While 2018 has been a tremendously successful year for content-driven cinema; it was good stories that won the hearts and the moolah. With growing demand for fresh ideas, fresh scripts, a great deal of films which were not expected to do extremely well at the box office, have gone on to become massive successes, preceding over films which starred superstarse or the big ticket films. Indie or independent films have a growing attraction for audiences as the audiences are craving for a great line up of actors and an impeccable story line.&nbsp; 
 
While the new year is filled with massive ensembles, big action dramas, biopics, here is a look at the smaller indie films which should be on everyone’s watch list for 2019.&nbsp;

Bombairiya 
'Bombairiya' is a black comedy-drama film directed by Pia Sukanya and written and produced by Michael E. Ward. The film stars Radhika Apte, Siddhanth Kapoor, Akshay Oberoi, Adil Hussain, Ravi Kishan, Amit Sial, Ajinkya Deo and Shilpa Shukla. It’s a story where lead actress Radhika gets involved in a series of events as her phone gets stolen. 'Bombairiya' is scheduled to release on 11 January 2019.

<img alt="b" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="cda4ec15-190e-4854-ae09-1522669e2ba5" src="/sites/default/files/inline-images/bambairiya.jpg" />

Hamid 
'Hamid' is a heartwarming tale of a relationship between a widowed mother and a young son who loses his father in the unrest set in the backdrop of Kashmir. The film narrates the current scenario of Kashmir and how it impacts on the people who live there. The story is about an eight year-old Hamid who learns that 786 is God's number and decides to try and reach out to God, by dialling this number. The film stars Rasika Dugal, Vikas Kumar and Talha Arshad Reshi. 'Hamid' is produced by Saregama's, Yoodlee Films and directed by Aijaz Khan.

<img alt="h" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="ced90d4e-4a16-4fdc-897f-0b5d8906d689" src="/sites/default/files/inline-images/Hamid.jpg" />

No Fathers In Kashmir 
'No Fathers In Kashmir' has been directed by India’s youngest director to be nomianted for Oscars and has already won two National Awards, Ashvin Kumar. Ashvin’s film is a love story of two innocent 16 year olds who are met with the same fortune of having lost their fathers who have disappeared in Kashmir with no certainty of their return. The love-struck teenagers, in their search, uncover the hidden secrets of the lost fathers of Kashmir. The film stars the two kids Zara Webb, Shivam Rana in addition to having an impressive ensemble cast comprising of Kulbulshan Kharbanda, Soni Razdan and Anshuman Jha.

<img alt="no " data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="40489c13-d840-414f-9b3e-a86b04959a34" src="/sites/default/files/inline-images/No%20Fathers%20in%20Kashmir.jpg" />

Kaamyaab 
The movie 'Kaamyaab' is about a seasoned character actor played by Sanjay Mishra who decides to come out of retirement and realize that all his life he did something, but missed out on one little thing, that makes his life incomplete. It's about a character actor who did many roles but didn't do one important role. Kaamyaam is produced by Eros and Drishyam Films. It also starts Deepak Dobriyal and Isha Talwar in pivotal roles. It’s been directed by National Award-winning filmmaker Hardik Mehta.

Pind Daan 
'Pind Daan' is a Hindi movie that will mark the directorial debut of veteran actress Seema Pahwa who is known for her roles in films like 'Shubh Mangal Savdhan', 'Bareilly Ki Barfi' amongst many others. The cast of the film will have popular actors Vikrant Massey, Naseeruddin Shah, Vinay Pathak, Manoj Pahwa, Konkana Sen, Deepika Amin and Ninad Kamat. The film is expected to be a family drama and the makers will commence shooting early next year. 'Pind Daan' is produced under the banners Jio Studios and Drishyam Films.

Tryst with Destiny 
The film 'Tyst with Destiny' is a reference to Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru’s speech to Parliament on August 14, 1947. The film focuses on social issues that India has been going through since independence in four-part stories. The cast includes Vineet Kumar Singh, Geetanjali Thapa, Amit Sial, Prakash Raj and Suhasini Maniratnam. It’s been produced under the banner Drishyam Films and Backup Media. The film is being directed by Prashant Nair.

