In year two of the COVID pandemic, regional cinema has taken to OTT like fish to water. Many big production houses have launched their films on the small screen and entertained the audiences battling a series of lockdowns . From ‘The Great Indian Kitchen’ to ‘Mandela’, stories of family, relationships, good and evil, crime and punishment have kept the viewers hooked.

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On the contrary, Bollywood seems to be lagging with no major release so far except Salman Khan’s ‘Radhe’.

Let’s take a look at some of the best Indian films released in the first half of 2021, as listed by Film Companion.

Drishyam: The Resumption (Malayalam-language)

Jeethu Joseph pulled off a sequel to his superbly-scripted ‘Drishyam’ . Georgekutty’s deceptions are so elaborate that they will take your breath away and superstar Mohanlal playing the character superbly, with just the right inflection of sorrow and scarring.

Kala (Malayalam-language)

Director Rohith V.S., DOP Akhil George, Dawn Vincent, the director of music and sound design, and editor Chaman Chakko construct a beautifully crafted, immersive experience into one man’s hell. Lead and co-producer Tovino Thomas delivers a brilliant performance as an entitled man who is fighting his own frustration and failure but who is also taught a brutal lesson.

Joji (Malayalam-language)

In the hands of Malayalam cinema’s dream team – director Dileesh Pothan, writer Syam Pushkaran, and actor Fahadh Faasil – Macbeth becomes a riveting drama about a deeply dysfunctional family.

The Disciple (Marathi-language)

The Disciple is a meditative character study that draws you deep into its mysterious spell. Using stillness, long takes and wide shots, director Chaitanya Tamhane tells the haunting, melancholic story of a Hindustani classical vocalist, Sharad Nerulkar, who gives his life in the pursuit of his art.

The Great Indian Kitchen ( Malayalam–language)

The Great Indian Kitchen is a gutting portrait of domestic slavery, of the lives that millions of women in this country lead, toiling away, unpaid and unsung. Nimisha Sajayan plays a housewife in the project directed by Jeo Baby. He showcases the horror of the ordinary – the pile of unwashed utensils, the disgusting kitchen waste, the half-chewed bones, and spilt curry that men leave on the dining table for women to clean.

Mandela (Tamil-language)

Writer-director Madonne Ashwin tells a timely story about caste, democracy, and marginalisation with humour and compassion. The satire bites but it never becomes vicious.

Nayattu (Malayalam-language)

In Martin Prakkat’s disturbing police procedural, the hunters are cops but the hunted are also cops. After a road accident, three police officers get embroiled in a cauldron of caste politics and violence, and are forced to flee.

Geeli Pucchi (Hindi language)

In a 43-minute short film, director and writer Neeraj Ghaywan tells a searing story of the hesitant intimacy that develops between two women from opposite sides of the class and caste divide.

Jathi Ratnalu (Telugu-language)

The story is about three small-town boys who come to the big city – Hyderabad – looking for jobs, money, and a good life. It’s a sparkling concoction of humour, social commentary, and terrific chemistry between the leads.