7 Low-Budget Movies of 2015 that Stole the Limelight with Unconventional Storyline

After a really long spell I am once again blogging about Hindi movies that not just entertain, but also provide some value for money experience. I've always been passionate about Hindi movies that have an unconventional plot, something that the audience don't expect. Hindi film industry or Bollywood as they call it here in India usually sticks to a conventional plot which is so predictable that you can virtually travel in the future and know what's coming up next. This is also because producers want to play safe and want to ensure profit right from the start. A conventional plot, big stars, foot-tapping music and a wide-scale marketing campaign is all that you need to be successful in Bollywood.

Honestly, I am tired of all this, but majority of the Indians still prefer this kind of escapism cinema where sensible scripts take a backseat or at times are absent. However, the Hindi film industry scene is changing as many upcoming and gutsy producers that fuel projects in which they believe. Over past few years, small budget movies are popping up along with big budget movies and it is surprising to see that these small budget movies are doing well. Low budget means low financial risk and these movies sometimes do not have the star power to propel it further, but they have a strong and fresh script that appeals to certain sections of the society. The story itself is the hero along with the vision of the director and some terrific performances by actors that get an opportunity to portray a different role altogether.

Surprisingly, the year 2015 has been the year of low budget movies. Packed with fresh scripts and topped with terrific performances these movies have managed to gained critical acclaim and recover their production and marketing costs.

Here is my list of movies along with trailers with English subtitles. For my international readers, I would recommend, read the content and then view the trailers on YouTube.

Shamitabh

Shamitabh which released in February this year might have a somewhat-weak script, but I give credit to director R. Balki for bringing together an innovative concept on the silver screen. The movie pits megastar Amitabh Bacchan against the superstar-of-the-South Dhanush and while critics have panned the movie, I still vote for the movie, only because of its innovative plot. Well, for my international readers let me inform that Amitabh Bacchan has been ruling the movie industry for 40 years now, and he is known for his deep baritone immortalizing many popular dialogues. The movie sort of pays tribute to his deep baritone. Dhanush on the other hand, has done a fine a job as a mute wanna-be-actor expressing his feelings only through his facial expressions.

The movie revolves around Daanish (Dhanush), a mute, whose childhood dream is to become a Bollywood actor. While he has the passion for acting, he gets rejected every time as he has no voice. He finally bumps into Assistant Director Akshara Pandey (Akshara Hassan) who sees the potential in him. Akshara tries hard to convince her director, but fails. Eventually, she takes Daanish to a voice hospital for a check-up only to find that Daanish's vocal chords are fully paralyzed. However, the doctor advises of using Voice Transfer technology where a chip is fitted inside Daanish's larynx with which another person could transfer his voice into the chip. When the other person speaks into the mic the words seem to come out from Daanish's mouth and all Daanish has to do is lip-sync to make others believe that he can speak. Akshara and Daanish now set out to search for a person that would provide voice. 

They come across an old drunkard Amitabh Sinha (Amitabh Bacchan) who also once wanted to be an actor, but was rejected because of his deep baritone. After many negotiations they set up an agreement, Amitabh decides to be a ghost-voice-provider for Daanish and in return would be compensated financially from the money that Daanish would make through movies. They come up with a portmanteau 'Shamitabh' (combining daaniSH-AMITABH). The combine efforts of Daanish's acting skills and Amitabh's voice works like a magic and Daanish becomes a Bollywood sensation hogging the limelight while Amitabh stays in the background without any appreciation. Amitabh who also wanted to be an actor long time realizes that it is because of his baritone that Daanish has risen to fame and therefore he also should get the same appreciation which eventually fuels ego problems and the confrontation begins.

While the movie has the star power factor, but it failed mainly due to weaker script and unwanted songs that break the rhythm of the story. Amitabh Bacchan is a veteran actor who can sleepwalk through any character and he does a fabulous job as an old drunkard with a hint of sarcasm. He delivers sarcastic lines that highlight the darker side of the movie industry. Dhanush is new to Hindi movie industry, but he is not new to South Indian film industry and he delivers as expected. He emotes his feelings through his face as he has no dialogs in the movie.

I certainly recommend this one.

Badlapur

Revenge is a dish best served cold. Badlapur is one movie that received rave reviews across the country. Directed by Sriram Raghavan, it presents the sweet-chocolate-face Varun Dhavan in a darker shade, should I say, 'bitter chocolate' this time. A revenge saga made at a shoestring budget, this one really goes for the kill right from the first scene keeping audience on the edge of their seat.

The movie revolves around Raghu (Varun Dhawan) who is completely shattered from the loss of his wife and his son, who killed accidentally as they become victims of a bank robbery getaway. While he goes into a reclusive life for 15 years, he discovers more about the robbers who were responsible for the death of his wife and son and embarks on a revenge journey that gets darker, twisted and uglier.

With tight script and crisp editing, Badlapur manages to hold the viewers throughout. Varun Dhawan for the first time sheds his college boy image and transforms himself into a mature role as a husband-father who has lost his wife and son at a tender age. On the other side, we have Nawazuddin Siddiqui delivering impeccable performance as one of the robbers. Huma Qureshi also shines in a supporting role adding value to the strong script.

It’s a must watch for those who like tight and crisp revenge-based film.

Dum Laga Ke Haisha

There are countless movies based on love, marriage and the after-marriage crisis, but Dum Laga Ke Haisha is in its own league. Focusing on the concept of arranged marriage and issues related to marrying a fat girl in a funny sarcastic way that tickles your funny bone while making you realize that marriage is more than just external appearances and body size.

