If you’re of the opinion that Luck By Chance is the definitive B-town film of our times, chances are you will appreciate this appropriately low-budgeted, homegrown writer rendition.

This isn’t an easy event to storify, because it is even harder to watch. While much of it merely lends grainy well-cut images to pages we’ve been hesitant to read about, this is a film that shouldn’t be escaped.

After the admirable Dekh Tamasha Dekh, Zed Plus – directed by Dr CP Dwivedi (Chanakya, Pinjar)-is another largely uncompromised and well-crafted example this year. What works in its favour is the primary thread of an ordinary man in an extraordinary situation.

Average fare, but an extra half-star for inventive dialogues; for reminding us that his timing is intact, if only just.

It’s hardly surprising that NRI filmmakers manage to capture the essence and eccentricity of our ways with greater restraint. As evident here, theirs is essentially an outsider’s inside perspective, an honest union of craft and storytelling uncluttered by commercial aspirations.

Watch this, if only to be reminded how one man’s passion is every other man’s lunacy.

A more loosely based version might have provided a better structure and unpredictability to Haider’s psychological battle. Even though the film’s flaws are largely down to the nature of work it chooses to adapt, the universe it functions in is occasionally at odds with the characters.

This film is exactly the kind of brave clutter-breaking effort that most critics wish for while lamenting the rigidness of mainstream stars. That it left me grinning long after the credit-roll is a testament to its ability to amuse, without resorting to gimmicky slapstick or toilet humour.

That the trailers of Mardaani were disappointing could be a blessing in disguise. But for the climax, it is an understated and relatively agreeable mainstream film—manipulative but not exploitative—that thankfully falls short of sensationalizing a serious issue.

Katiyabaaz covers all bases and cause-and-effect repercussions riots and elections, mills, tanneries and hospitals cut with an engaging rhythm that brings to light one of the greatest failures of fifthworld India. It leaves you with enduring images of a calamitous environment navigated by two antivillains whose thoughts and souls form a storied documentary that could well be a game-changer.