Jio MAMI 19th Mumbai Film Festival — Films to watch on Day 3 include Ajji, S Durga, Loveless

The 19th edition of the Jio MAMI film festival is finally here, and there is so much to look forward to if you’re a cinephile with unusual tastes! From off-beat Indian stories to international films that you may never have heard of, the festival can expose you to many types of cinema.

The lineup is extensive, and the thought of checking out each film can be exhausting, so Firstpost will provide you with a list of must-watch films that will help you narrow down your choices, every day. Here’s a lowdown of Day 3 (14 October).

S Durga

Initially, this film was not given a certificate by the CBFC because of its title, but we’re not asking you to watch it because of the controversy it was surrounded in. This Malayalam film starring Rajshri Deshpande and Kannan Nayar talks about how obsessiveness and worship can make a patriarchal society oppressive and abusive when it comes to power. Since the Tiger Awards were introduced at the International Film Festival Rotterdam (IFFR), it has become the first Indian film to win 23 laurels at the festival.

Machines

Director Rahul Jain takes viewers into a gigantic textile factory in Gujarat, which is a dehumanised place where people endure hardships and misery, and are no less than machines. The film explores the themes of the divide between the rich and poor, and the strange relationship between man and product. He delves into whether the GDP of the country has defined the value of human life.

Ask The Sexpert

The story of India’s most humourous and favourite doctor is now on celluloid. Director Vaishali Sinha, in her feature-length documentary, gives an inside look into the work of Dr Mahinder Watsa, who is known to give non-moralistic, sarcastic and funny advice to anyone who writes to him. The film also explores the themes of the human need for communication and desire at a time when sex education is not considered a norm in most schools, and sex remains a taboo topic for most people in India.

Loveless

Loveless is the official submission of Russia to the Oscars. It tells the story of two separated parents and how they are briefly brought together when their only child goes missing. It had to be made with international support because the director’s film Leviathan, which one the Oscar in the Best Foreign Language Film category, was not received well by Russian authorities, who felt that it depicted Russian citizens in a stereotypical manner.

Granny

In Granny (titled Ajji in Marathi), director Devashish Makhija explores the trope of revenge but in a gruesome, effective manner. To take revenge against the men who raped her granddaughter, a grandmother becomes a prostitute and hatches a plan. It is said to be a dark take on the Red Riding Hood fairy tale, and has earned praise at film festivals and from Javed Akhtar , too.

Check out the complete schedule of films being screened at MAMI here .