The Best Films I Saw In 2018

2018 was the year of spirited new filmmakers and storytellers, who rooted their craft in local soil.

- Maithili Rao

The fare served up in 2018 proved to be wholesome, sustaining nourishment for jaded palates, satiated with the excess of star-studded formulaic stuff– it left us disappointed and angry for wasting our time and money (Thugs of Hindostan was the prime culprit). Thankfully, it was the year of brave new filmmakers and writers, who rooted our indie cinema in its local soil, and the flowers that bloomed were both exotic and familiar. Contradictions? Yes, but it is contradictions that bring vibrancy and freshnesss. Familiarity doesn’t breed contempt, but it creates affection for so many things we take for granted, so we never try to rediscover their worth. Badhaai Ho is the culmination of this new trend that began barely five years ago.

And so, I devote my first piece of the new year to films that I had no opportunity to write about, films that we can count among the best of not just 2018, but the decade too. Among the best, count Badhaai Ho, Andhadhun, Mulk, the two Anurag Kashyap stories of love across caste divide and an edgy triangle (Mukkabaaz and Manmarziyan), Blackmail and honourable mentions to 3 Storeys and 102 Not Out.