Sabar Bonda is a tender, and exquisitely crafted slice-of-life drama that taps into universal human desire of making a meaningful connection with another human being, observes Mayur Sanap.
Aseem Chhabra ranks the Best of 2025's films that released in theatres, or went directly to OTT platforms.
Big films like Dhurandhar, Chhava and Kantara: Chapter 1 hit box office gold in 2025, and its directors, Aditya Dhar, Laxman Utekar and Rishab Shetty, have proved their worth. But many other directors made an impact with their 2025 releases, in various languages.
'Every day you're learning and wanting to find something new.'
Pankaja and O'Sey Balamma bring deeply personal yet universally resonant stories to Sundance. They represent a new wave of South Indian storytelling, blending cultural authenticity with cinematic innovation, and mark an important step in amplifying regional voices on the international stage.
'But when we actually express ourselves, sometimes our parents can surprise us, because they just love their children.' 'Sometimes it's just that simple. That is what I wanted to show in this film.'
This year's Sundance Film Festival was rich with films and the theatres were warm, even as temperatures outside dipped to below freezing point. It snowed only once but the sidewalks remained slippery for a few days.
'The entire shoot paused after that.' 'There was a heaviness on set -- a shared recognition of the horror we were portraying.'
'If you respect people, if you accommodate people, these are good attributes to have.' 'Like the whole world is a mixed bag of people, our industry is the same.'
'I have always looked at people and said, 'You just have to accept. You just have to love. You just have to let this person be and the trouble would be less.' 'But we keep complicating things, and that is the tragedy -- our desire not to understand.'
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