent as a spy into a Pakistani military family and source out all the information that she can get on Pakistan’s strategy in the impending Indo-Pak war.

Director: Meghna Guizar
Producer: Dharma Productions & Junglee Pictures
DOP: Jay I.Patel
Screenplay: Bhavani Iyer & Meghna Gulzar
Editor: Nitin Baid
Music: Shankar Ehsaan Loy
Cast: Alia Bhatt, Vicky Kaushal, Jaideep Ahlawat, Rajit Kapur, Shishir Sharma, Soni Razdan, Amruta Khanvilkar, ArifZakariya, Ashwath Bhatt, Aman Vasishth

SA

2018 Bengali 109 min Colour

Sa chronicles life of a simple family in West Bengal, in the aftermath of mass migration following the birth of Bangladesh. The birth of Lalu brings great joy but the tragic circumstances force his father to send Lalu to his childhood friend. a venerated maestro of Indian classical music. There he picks up lessons on culture, religion and urban-rural divide and learns to live with a smile and a belief that ‘everything is going to be all right.’

Director: Arijit Singh
Producer: Oriyon Edutainment Works
Story: Koyel Singh
DOP: Anirban Chatterjee
Cast: Lalu Pragun Singh, Tukai Srija Ghosh, Lokhai Anindya Pulak Banerjee, Shyamali Deblina Sen

SINJAR

2017 Jasari 114 min Colour

Sinjar revolves around Ansar, an ordinary fisherman living in Kavaratti (in Lakshadweep Island), his sister Suhara and his fiancee Fida. The movie captures how the two ladies, who are held captive and exploited by the ISIS terrorists in Sinjar, a place near Iraq, survive and fight the communal situation in Kavaratti. when they return. One of the women decides to bring up her illegitimate child into this world and raise him as a good Muslim. Sinjar is the first Jasari language film.

Director & Writer: Pampally
Producer: Movie Junction
DOP: Sanjay Harris
Editor: Lijo Paul
Cast: Musthafa, Srinda Arhaan, Mythili, Binoy Nambala

SUDANI FROM NIGERIA

2018 Malayalam 120 min Colour

Majid, a typical football lover from Malappuram in Kerala, works as a recruitment agent of foreign players for local tournaments. When Samuel, a Nigerian footballer hired by him, suffers a severe back injury and is advised two months’ bed rest, Majid is obliged to take him home. Ecstatic to host a foreign footballer, Majid’s relatives and neighbourhood shower their love on Samuel. But soon the beautiful friendship is disrupted by the state officials in the name of law.

Director & Story: Zakariya
Producer: Happy Hour Entertainments
DOP: Shyju Khalid
ScreenpJay & Dialogue: Muhsin Parari & Zakariya
Editor: Noufal Abdullah
Music: Rex Vijayan
Cast: Soubin Shahir, Samual Abiola Robinson. Savithri, Sarasa Balussery, Akhila

TIGER ZINDA HAI

2017 Hindi 161 min Colour

Tiger Zinda Hai continues the story of two super spies Tiger and Zoya from Ek Tha Tiger (2012), who are officially declared ‘dead’. When the Indian and Pakistani nurses are held hostage at an Iraqi hospital by terrorists, RAW chief Shenoy has just seven days to rescue them and he needs Tiger. Shenoy manages to locate Tiger and Zoya, and briefs them about the case. Tiger is reluctant at first, but he on Zoya’s insistence agrees to go on the mission to save the nurses.

Director: AliAbbas Zafar
Producer: Yash Raj Films
DOP: Marcin Laskawiec, USC
Story: Neelesh Misra, AliAbbas Zafar
Editor: Rameshwar S.Bhagat
Music: Vishal and Shekhar
Cast: Salman Khan, Katrina Kaif

TO LET

2017 Tamil 99 min Colour

To Let is the story of a couple with a child living in a rented house in Chennai. It takes place in 2007 when the metro city was experiencing a real estate boom as a result of an exponential development of the IT sector. A little too greedy for a higher rent, the land owner asks the couple to vacate their house. They have only thirty days to find new accommodation with their modest middle¬class income. On their moped, the couple starts a race against time and all kinds of
prejudice to get a house.

Director: Chezhiyan
Producer: La Cinema
Sereenplay & DOP: Chezhiyan
Editor: Sreekar Prasad
Cast: Santhosh Sreeram, Suseela, Dhabran

UMA

2018 Bengali 148 min Colour

Uma is a story about a young girl, who is fighting a terminal disease, a father, who is struggling to make his daughter’s dreams come true, and about a director whose past haunts him. It starts off with Uma, a young girl brought up in Austria, being recognised with a terminal disease and goes on about how Himadri, her father takes her to Kolkata to fulfil her dream by setting up a fake Durga Puja the most celebrated festival of the Bengalis.

Director: Srijit Mukherji
Producer: SVF Entertainment
DOP: Soumik Haldar
Screenplay: Srijit Mukherji
Editor: Pronoy Das Gupta
Music & Lyric : Anupam Ray
Cast: Jisshu U.Sengupta, Sara Sengupta, Srabonti, Anjan Dutt, Rurdranil Ghosh, Anirban Bhattacharya, Babul Supriyo, Neel Mukherjee

URONCHONDI

2018 Bengali 100 min Colour

Uronchondi is a story of three women in search of life. Bindi, in her late 30s, escapes her abusive husband in his lorry, driven by Chotu, the young helper. On their way they
pick up Minu, a young runaway bride on her way to meet her dream man. Then, they meet Sabitri, a widow in her early 60s, who’s mishandled by her sons. The journey offers them a sense of freedom until the police start chasing them. This story starts and ends on the road.

Director: Abhishek Saha
Procucers: Nideas Creations and Productions
DOP: Soumik Haldar
Editor: Sujay Datta Ray
Music: Debojyoti Mishra
Cast: Sudipta Chakraborty, Rajnandini Paul, Chitra Sen, Amartya Ray, Arjaa Banerjee, Kaushik Kar, Jayanta Hore

WALKING WITH THE WIND

2017 Ladakhi 79 min Colour

Tsering, a 10-year-old boy in Himalayan terrain, mistakenly breaks his friend’s school chair. His everyday, seven kilometers-long journey to school in mountainous terrain on donkey, turns even more challenging when he decides to bring the chair to his village. The chair silently becomes a metaphor in his awakening journey of life, quest for inner truth and reality in the adult world, which is deeply engrossed in their own. He is unaware that this journey will finally make him a man.

Director & Writer: Praveen Morchhale
Producer: Trippy Turtle Productions
DOP: Mohammad Reza Jahan Panah
Editor: Ujjwal Chanda
Cast: Sonam, Wangyal, Phunchok Toldan, Rigzin Dolkar, Phuntsog Dolma