Cinema from South Asia is finally having its day in the sun. This year has been about transitions both within the industry and of course, across the globe too. But, why is this change happening at present? And what does it mean for us?
Earlier this year, we spoke to film critic and author Anupama Chopra about this, who said that the shift has happened massively over the last 15-20 years: “At one point, Indian cinema was only seen as Bollywood, and Bollywood was largely seen as kitsch by the West – this cheesy, over-the-top, song and dance melodrama. But look at the way the top critics in the West are talking about RRR. It's absolutely incredible.”
Similarly, at the Cannes Film Festival this year, the Pakistani film Joyland made all the waves. The country’s first to be at the festival, it received a long, well-deserved standing ovation. Since then, it has been acclaimed by critics and audiences alike for its storytelling.
This year, as we said goodbye to Godard, we perhaps found the best way to honour his legacy – by watching (and making) cinema which was true to us, that didn’t care for the bounds we often find ourselves caught up in, and mostly, that made us all feel so much.