Year Ender 2024 | Best underrated Indian films of the year

From Attam to Against The Tide, these stunning films took chances, and dared to be original. How many of these have you seen?

Year-ender lists are a careful and cautious reminder of the fate of the films and the reception it received by the audience. Not all films are meant to be blockbusters, but the ones which are good will eventually find their audience. They might not have the most promotional buzz, or some viral interview moment that spark curiosity beforehand. But these films are the spark themselves: telling important, original stories with curiosity and nuance. Here are some of the underrated films of the year that you probably missed. (Also read: Best acting performances of 2024: From Fahadh Faasil in Aavesham to Kani Kusruti in All We Imagine As Light)

35 Chinna Katha Kaadu (Aha)

Manikbabur Megh is likely this year's most original movie.

Director: Nanda Kishore Emani

Mathematics is the antagonist in this tender, soulful film by Nanda Kishore Emani. The domestic idyll breaks when little Arun (Arundev Pothula) starts to be scared of the subject and is termed a ‘zero’. Arun's mother Saraswathi (Nivetha Thomas in a beautiful performance) must step in and figure out this confusion before it is too late for bad grades to go up. 35 Chinna Katha Kaadu is a rare delight, so precise and filled with large-hearted wisdom.

Manikbabur Megh

The year's most original movie is also the year's most unusual romance. Chandan Sen is unforgettable as the man who must come to accept the petulant cloud as his life's saving grace and only love, left to chase him through the roads, way back to his residence. There's so much restraint and yearning in this beautiful film, a true testament to the irrefutable power of cinema. May many such clouds return home.

Against The Tide (Mubi)

Director: Sarvnik Kaur

Two men from the Koli fishing community are unable to come to the same conclusion about the methods that they must use to grow their business. In this stunning documentary which premiered first at Sundance Film Festival, their biggest villains are capitalism and climate change- a thematic subtext underlined with sensitive camerawork and editing. This is a terrific, vital film- one that must not be missed.

Gaganachari (Prime Video)

Director: Arun Chandu

A film that should have got more flowers for the sheer ambition and meta-humour with which it plays with the genre of the sci-fi. There's something irresistible in the world building of Gaganachari, set in a dystopic Kerala in 2050. Special shoutouts for the background score by Sankar Sharma and Alien Aliyamma- played to perfection by Anarkali Marikar.

Ullozhukku (Prime Video)

Director: Prime Video

A deeply moving film about grief and motherhood, Ullozhukku revolves around two women — Leelamma (a towering performance from Urvashi) and her daughter-in-law Anju (Parvathy Thiruvothu), whose lives are thrown into a crisis after the death of Leelamma's son. These two women must face each other's loss, despair and ask tough questions. This undercurrent of confrontation drives Ullozhukku towards more rewarding (even if uncomfortable) answers.

Jaggi (Mubi)

Director: Anmol Sidhu

A sensitive study of toxic Indian masculinity, Anmol Sidhu's Jaggi is a definitive must-watch. Ramnish Chaudhary is the film's broken centre, a young boy coming to terms with the provocations and compromises that surround him day and night, crawling under the sharp scrutiny of a conservative environment. What must he do with his manhood? Whom must he tell? Jaggi asks uneasy questions, and leaves them open for dialogue.

Anweshippin Kandethum (Netflix)

Director: Darwin Kuriakose

In the unruly and overdramatic crowd of big and massy action dramas with policemen at the centre, Anweshippin Kandethum is a much-needed breath of normalcy and pragmatism. Inspector Anand Narayanan (Tovino Thomas) is a man of action, and must solve two unrelated crimes with the help of his team. What begins as a police procedural slowly transforms into a compelling study of the community at large.

Aattam (Prime Video)

Director: Anand Ekarshi

Starkly reminiscent of 12 Angry Men, Attam plays out like a thriller of accusation and betrayal set in a single place. When Anjali is groped by one of the twelve men of the theatre group, all of them assemble for an urgent meeting to reach a consensus about the matter. What transpires from here is a masterful study on male ego, hierarchy and virtue signaling. A must watch.