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Parallel cinema sought to be different from the mainstream, possibly as a means of
re-inventing what cinema might be. The audience from the developing middle class
welcomed these films as a reflection of their life, finding that the films closely
mimicked their reality.
So, here is a retrospective of 50 path-breaking Hindi films made between the late
60s and mid-90s, when parallel cinema reigned in India. There is no single reason
for selecting these 50 flms – the primary criterion was that they were all made
without the trappings of mainstream cinema and were driven more by passion than
the power of money.
I hope this retrospective induces readers to rediscover these pearls of an unparalleled
phase of Indian cinema.
O.P. Srivastava is a banker-turned-filmmaker. He is known for pioneering the use
of technology in Indian banking. His journey in films began with the production of
a fiction film, Missed Call, in 2005. The film went on to win four national and
international awards, including the Best International Film Award at the Israel Film
Festival, 2008. It was the opening film at IFFI, Goa in 2006 and was also selected
as India’s official entry under ‘Cinema Du Monde’ at the Cannes Film Festival in
2007. His first feature documentary, Life in Metaphors: A Portrait of Girish
Kasaravalli, won the National Film Award for the Best Biopic for 2015. In 2019, he
published his first book, Life in Metaphors: Portraits of Girish Kasaravalli. His
second book, Banking on Technology: The Changing Face of Indian Banking, was
released in March 2020. His third book, Krishna Calling: Travelogue of a Teenager,
was released in November 2021. He has also made award-winning documentaries
on subjects like brain cancer, Alzheimer’s, yakshagana and indie cinema.
Banking on Technology is a personal history of Indian banking, from the days of brick and mortar banking to the point of blockchain banking –
Rahul’s bike collides with a truck while he’s going to buy beer, and now Rahul is walking the line between life and death. There is
Life in Metaphors: Portraits of Girish Kasaravalli is a collection of portraits sketched by colleagues, friends, family, filmmakers and film critics, providing insights into the
Parallel cinema sought to be different from the mainstream, possibly as a means ofre-inventing what cinema might be. The audience from the developing middle classwelcomed
What do Nike, Tesla, and Amul have in common with the Mahabharata, Icarus, and the Lotus?A story.A myth.A meaning that transcends time. In a world