The movie focuses on small town life in Haridwar. Prem Prakash Tiwari (Ayushmann Khurrana) owns an audio cassette shop in the local market, struggles in English language and dreams of having a good looking wife. However, under family pressure gets married to an educated, but overweight girl Sandhya (Bhumi Pednekar) who aims to become a teacher. Despite all loving attempts from Sandhya, Prem despises her and feels that his life has been ruined forever. The frustration eventually leads to heated exchange of words and relationships get further complicated. How they come out it and hold their marriage together is an interesting part of the movie.

Dum Laga Ke Haisha is shot superbly and showcases the mentality of the men of wanting for good looking educated girl even if they’re uneducated and not so good looking. Ayushmann Khurrana as a small town guy is extremely good along with Bhumi Pednekar who actually had to put on 20 kilos for the role. The supporting cast brilliantly supports the story and keeps you laughing every few minutes.

It’s a must watch family drama. No Action, Pure Comedy Drama.

NH10

Dark and raw NH10 is a sleeper hit of the year. Directed by Navdeep Singh, NH10 showcases the violent crimes in North India as it happens in the real world. There’s no melodrama, no mercy and no sub-plots to divert your attention. The story focuses on a young couple whose road trip goes horribly wrong after an encounter with a group of violent criminals. The title of the movie highlights the 403 kilometers long National Highway 10 (NH10).

Meera (Anushka Sharma) and Arjun (Neil Bhoopalam) are modern corporate executives both focused about their careers and personal lives. They head for a road trip celebrating Meera’s birthday, but on the way they witness a gang abducting a girl and beating up a boy. Things go wrong when Arjun decides to follow the gang to save the girl. After Arjun gets injured by the gang it is all up to Meera to save herself and Arjun and escape from the gang.

While some called NH10 a revenge story, but it is actually loosely based on a real life incident and is an edge of the seat thriller that penetrates fear right in the heart of the audience of what will happen next. Some critics found similarities between NH10 and British thriller Eden Lake, but only certain scenes are similar and not the entire plot. Anushka Sharma not only leads the movie as the protagonist, but also debuts as a producer for this low budget hard-hitting movie.

A must watch only for those who have a strong heart.

Detective Byomkesh Bakshy!

If you love solving crimes Detective Byomkesh Bakshy! is going to give you a good dose of thrills and suspense that will keep you busy for couple of hours. Based on the fictional detective character by Sharadindu Bandyopadhyay, Detective Byomkesh Bakshy! is just a simple man who has the passion to find the truth. Throughout the movie, he claims that he is not a detective or a cop, but a truth-seeker and he is out there to find the truth.

Set in 1943 Calcutta, during the British regime in India, a top drug gangster is killed, but miraculously he comes back to the town to reclaim his business and to avenge. At the same time, a college student Byomkesh Bakshy (Sushant Singh Rajput) is approached by a classmate Ajit Banerjee (Anand Tiwari) regarding his missing father Bhuvan Banerjee who used to be a top chemist. As Byomkesh digs down the case of finding the missing father of his friend, he is entangled in a web of deceit and politics of local politicians, business community, drug gangsters and local police authorities. The movie plot also combines the Chinese-Japanese war in British India at that time, a potent mixture that only complicates the storyline.

The movie keeps you on the edge of the seat and thinking of who’s the mastermind and whether Byomkesh will be able to solve the case. Sushant Singh Rajput does a marvelous job as Byomkesh Bakshy. Director Dibakar Banerjee manages to create the Calcutta of the 1940s with finesse and the audience gets transported immediately. The rock music with retro story line works really great.

I certainly recommend this to those who love crime thrillers.

Piku

A light-hearted comedy drama that offers complete value for money, Piku managed to steal the hearts of every Indian becoming a box-office hit despite being a low-budget movie. The movie revolves around Piku Banerjee (Deepika Padukone), a Bengali architect (West Bengal is a state on the eastern coast of India and people who hail from West Bengal are called Bengali). She works and lives in New Delhi along with her hypochondriac father Bhashkor Banerjee (Amitabh Bacchan) who has constipation problems and is paranoid that every problems is somehow related to his bowel movements.

Directed by Shoojit Sircar, Piku takes no time to make you laugh and find a place in your heart. It explores the relationship of a father-daughter, where a daughter is frustrated with the tantrums of her old father, but she still loves her and is willing to provide the best comfort and options to keep him happy at any cost. Irrfan Khan as Rana Chaudhary adds well to the father-daughter combination and together these three characters keep the movie lively and funny till the end.

Watch Piku – Its one of the best movies this year.

Tanu Weds Manu Returns

I saved this for the last, the biggest blockbuster so far this year is Tanu Weds Manu Returns. The movie is hilariously funny and it takes off right from the next scene where Tanu Weds Manu (2010 movie) ends. While the 2010 movie focuses on the complex dating issues of the characters, this one focuses on the post-marriage crisis and the issues that come along.

The earlier part ends with Tanu (Kangana Ranaut) marrying Manu (Madhavan). This movie begins four years after the marriage where both the leads cannot stand each other and start bickering and putting up allegations against each other. Eventually, they decide to part ways, but Manu dashes into Kusum (again Kangana Ranaut in a double-role) who is an athlete student with pixie hair-cut and looks like his wife. He thinks she is his wife and follows her, but Kusum eventually tells him that she is not his wife, just a look-alike. 

They start meeting and Kusum sympathizes with Manu. On the other hand, Manu falls in love with Kusum, but soon situations turn when Kusum is about to get married to Raja Awasthi (Jimmy Shergill) who was once the boyfriend of his wife (Tanu). Will he be able to do this the second time? Will Tanu go back to his former boyfriend or come back to her husband?

Tanu Weds Manu Returns is armed with a tricky plot and insanely funny dialogues. Director Aanand L. Rai has done a superb job to display the intricacies of relationships and how characters explore the weakness and strengths of each other.

A must watch, but make sure you also watch the 2010 movie first.