Documentary Movies on Hotstar (68 results)
Clear all filters
In Fact...
Offers us glimpses of lives that are lived on their own terms and in such living mark their resistance against stifling social norms that threaten to homogenise diversity. A celebration of love and togetherness with a difference; it is a celebration of the struggles to live those differences.
Desire?
Through a collage of intimate stories, ‘Desire?’ opens up a dialogue about relationships which do not stand on the edifice of Sex and Sexuality, existing as a minority community within an already persecuted LGBTQIA minority community. The parallel narratives take you through each characters’ world as they navigate through life creating small ruptures within a culture of universal hypersexuality.
A Rifle and a Bag
Somi is pregnant with her second child. A girl, she hopes. Together with her husband she prepares for this new phase of their parenthood. It means that their son has to go to school, but as an ex-Naxalite that is tough to achieve in contemporary India, where people like them are third-rate citizens. They lack the certificates and an opaque bureaucratic process doesn't help. Directors Isabella Rinaldi, Cristina Hanes and Arya Rothe of the NoCut Film Collective concentrate on Somi's close family ties, painting a portrait of ex-Naxalites in India. Once, Somi and her husband were communist rebels fighting for the rights of Indian tribes. However, to safeguard their family's welfare, they surrendered to the government in exchange for marginal compensation and simple accommodation.
Rasan Piya
'Rasan Piya' is a documentary on the life of renowned Khayal vocalist and poet, Ustad Abdul Rashid Khan. His story is that of an extraordinary musician, poet and teacher; of someone who has not only preserved but also added much to an ancient Indian art form; of a brave man who overcame his physical limitations to create beautiful music and inspire a whole generation of musicians and music lovers. The film explores the various influences that have shaped his life and music. His life also offers a commentary on the change that art in India has witnessed with the decline of the riyasats (kingdoms) and the patronage they offered. Lastly, the film attempts to draw one towards our ancient 'guru shishya parampara', as preserved and practised by one its most revered exponents.
Famous in Ahmedabad
Set during the kaleidoscopic backdrop of the kite-flying festival in India, 'Amdavad Ma Famous', witnesses the transformation of an 11-year-old Zaid from a boy next door to an aggressive and a passionate kite-runner until he comes across a hindrance that prevents him from flying kites on the terrace. And thus begins the fight for the terrace on the day of the biggest kite flying festival in India.
My Other Me: A Film About Cosplayers
An eye-opening look at the 'costume play' subculture known as cosplay. "My Other Me" chronicles a year in the life of three different cosplayers, following the subjects as they travel the convention circuit, balancing their home lives with their cosplay alter egos, revealing the profound effects the subculture has played in their lives.
Kingdom Come
The documentary, Kingdom Come follows a first-time director (Daniel Gillies) as he tries to raise a million dollars to finance his first film, Broken Kingdom. This emotionally-charged journey is interwoven with over 30 rare interviews from acclaimed indie darlings including Mark Ruffalo, Illeana Douglas, Don Cheadle, Kevin Smith, Edward Burns, Tim Roth, Morgan Spurlock, Selma Blair, Robert Townsend, Bill Pullman and many more.
Vakratunda Swaha
In 1997, Ashish Avikunthak filmed a sequence -- a friend and artist, Girish Dahiwale, immersing an idol of Ganesha at Chowpati beach, Bombay on the last day of the Ganapati festival. A year later, he committed suicide. After twelve years, Avikunthak completed the film. Using his footage as the leitmotif, this film is a requiem to a dead friend, and metamorphosises into an “existential inquiry into the idea of death”.
The Music of Satyajit Ray
Based on interviews with Ray himself, and packed with clips from his films, as well as rare-to-come-by footage of his recording sessions, the documentary follows Satyajit Ray’s journey as a music director and composer of his own work on screen.
Ramkinkar Baij
Ramkinkar Baij is an incomplete personality study or documentary on sculptor Ramkinkar Baij created by legendary filmmaker Ritwik Ghatak. He started creating the film in 1975. The film was almost complete but it still remained unfinished for the death of Ritwik Ghatak.
Africa Blood and Guts
A chronicle of the violence that occurred in much of the African continent throughout the 1960s. As many African countries were transitioning from colonial rule to other forms of government, violent political upheavals were frequent. Revolutions in Zanzibar and Kenya in which thousands were killed are shown, the violence not only political; there is also extensive footage of hunters and poachers slaughtering different types of wild animals.