ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses in detail two significant indie films, one in Hindi cinema and the other reflecting the regional context. The Indie has been rapidly revising the notion of mainstream cinema or Bollywood—defined as big scale family drama with stars and fantastical song and dance. Devasundaram underlines the significant space of international film festivals where indie films can get visibility and possibly win recognition. Masaan deals with lived reality in the holy city of Varanasi, class/gender inequality and the paradox of technology and tradition when fast-paced modernity invades a city of religious rituals and ancient values. Masaan offers a mosaic narrative meshing together portrayal of a low caste boy in love with an upper caste girl, a daughter’s struggle against her public sex scandal, and a father’s shame and slow loss of morality. There is a greater market confidence in small films with realistic narratives.