Pashmina 
The film 'Pashmina' is a film narrated through the point of view of a young Kashmiri girl. Pashmina touches off an interlocking story involving four different people with separate lives colliding with each other. The film stars Aditi Rao Hydari, Shweta Tripathi, Dulquer Salmaan, Zaira Wasim, Ronit Roy, Soni Razdan, Farida Jalal. Pashmina is directed by Danish Renzu.

The Storyteller 
Actor and director Ananth Mahadevan will be retelling Satyajit Ray’s 'The Storyteller' in Hindi that will feature Naseeruddin Shah, Paresh Rawal, Revathi and Tannishtha Chatterjee as its main cast. 'The Storyteller' is one adventurous ride which surprises the audiences at times. 'The Storyteller' is a story of an uncle who turns a storyteller after he retires from his job.

Yours Truly 
'Yours Truly' is a romantic drama film directed by National Award winner Sanjoy Nag. The film stars Soni Razdan, Pankaj Tripathi, Aahana Kumra and Mahesh Bhatt in a special appearance. It is an official adaptation of one of the stories from the book 'LOVE STORIES #1 TO 14' authored by Annie Zaidi. The film is produced by Shiladitya Bora under Platoon One. Actor-director Soni Razdan is all set to share screen space with husband filmmaker Mahesh Bhatt for the first time in Yours Truly.&nbsp;

<img alt="yours" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="40768959-e2a9-4d1b-93fe-5bad6d9c76ab" src="/sites/default/files/inline-images/Yours%20Truly.jpg" />

Albert Pinto Ko Gussa Kyun Aata Hai 
'Albert Pinto Ko Gussa Kyun Aata Hai' is the modern version of Saeed Akhtar Mirza’s classic starring Naseeruddin Shah and Smita Patil with the same name released in 1980. Soumitra Ranade is all set to revamp the classic into a riveting tale of the protagonist played by Manav Kaul attempting to avenge his father's death. The film also stars Nandita Das, Saurabh Shukla and Kishor Kadam. The film is said to be a road movie and interestingly Nandita Das will be seen playing seven characters in the film.

<img alt="albert" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="335283b0-91c4-4f03-89f3-37252e3740a8" src="/sites/default/files/inline-images/Albert%20Pinto%20Ko%20Gussa%20Kyun%20Aata%20Hai.jpg" />

Photograph 
After his successful debut with 'The Lunchbox' producer and director Ritesh Batra’s studio Poetic License Motion Pictures, is all set to bring another masterpiece with his next Photograph. The film traces the life of struggling street photographer played by Nawazuddin Siddiqui, who persuades, a reclusive stranger played by Sanya Malhotra, to pose as his fiancée to escape the pressures of marriage from family.

<img alt="photo" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="a2231820-3afa-40c4-9e45-69f227e8a631" src="/sites/default/files/inline-images/Photograph.jpg" /> 
&nbsp;

While 2018 has been a tremendously successful year for content-driven cinema; it was good stories that won the hearts and the moolah. With growing demand for fresh ideas, fresh scripts, a great deal of films which were not expected to do extremely well at the box office, have gone on to become massive successes, preceding over films which starred superstarse or the big ticket films.

