The 90s of Bollywood was an interesting period and along with usual masala movies, it also gave movies with different subjects, dealing mostly with English-speaking urban people and their problems. Here are five Indie movies from the 90s that probably gave birth to multiplex movies, a term used for movies catering to a niche audience.
Hydrabad Blues (1998)
NageshKukunoor was probably one of the few directors in the 90s who made movies about and for the urban people who think in English. His first movie was Hyderabad Blues, an English language Indie movie.
Hyderabad Blues was a movie that brought Indian movies in the English language into the limelight. Directed by the first-timer NageshKukunoor, it explores culture clash from the perspective of an NRI from the USA who comes back home to Hyderabad and, finds himself in the fish out of water situation. He could not relate to the Indian way of life, his vacation becomes a cultural shock for him, and how he deals with it is the crux of the movie. NageshKukunoor also played the lead in the movie.
Rockford (1999)
NageshKukunoor’s second movie in the English language was a coming-of-age drama about teenagers and their lives in hostels away from home.
Rockford was an Indian English-language, coming-of-age drama film written, and directed by NageshKukunoor. It featured NageshKukunoor himself, Nandita Das and Rohan Dey in important roles. The soundtrack of the movie became very famous with songs like ‘Pal’ and ‘YaaronDosti’ sung by K.K. The movie dealt with the issues faced by teenagers where they are confused about their standing in the world. It was highly acclaimed when released and cemented NageshKukunoor’s position in the movie industry as someone who makes movies about unusual subjects but not in a boring way.
English, August (1994)
English, August was an English language movie directed by Dev Benegal and it was based on a book by Upamnayu Chatterjee.
Rahul Bose featured as the main lead in Dev Benegal’s English, August, an Indie movie based adapted from the book of the same name by Upamanyu Chatterjee. It follows the story of Agastya Sen, an urban guy who is also an Indian Administrative Officer who is sent to a rural place, Madna for training. The movie follows the cultural shock he feels and the feeling of a foreigner in his own country and how he deals with it. It’s now considered a lost movie as its only prints got destroyed due to flooding in the studio where the prints were kept.
Bombay Boys (1998)
Rahul Bose by now became the face of the English language Indie movies that came out of India and the next featured in a black comedy Bombay Boys which was a surprise hit at the box office.
Written and Directed by KaizadGustad, Bombay Boys starred Rahul Bose, Naveen Andrews, Naseeruddin Shah, and Tara Despande in pivotal roles. It was a Hinglish movie, a term given to the movies where both Hindi and English languages were used. It was a dark comedy about three boys in Bombay and their misadventures with the underworld don played by Naseeruddin Shah. It was a critical success that did moderate business at the box office paving way for more Indie filmmakers.
