#3. The World of Apu (1959)

Storyline: Liberated from any form of attachment that was holding him back from immersing himself into Kolkata's urban lifestyle after Sarbojaya's death in Aparajito (1956), Apu, now an optimistic, 23-year-old idealist and struggling author, has no other choice but to give up his degree for lack of financial resources. Being no longer accountable to anyone, Apu barely manages to scrape by, content with a meagre income and a humble roof over his head, until an unforeseen complication during the wedding of Aparna, the delicate sister of his university friend, Pulu, leads to an act of kindness and a wonderful, youthful romance. All his life, death, and the sense of loss, have been accompanying Apu in his perpetual odyssey of spirituality and knowledge, and now, a lifetime of joys, hopes, sadness, and tragedies culminate in the most momentous decision of his life. But, life's mysterious duality cannot be defined by tragedy. What more could one ask for than a child's charming, wide-eyed smile?—Nick Riganas

Plot Keywords: writer, husband, wife, friend, son, emotional, touching ...

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#4. Aparajito (1956)

Storyline: After living awhile in Benares, 10 year old Apu and his mother move in with her uncle in a small Bengali village. Apu enters a local school, where he does well. By the time he graduates, he has a scholarship to study at a college in Calcutta. So off he goes. His mother is torn by his leaving, and by his growing independence. She loves her son very much and wants him to succeed, but she does not want to be left alone.—John Oswalt <jao@jao.com>

Plot Keywords: young boy, mother, father, widow, sad, moving, india ...

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#5. Nayak (1966)

Storyline: A matinee idol Arindam Mukherjee (Uttam Kumar) is going by train to collect an acting award. On the train, he is confronted by a journalist Aditi (Sharmila Tagore) who somewhat unwillingly starts to take his interview. Arindam, won over by Aditi's naivete, starts to disclose his past, his fears and his secrets. On a parallel track, a number of sub-plots unfold (involving an advertising executive and his wife, a businessman and his family, a silent swami and a cranky old man) to reveal the hypocrisies and frailties of the society. The film reaches a climax when Arindam, overcome by his guilt, contemplates suicide and is dissuaded by Aditi. The next morning, Aditi who had surreptitiously taken notes of their conversation destroys them - not wanting to reveal Arindam's darkest secrets. When the train reaches its destination, Arindam alights and is surrounded by his fans and is back to his normal star self where there is no place for guilt, confessions and Aditi.—Diptakirti Chaudhuri <diptakirti@hotmail.com>

Plot Keywords: actor, journalist, passenger, executive, wife, emotional, suspenseful ...

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#6. Kahaani (2012)

Storyline: Kolkata is abuzz with the preparations for the annual Durga Puja festival, as seven months pregnant Vidya Bagchi steps off the airplane from London. Her first stop is the local police station to file a missing person report. Weeks ago, her husband Arnab arrived in India for a job assignment. The first two weeks, they talked daily on the phone, and then without explanation, his calls stopped. Everywhere Vidya turns, no one can remember Arnab. There is no trace of him at the guest house or his workplace. But Vidya will not give up her search. Somewhere in Kolkata she will discover the dangerous truth.

Plot Keywords: young man, young woman, pregnant woman, missing person, police officer, assassin, gripping ...

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#7. Lion (2016)

Storyline: In 1986, Saroo was a five-year-old child in India of a poor but happy rural family. On a trip with his brother, Saroo soon finds himself alone and trapped in a moving decommissioned passenger train that takes him to Calcutta, 1000 miles away from home. Now totally lost in an alien urban environment and too young to identify either himself or his home to the authorities, Saroo struggles to survive as a street child until he is sent to an orphanage. Soon, Saroo is selected to be adopted by the Brierley family in Tasmania, where he grows up in a loving, prosperous home. However, for all his material good fortune, Saroo finds himself plagued by his memories of his lost family in his adulthood and tries to search for them even as his guilt drives him to hide this quest from his adoptive parents and his girlfriend. Only when he has an epiphany does he realize not only the answers he needs, but also the steadfast love that he has always had with all his loved ones in both worlds.

Plot Keywords: indian, adopted son, australian, husband, wife, girlfriend, emotional ...

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#8. Raincoat (2004)

Storyline: An unemployed Manoj (alias Manu) is told by his mother that they need some money for his sister's forthcoming marriage, and he sets out to find some. For this purpose, he visits his former Calcutta-based girlfriend, Neerj alias Neeru, whom he was to marry, but who preferred to marry someone wealthier, in Calcutta. He rings the doorbell, and the door is answered by Neerja herself, and he is invited inside. They talk and update each other on their lives. Neerja puts on Manoj's raincoat, so she could go out and buy something to cook for him. She warns him not to open the door nor let anyone in. After Neerja leaves a man knocks on the door, and requests entry into the house to use the toilet. Manoj opens the door and lets the male use the facilities. When this male finishes his business, he refuses to leave, and sits and talks with Manoj. It is during this conversation that Manoj finds out the stark truth behind Neerja, her husband, and their married life.—rAjOo (gunwanti@hotmail.com)

Plot Keywords: man, ex-fiancée, husband, landlord, old flame, emotional, melodramatic ...

