Every good actor is associated with their best work. It’s only natural. That said, all the great and popular movies kind of always happen to overshadow other not-so-famous work. That’s what this list is about., underrated movies that we have somehow managed to miss but now, it’s time to catch up.
1. Konkana Sen Sharma- 15 Park Avenue
The is the story of Meethi, played by Konkana Sem Sharma. Meethi suffers from schizophrenia and the film centres around her relationship with her sister Anjali, played by Shaban Azmi.
2. Amitabh Bachchan- The Last Lear
Directed by Rituparno Ghosh, the film has Amitabh Bachchan playing an ageing Shakespearean theatre actor. Based on the play, Aajker Shahjahan, The Last Lear is one of the few films that manages to access something close to the full range of Amitabh Bachchan’s unyielding talent.
3. Rahul Bose & Konkana Sen Sharma- Mr and Mrs Iyer
This Aparna Sen film has Konkana Sen Sharma playing a Tamil Brahmin and Rahul Bose playing a Bengali Muslim trapped in a bus journey through the countryside during the peak of religious riots. The film is unsettling, tense and perfectly captures the tension between our two lead characters and their respective lives, faiths and future.
4. Nawazuddin Siddiqui- Miss Lovely
The film is an attempt at telling the story of the Duggal brothers who produced sex-horror films in the 80s. The younger brother is played by Nawazuddin Siddiqui, who falls in love with a mysterious woman that leads to his downfall.
5. Nawazuddin Siddiqui- Liar’s Dice
Geetanjali Thapa and Nawazuddin Siddiqui play the lead characters in this film that deals with the cost of migration to cities and problems faced by migrant labourers and their exploitation.
6. Vijay Raaz- Kya Dilli Kya Lahore
Directed by Vijay Raaz, the movie is a war drama set in the post-Independence period of 1948 and is a light-hearted take on the India-Pakistan partitions. The subject is painful, the art, however, will make you chuckle.
7. Sanjay Mishra- Phas Gaye Re Obama
Directed by Subhash Kapoor, Phas Gaye re Obama stars Rajat Kapoor and Sanjay Mishra. The movie tells the story of a piss poor near-bankrupt American kindnapped by local gangsters in India.
8. Keanu Reeves- A Scanner Darkly
Keanu Reeves plays a cop in a dystopian world where drugs have taken over. Reeves’ character gets addicted to a drug that induces personality disorder in people. He has to live different realities, figure out his own true identity before he completely loses it.
9. Brad Pitt- Killing Them Softly
This crime thriller features Brad Pitt as Jackie, an enforcer who takes on a job to control a situation at a card game under the surveillance of the mob. The game causes a ruckus and creates disruptions across the underworld. Now Jackie must track down the idiots responsible for this mess.
10. Benedict Cumberbatch- Third Star
Benedict Cumberbatch plays James, a dying man, who asks three of his best friends to accompany him for the last adventure of his life. It’s a beautiful film about love, friendship, life and hope. This is a personal recommendation.
11. Ryan Gosling- The Believer
This film sees Ryan Gosling play the most non-Ryan Gosling role ever- a Nazi skinhead youth misled by hate and bigotry. This is until he has to spend time with old holocaust survivors and sees their pain and trauma.
12. Hugh Jackman- The Fountain
This sci-fi epic sees Hugh Jackman play a scientist dedicated to saving the life of his wife in three different time zones, each 500 years long. Jackman is incredible in the role. The film will also leave with questions on morality and love.
Some of these movies went a little under the radar. But that was our loss, really. But it’s never too late to watch a good film or 12.