While 2018 has been a tremendously successful year for content-driven cinema; it was good stories that won the hearts and the moolah. With growing demand for fresh ideas, fresh scripts, a great deal of films which were not expected to do extremely well at the box office, have gone on to become massive successes, preceding over films which starred superstarse or the big ticket films. Indie or independent films have a growing attraction for audiences as the audiences are craving for a great line up of actors and an impeccable story line. While the new year is filled with massive ensembles, big action dramas, biopics, here is a look at the smaller indie films which should be on everyone’s watch list for 2019. Bombairiya 'Bombairiya' is a black comedy-drama film directed by Pia Sukanya and written and produced by Michael E. Ward. The film stars Radhika Apte, Siddhanth Kapoor, Akshay Oberoi, Adil Hussain, Ravi Kishan, Amit Sial, Ajinkya Deo and Shilpa Shukla. It’s a story where lead actress Radhika gets involved in a series of events as her phone gets stolen. 'Bombairiya' is scheduled to release on 11 January 2019. Hamid 'Hamid' is a heartwarming tale of a relationship between a widowed mother and a young son who loses his father in the unrest set in the backdrop of Kashmir. The film narrates the current scenario of Kashmir and how it impacts on the people who live there. The story is about an eight year-old Hamid who learns that 786 is God's number and decides to try and reach out to God, by dialling this number. The film stars Rasika Dugal, Vikas Kumar and Talha Arshad Reshi. 'Hamid' is produced by Saregama's, Yoodlee Films and directed by Aijaz Khan. No Fathers In Kashmir 'No Fathers In Kashmir' has been directed by India’s youngest director to be nomianted for Oscars and has already won two National Awards, Ashvin Kumar. Ashvin’s film is a love story of two innocent 16 year olds who are met with the same fortune of having lost their fathers who have disappeared in Kashmir with no certainty of their return. The love-struck teenagers, in their search, uncover the hidden secrets of the lost fathers of Kashmir. The film stars the two kids Zara Webb, Shivam Rana in addition to having an impressive ensemble cast comprising of Kulbulshan Kharbanda, Soni Razdan and Anshuman Jha. Kaamyaab The movie 'Kaamyaab' is about a seasoned character actor played by Sanjay Mishra who decides to come out of retirement and realize that all his life he did something, but missed out on one little thing, that makes his life incomplete. It's about a character actor who did many roles but didn't do one important role. Kaamyaam is produced by Eros and Drishyam Films. It also starts Deepak Dobriyal and Isha Talwar in pivotal roles. It’s been directed by National Award-winning filmmaker Hardik Mehta. Pind Daan 'Pind Daan' is a Hindi movie that will mark the directorial debut of veteran actress Seema Pahwa who is known for her roles in films like 'Shubh Mangal Savdhan', 'Bareilly Ki Barfi' amongst many others. The cast of the film will have popular actors Vikrant Massey, Naseeruddin Shah, Vinay Pathak, Manoj Pahwa, Konkana Sen, Deepika Amin and Ninad Kamat. The film is expected to be a family drama and the makers will commence shooting early next year. 'Pind Daan' is produced under the banners Jio Studios and Drishyam Films. Tryst with Destiny The film 'Tyst with Destiny' is a reference to Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru’s speech to Parliament on August 14, 1947. The film focuses on social issues that India has been going through since independence in four-part stories. The cast includes Vineet Kumar Singh, Geetanjali Thapa, Amit Sial, Prakash Raj and Suhasini Maniratnam. It’s been produced under the banner Drishyam Films and Backup Media. The film is being directed by Prashant Nair. Pashmina The film 'Pashmina' is a film narrated through the point of view of a young Kashmiri girl. Pashmina touches off an interlocking story involving four different people with separate lives colliding with each other. The film stars Aditi Rao Hydari, Shweta Tripathi, Dulquer Salmaan, Zaira Wasim, Ronit Roy, Soni Razdan, Farida Jalal. Pashmina is directed by Danish Renzu. The Storyteller Actor and director Ananth Mahadevan will be retelling Satyajit Ray’s 'The Storyteller' in Hindi that will feature Naseeruddin Shah, Paresh Rawal, Revathi and Tannishtha Chatterjee as its main cast. 'The Storyteller' is one adventurous ride which surprises the audiences at times. 'The Storyteller' is a story of an uncle who turns a storyteller after he retires from his job. Yours Truly 'Yours Truly' is a romantic drama film directed by National Award winner Sanjoy Nag. The film stars Soni Razdan, Pankaj Tripathi, Aahana Kumra and Mahesh Bhatt in a special appearance. It is an official adaptation of one of the stories from the book 'LOVE STORIES #1 TO 14' authored by Annie Zaidi. The film is produced by Shiladitya Bora under Platoon One. Actor-director Soni Razdan is all set to share screen space with husband filmmaker Mahesh Bhatt for the first time in Yours Truly. Albert Pinto Ko Gussa Kyun Aata Hai 'Albert Pinto Ko Gussa Kyun Aata Hai' is the modern version of Saeed Akhtar Mirza’s classic starring Naseeruddin Shah and Smita Patil with the same name released in 1980. Soumitra Ranade is all set to revamp the classic into a riveting tale of the protagonist played by Manav Kaul attempting to avenge his father's death. The film also stars Nandita Das, Saurabh Shukla and Kishor Kadam. The film is said to be a road movie and interestingly Nandita Das will be seen playing seven characters in the film. Photograph After his successful debut with 'The Lunchbox' producer and director Ritesh Batra’s studio Poetic License Motion Pictures, is all set to bring another masterpiece with his next Photograph. The film traces the life of struggling street photographer played by Nawazuddin Siddiqui, who persuades, a reclusive stranger played by Sanya Malhotra, to pose as his fiancée to escape the pressures of marriage from family.

