CRD, Teen Aur Aadha, Kia Aur Cosmos, Yours Truly, Knock Down The House. Five gorgeous independent films come to streaming this week. Find out more.

Who doesn’t love a well made indie film! While making an independent film can break and make filmmakers, when the output matches their vision, it is a journey well worth its trials. This week, five gorgeous independent films come to streaming platforms. Four unique Indian voices and one very exceptional political voice need to be heard. So ditch the mainstream content for your next binge-watch and go to streaming for these.

1. CRD by Kranti Kanade
Where – Netflix
When – April 29

Cast: Saurabh Saraswat, Mrinmayee Godbole, Vinay Sharma, Abhay Mahajan, Isha Keskar and Geetika Sapna Rakesh

A young dramatist rebels against his fascist tutor to form his troop of misfits – aiming to win a prestigious theatre competition and trying to find the hardest thing of all: his voice. Inspired by real-life event ‘Purushottam’ theatre competition in Pune, India.‬Kranti Kanade is a National Award winning filmmaker who studied at UCLA and FTII.

 Noted film critic Namrata Joshi in The Hindu says, “CRD boldly goes where no Indian film has gone before!” 

2. Teen Aur Aadha (Three And A Half) by Daria Gai
Where – Netflix
When – April 29
Starring: Zoya Hussain, Jim Sarbh, Suhasini Mulay, M.K. Raina, Arya Dave, Anjum Rajabali

The story of one house in three different eras.  A young boy struggles with the pressures of pre-pubescent school life. Twenty years later the house is now a brothel where a young virgin sex-worker is dealing with her first client. While 30 years later, the place is now a sublime home of an elderly couple that love, laugh and dance together, sharing many secrets of happy companionship. The film has been shot in three takes and a half-take at the end, which exhibits the house under renovation, symbolising the emergence of new stories and the inevitable nature of change in time.
Daria Gai is a Ukrainian filmmaker who moved to India to teach screenwriting and film appreciation at ‘Whistling Woods International’. Her film Namdev Bhau has done very well at the film festival circuit too.

3. Kia and Cosmos by Sudipto Roy
Where – Netflix
When – May 1
Cast: Ritwika Pal, Swastika Mukherjee, Joy Sengupta, Sraman Chatterjee, Zahid Hossain
Kia, a 15-year-old autistic girl, who lives with her single mother, sets out on an audacious journey from Kolkata to Kalimpong whilst investigating the murder of a neighbourhood cat Cosmos, and writing a mystery novel in the process.
The film premiered at the Glasgow Film Festival, Kia and Cosmos came out in theatres on March 29.
Shantanu Ray Choudhari of Film Companion says “Sudipto’s Roy’s debut feature is a rewarding experience.” Watch the trailer.

4. Yours Truly by Sanjoy Nag
Where – Zee5
When – May 3
Cast: Soni Razdan, Pankaj Tripathi, Aahana Kumra, Mahesh Bhatt, Vinay Pathak
The film tells the story of a 57-year old government employee Mithi Kumar who is on the brink of retirement in Kolkata. She realises there’s just one thing she’ll miss about her daily routine. She has been irresistibly attracted to with the voice of the railway announcer of the local trains. She has even been writing letters to him, sharing her deepest emotions with this stranger. Can love strike in this unexpected place?
This the third film is written and directed by Sanjoy Nag, whose 2010 debut film Memories in March won the National Film Award. It is an official adaptation of one of the stories (The One That Was Announced) from the anthology book LOVE STORIES #1 TO 14 by Annie Zaidi.

Knock Down The House by Rachel Lears
Where – Netflix
When – May 1
Cast: Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York, Amy Vilela of Nevada, Cori Bush of Missouri, and Paula Jean Swearengin of West Virginia.
A young bartender in the Bronx, a coal miner’s daughter in West Virginia, a grieving mother in Nevada, and a registered nurse in Missouri build a movement of four female progressive Democrat candidates to challenge powerful incumbents in Congress. One of their races, Alexandria Ocasio Cortez (AOC), becomes the most shocking political upsets in recent American history.
The documentary film by Rachel Lears was shot during the campaign with no one expecting the legend that will be AOC. Funded through Kickstarter with $28,111, it was sold for $10 million to Netflix at its award-winning premiere at Sundance Film Festival.