4th annual Film Critics Circle of India Citation Award

For the Best Indian Film censored in India in 2018 and/or released anywhere in the world in 2018

A total of 23 Film Critics from all over India cast their vote.

Here’s what a few Members of the Jury have to say:

“With its ensemble cast, energetic storytelling, fluid camera work and tongue-in-cheek look at religion, society and relationships, Ee.Maa.Yau creates a moody yet satirical portrait of life.”

   –Utpal Borpujari

“Upsets the postcards of a seaside village by unleashing the long take and emotionally charged non-stars, simulating actual lighting, and situating the primary focus on have-nots desiring the glory of wants; to serve the purpose of the neorealist church.

“Lijo Jose Pellissery’s morbid satire is the extension of an experimental/versatile body of work that pioneered and continues to represent the so-termed new-gen cinema of Malayalam.”

   –Dalton L

“Superbly orchestrated rumination on life and death in a coastal Kerala village, where the follies and foibles of mankind, the workings of fate and the manifestations of grief are portrayed in a manner that is both culturally specific and universally resonant.”

   –Saibal Chatterjee

“Brilliant and faithful portrayal of a fishing village near Cochin, exposing the inhuman practices of the church and the helpessness of the downtrodden in a so-called civilized society.”

   –Madhu Eravankara

“With a gripping narrative style, Lijo Jose Pellissery’s Ee.Ma.Yau is a brilliantly portrayed film on death that reveals a range of symbolic implications, with a touch of humour and an almost obsessive concern with human mortality. The death of the old man Vavachan mestri, his son Eeshi’s promise to his father to have a grand funeral and the subsequent dramas are a reflection of our dreams and disenchantments, our hopes and disillusionments.”

   –Parthajit Baruah

“Deserves kudos for its sincerity in enacting a funeral drama that looks at sub-altern realities in a rural Keralite backdrop with the sea and Christianity forming layers of cinematic significance.”

   –Manoj Barpujari

The films that were nominated

Le Festival des Films Indiens de Toulouse, France

The 7th “Festival des Cinemas Indiens de Toulouse /Toulouse Indian Film Festival” dedicated to the films of the Indian subcontinent” happens in Toulouse, Southern France, April 10–15. Anirban Lahiri, Baradwaj Rangan, Dalton L, Deepa Gahlot, Gautam Kaul, Johnson Thomas, Rafique Baghdadi, Ratnottama Sengupta, RK Bidur Singh, and Utpal Datta comprise the 10-member critics jury.

One of the primary objectives of the Film Critics Circle of India (FCCI) is to encourage the production of cinema of high artistic and aesthetic value, chiefly through the institution of the FCCI Awards.

• How does a film critic ensure that they get the cultural nuances of films in languages/regions they are unfamiliar with (because subtitles cannot convey everything)? Awarding films on a pan-Indian basis is extremely difficult.
  Baradwaj Rangan,

• The FIPRESCI Grand Prix, awarded every year at the San Sebastian Film Festival, is highly respected. So is the Sight and Sound awards in Britain. It would be great if we could succeed in instituting a highly-respected, authentic, unbiased annual film critics’ award in India.
  Utpal Borpujari,

• The FCCI Award would be for cinematic excellence. Thus, it should not matter at all if only a handful of people in the world have watched the film. The size of the film’s audience is unimportant. Ours is not a populist award given in exchange for getting the star from the winning film to dance for a TV channel. This is what you see happening most of the time.
  Saibal Chatterjee,

• Encouragement to formal innovation instead of to exploring 'relevant' social issues will help cinema as well.
  MK Raghavendra,

• Why has the Film Critics Circle of India decided to award/ select one film as the Best of 2015? To identify, in this age of marketing hype and 300-crore clubs, that one film which has touched all of us initiated viewers with its thematic relevance, authenticity of presentation and clarity of purpose. And that, to my mind, would be the significance of the award which will not be going out with a big purse but only as a genuine endorsement of the maker's effort.
  Ratnottama Sengupta,

3rd annual Film Critics Circle of India Citation Award

For the Best Indian Film censored in India in 2017 and/or released anywhere in the world in 2017

“A milestone film of sorts, Village Rockstars epitomises the trials and tribulations, and heralds the coming of age, of a filmmaker, of her protagonist, and of the indie film movement in India.”

   –Dalton L

“Rima Das’ film is a lyrical montage of life and times in contemporary rural India. It subtly draws attention to complex gender issues – sometimes even subverting the conventional gender norms – without ever getting preachy. Bhanita Das – the pint-sized fiery ball of lovable energy – is endearingly natural. But just when one fears that the film might become schmaltzy, the film-maker takes control. The lens speaks volumes, sometimes conveying more than the dialogues. Such a work by a first-time director holds a lot of promise for Indian cinema.”

   –Priyanka Dasgupta

“A women’s journey into the heart of the matter.”

   –Prem Chand

Nominations

2nd annual Film Critics Circle of India Citation Award

For the Best Indian Film released in India in 2016 and/or released outside India in 2016

1st annual Film Critics Circle of India Citation Award

For the best Indian film theatrically released in India in 2015