'Bombairiya' to 'Hamid': 11 Indies to look forward to in 2019

Actor-turned-director Konkona Sensharma said though she feels at home in the space of independent cinema, it is difficult for her style of filmmaking to succeed without an alternative marketing strategy. 
 
The 37-year-old filmmaker, who presented her directorial debut A Death in the Gunj&nbsp;at this year&#39;s Dharamshala International Film Festival, said small budget independent films need to work out a viable business model so that they continue to be made in future. 
 
&quot;I think I would be comfortable in this zone. I don&#39;t see myself making something big in that sense. I&#39;d like it to be small. But I&#39;d like it to be worthwhile for the people who are putting so much effort (giving their time to a film like this) at one time. It is after that when you&#39;re going in for distribution and PR that it begins. 
 
&quot;How can you compete with films who have so much budget? And it&#39;s done through songs, that&#39;s the format. You have to come out with a song to reach out to people. So we have to find other ways to advertise a film without songs,&quot; Sensharma said. 
 
She was speaking at &#39;The State of Independents&#39; panel discussion at the sixth edition of DIFF yesterday. The director said she did not expect anyone to finance her film. 
 
Sensharma said she visited a lot of studios to tick them off her list. She said they eventually refused to fund the script, despite appreciating it. 
 
&quot;Even while developing the script, I never thought it will get made because I know the world we live in. We know what gets money what doesn&#39;t. It&#39;s always been like this. I didn&#39;t think anyone will give me money. So that kind of freed me to do whatever I wanted to do. 
 
&quot;Independent is, I guess, alternative kind of content. Filmmaking is a particular space with certain conventions. If you don&#39;t follow that, you don&#39;t get any funding. That it got funds, I guess I got fortunate as it was easy for me to put foot in the doors and get a meeting with producers as I was a well-known actor. So I was privileged to get my film made. I was lucky to come across some people who agreed to give me some money,&quot; she said. 
 
Other directors present on the panel were Bornila Chatterjee, Puloma and Maheen Mirza from Ektara Collective, Rima Das, Pushpendra Singh and Karma Takapa. 
 
The indie filmmakers were in conversation with The Hungry co-screenplay writer Tanaji Dasgupta along with actor Sayani Gupta. 
 
While Das reiterated that she worked on her critically- acclaimed Village Rockstars, which closed the DIFF, all on her own and after having a tough time to find finances, so &quot;with anger within&quot;, she decided to self-fund the movie. 
 
Takapa, who presented his Nepali language film based in Sikkim Ralang Road, said, &quot;I think smaller budgets are easier to control and I would prefer that. For me, the process goes backwards. You don&#39;t write what you can&#39;t afford.&quot; 
 
Maheen said that when one thinks that a film should be independent, it is also necessary that it should belong. 
 