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#10. The Namesake (2006)

Storyline: While traveling by train to visit his grandfather in Jamshedpur, Calcutta born, Bengali-speaking Ashoke Ganguli meets with fellow-traveler, Ghosh, who impresses upon him to travel, while Ashoke is deep into a book authored by Nicholai Gogol. The train meets with an accident, and after recuperating, Ashoke re-locates to America, settles down, returns home in 1977 to get married to aspiring singer, Ashima, and returns home to New York. Shortly thereafter they become parents of a boy, who they initially name Gogol, and a few years later both give birth to Sonia. The family then buy their own house in the suburbs and travel to India for the first time after their marriage. The second time they travel to India is when Gogol and Sonia are in their late teens, and after a memorable visit to Kolkata and then to the Taj Mahal, they return home. Gogol falls in love with Maxine Ratliff and moves in with her family, while Ashoke spends time traveling, and Sonia moves to California, leaving Ashima...

Plot Keywords: mother, son, husband, girlfriend, in-law, singer, emotional ...

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#11. Born Into Brothels (2004)

Storyline: Documentary photographer Zana Briski journeyed into Calcutta's underworld to photograph the city's prostitutes. In return, she offered to teach the prostitutes' children the basics of photography so that the kids could document their own lives on the streets of one of the world's poorest cities. The resulting photographs, often astonishing, were exhibited around the world; many of them are seen in this film, which won the Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature in 2005.—Jwelch5742

Plot Keywords: photographer, prostitute, young boy, young girl, mother, teacher, emotional ...

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#12. BASEketball (1998)

Storyline: Two losers from Milwaukee, Coop & Remer, invent a new game playing basketball, using baseball rules. When the game becomes a huge success, they, along with a billionaire's help, form the Professional Baseketball League where everyone gets the same pay and no team can change cities. Coop & Remer's team, the Milwaukee Beers is the only team standing in the way of major rule changes that the owner of the Dallas Felons wants to institute.

Plot Keywords: unemployed person, friend, promoter, owner, teammate, widow, hilarious ...

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#13. The Letters (2014)

Storyline: Mother Teresa (Juliet Stevenson), recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize, is considered one of the greatest humanitarians of modern times. Her selfless commitment changed hearts, lives, and inspired millions throughout the world. This movie is told through personal letters she wrote over the last forty years of her life and revealed a troubled and vulnerable woman who grew to feel an isolation and an abandonment by God. The story is told from the point of view of Vatican Priest Father Celeste van Exem (Max Van Sydow), charged with the task of investigating acts and events following her death. He recounts her life's work, her political oppression, her religious zeal, and her unbreakable spirit.

Plot Keywords: nun, indian, government official, catholic priest, poor person, sick person, brooding ...

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#14. Bow Barracks Forever (2004)

Storyline: Bow Barracks Forever is a film about the triumph of the human spirit. It is not easy to fight back the march of progress. And progress brings with it change-change that is often painful, that breaks continuity, that destroys tradition, history, the power and the passion of communities that have lived and grown together over decades. Anjan Dutt's film, simple, powerful, almost pleading for hope, captures the real life story of a tiny but resolute Anglo Indian community right in the heart of bustling north Kolkata trying desperately to keep alive its hopes, dreams, aspirations-and its identity, as the world around them changes swiftly and tries to impose that change on them and their lives. It is a tale of heart breaking loneliness and immense courage. It is a film we are proud to put out. For we, as a production house, believe that film makers like Anjan Dutt not only challenge us to look at life differently but also tell us apocryphal tales about brave, lonely people who fight their destiny and, in the process, redefine the landscape of Indian cinema. Bow Barracks Forever is a film that will stay with you for years.—Pritish Nandy

Plot Keywords: young man, young woman, husband, wife, family member, emotional, gripping ...

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#15. A Tale of a Naughty Girl (2002)

Storyline: Rajani (Rituparna Sengupta) is a well-known prostitute in a small town in Bengal, India, living in a brothel with her teenage daughter, Lati (Samata Das). With few options for a better life, Rajani hopes to arrange a marriage for her daughter with a wealthy local businessman -- an idea Lati opposes. Choosing a life of unpredictability and the possibility of education over the known fate of arranged marriage, Lati takes off for Calcutta, encountering several quirky characters along the way.

Plot Keywords: prostitute, virgin, businessman, teacher, mother, daughter, emotional ...

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