Yesterday we presented you with 16 international movies to watch at the Mumbai Film Festival (MAMI) that starts on 25th October. Today, we shall recommend you some Indian films that are a must watch.

The 20th edition of the Jio MAMI Mumbai Film Festival features 200+ films with a number of them being from our very own country. After Ere Gowda was accused of sexual assault, Zoo Entertainment pulled Balekampa from all film festivals, including MAMI. Even though there is one less Indian film being played at the festival, there isn’t a dearth of others to choose from.

We are in a golden period for Indian cinema and with MAMI running from 25th October – 1 November, one has enough time to watch all of the films recommended in this list. Most will not be getting a theatrical release, so this may be one of your only chances to see the films being played out on a big screen.

It’s easy to recommend the opening night film, Mard Ko Dard Nahi Hota (The Man Who Feels No Pain) but I’m going to skip that and recommend some other must-watch Indian films.

Bhonsle

Language: Hindi
Director: Devashish Makhija
Cast: Manoj Bajpayee

This might be a Manoj Bajpayee like no other. He plays a terminally ill, retired Mumbai cop. He lives in an area where the local politicians are trying their level best to get rid of the migrants. The film premiered at the Busan Film Festival and will play in the India Story (non-competitive) section at MAMI

Bulbul Can Sing

Language: Assamese
Director: Rima Das
Cast: Arnali Das, Manoranjoan Das, Manabendra Das, Bonita Thakuriya, Pakija Begam

Rima Das’ follow up to Village Rockstars, India’s official entry to the Oscar Awards. That’s more than enough to give this film a watch. This film is once again set in Assam and has a lot of similarities with her previous film.

Ghode Ko Jalebi Khilane Le Ja Riya Hoon

Language: Hindi
Director: Anamika Haksar
Cast: Raghuvir Yadav, Gopalan, Lokkesh Jain

This is Anamika Haksar’s debut film. Hakasar is a theatre director and makes his foray into films with this tale from Old Delhi. It’s a film about the working class in Old Delhi. The films looks at the dreams of those residing and working in Shahjanabad, Old Delhi.

Hamid

Language: Hindi and Urdu
Director: Aijaz Khan
Cast: Talha Arshad Reshi, Vikas Kumar, Rasika Dugal

Hamid is a political film set in the backdrop of Kashmir. A boy, wanting to reconnect with his father, dials God in the hopes of an answer. One fine day, the phone call is answered.

Jonaki

Language: Bengali
Director: Aditya Vikram Sengupta
Cast: Ratnabali Bhattacharjee, Lolita Chatterjee, Sumanto Chattopadhyay

“While Jonaki, an 80-year-old woman, searches for love in a strange world of decaying memories, her lover, now old and grey, returns to a world she is leaving behind,” reads the MAMI description.

Fans of Bengali cinema will definitely like this film.

Mehsampur

Language: Hindi and Punjabi
Director: Kabir Chowdhry
Cast: Lal Chand, Devrath Joshi, Navjot Randhawa

“A desperate filmmaker drives a neurotic actress and an aging musician to a village of trauma,” reads the IMDB description of the film. It’s a film based on Punjabi folk singer Amar Singh Chamkila.

The Gold-Laden Sheep & the Sacred Mountain

Language: Gaddi
Director: Ridham Janve
Cast: Arjun Pant and Lokendra Gurung

Ridham Janve’s feature debut is about hardy men, slopes, and their animals – sheeps, dogs and goats. One can safely say that it is the animals that steal the show in this film.