&quot;It has to belong to the people who watch it, irrespective of the audience it is meant for and especially to the people who made it. It&#39;s important for us not to go away from them.&quot; 
Puloma, however, said introducing indie films as low- budget ones is a worrying trend. 
 
Singh, director of Ashwatthama, said he went ahead as he wanted to make a film, irrespective of the baggage that comes with being an FTII graduate. 
 
An award-winning Filipino filmmaker told him that he worked with three-four people who multitask. 
 
&quot;He said he wanted to tell his story, no matter the medium to do that. That really motivated me. I work with smaller crews, who are often amateurs, and within a controlled budget.&quot; 
 
Bornila said the cast and crew of The Hungry&nbsp;were perhaps lucky as they received a grant to make their film.

Konkona Sensharma says it is difficult for her style of filmmaking to succeed without an alternative marketing strategy.

Actor-turned-director Konkona Sensharma said though she feels at home in the space of independent cinema, it is difficult for her style of filmmaking to succeed without an alternative marketing strategy. The 37-year-old filmmaker, who presented her directorial debut A Death in the Gunj at this year's Dharamshala International Film Festival, said small budget independent films need to work out a viable business model so that they continue to be made in future. "I think I would be comfortable in this zone. I don't see myself making something big in that sense. I'd like it to be small. But I'd like it to be worthwhile for the people who are putting so much effort (giving their time to a film like this) at one time. It is after that when you're going in for distribution and PR that it begins. "How can you compete with films who have so much budget? And it's done through songs, that's the format. You have to come out with a song to reach out to people. So we have to find other ways to advertise a film without songs," Sensharma said. She was speaking at 'The State of Independents' panel discussion at the sixth edition of DIFF yesterday. The director said she did not expect anyone to finance her film. Sensharma said she visited a lot of studios to tick them off her list. She said they eventually refused to fund the script, despite appreciating it. "Even while developing the script, I never thought it will get made because I know the world we live in. We know what gets money what doesn't. It's always been like this. I didn't think anyone will give me money. So that kind of freed me to do whatever I wanted to do. "Independent is, I guess, alternative kind of content. Filmmaking is a particular space with certain conventions. If you don't follow that, you don't get any funding. That it got funds, I guess I got fortunate as it was easy for me to put foot in the doors and get a meeting with producers as I was a well-known actor. So I was privileged to get my film made. I was lucky to come across some people who agreed to give me some money," she said. Other directors present on the panel were Bornila Chatterjee, Puloma and Maheen Mirza from Ektara Collective, Rima Das, Pushpendra Singh and Karma Takapa. The indie filmmakers were in conversation with The Hungry co-screenplay writer Tanaji Dasgupta along with actor Sayani Gupta. While Das reiterated that she worked on her critically- acclaimed Village Rockstars, which closed the DIFF, all on her own and after having a tough time to find finances, so "with anger within", she decided to self-fund the movie. Takapa, who presented his Nepali language film based in Sikkim Ralang Road, said, "I think smaller budgets are easier to control and I would prefer that. For me, the process goes backwards. You don't write what you can't afford." Maheen said that when one thinks that a film should be independent, it is also necessary that it should belong. "It has to belong to the people who watch it, irrespective of the audience it is meant for and especially to the people who made it. It's important for us not to go away from them." Puloma, however, said introducing indie films as low- budget ones is a worrying trend. Singh, director of Ashwatthama, said he went ahead as he wanted to make a film, irrespective of the baggage that comes with being an FTII graduate. An award-winning Filipino filmmaker told him that he worked with three-four people who multitask. "He said he wanted to tell his story, no matter the medium to do that. That really motivated me. I work with smaller crews, who are often amateurs, and within a controlled budget." Bornila said the cast and crew of The Hungry were perhaps lucky as they received a grant to make their film.

Konkona Sen Sharma says independent films need viable business model

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