Starfish(2023)

"Navras Katha Collage" delves into the nine fundamental emotions (Navras) of life, each story intricately woven together to depict the highs and lows of the human experience. From joy and sorrow to anger and wonder, this film captures the essence of what it means to be human, all brought to life by a single actor through a tapestry of characters.

People are involved in daily encounters without ever being aware of how they are connected with one another. A taxi reveals all.

A stressed father, a bride-to-be with a secret, a smitten event planner, and relatives from around the world create much ado about the preparations for an arranged marriage in India.

This is the story of Amit and Samara - two souls in Mumbai, a city of millions and how the universe conspires to bring them together. This is a coming of age film about how two people are destined to meet but only when their individual lives are ready for each other. Through a chance encounter, a series of coincidences and fates helping hand, Amit and Samaras lives intersect and affect each other. Whether they can find their true paths or not, only time will tell.

Taking an experimental approach to the relationship between the written text and moving image, Mani Kaul has a series of texts read aloud in voice-overs (poetry, essays, and stories), while the characters within the texts walk through real or imaginary landscapes.

The adventures of Kishore, a "James Bond 777" CBI agent, as he and heroine Sopa battle criminal mastermind "Boss" and his gang which includes whip-cracking Jamilla and a trio of highly trained dogs.

Chandramukhi, the city educated daughter of the village zamindar returns to Ramnagar, a typical village. There she meets her childhood friend Birju aka Brij Mohan. He has a lovely voice and she encourages him to pursue singing. Eventually Brij and Chandramukhi fall in love, but Chandramukhi's father cuts it abruptly and sends her to Lucknow. A short while later Brij arrives at Lucknow. Gitanjali, Chandramukhi's friend, is thrilled by his voice and helps him get a job at Aakashvani through her father. Brij returns to Ramnagar to ask Chandramukhis hand in marriage but is once again rebuked. He returns and goes on to become a great singer in Mumbai with Gitanjali by his side. All through he yearns for Chandramukhi as she yearns for him. How he manages to marry her forms the rest of the story.

In a poetic hour and a half, director Mani Kaul looks at the ancient art of making pottery from a wide variety of perspectives.

The story centers around a small town entrepreneur named Maniram who makes a major profit by cheating people and selling them tainted food. His business is run by his daughter-in-law Tejo, who is married to Maniram's mentally challenged younger son. When Maniram's elder son comes back into town to get married, things start to go awry.

Sultana, a small town prostitute and her pimp Khudabaksh migrate to the metropolis, bringing with them their dreams and meagre belongings. Sultana goes about her bright and artful seductions but somehow misses her targets. Her business collapses. Desperately, Khudabaksh too tries his hand at many jobs but is unsuccessful. Sultana's loneliness and despair get objectified in her desire for a 'salwaar' that she needs to complete her black ensemble for the observance of mourning for Moharram.

This film suggests a network of hierarchical relations between people through sometimes subtle and at other times blunt illustrations.

The film is set in the fictional town of Balrampur where Vedvyas Tripathi better known as Bhajan Kumar lives with his family headed by his father Pandit Siyaram Tripathi. Bhajan Kumar’s life with his family was going well till a question on his identity arises that throws the city in a flurry of rumour and apprehension. Will he survive or fall prey to this onslaught?