: The legacy of the late Silk Smitha continues to inspire new projects. Actress Chandrika Ravi

In "Sir" (2018), Tillotama Shome plays a domestic worker who falls for her wealthy employer. The film does not give us a Bollywood-style happy ending. Instead, it asks a harder question: Can love survive social inequality? Shome’s silent, dignified performance earns four stars.

Megha Rani (Malayalam import) Plot: A gritty, low-budget thriller where a female undercover officer from Kerala uses a classic autorickshaw ("Vandi") to bust a sex racket in Mumbai’s red-light district. Why it’s hot: The raw, unpolished action sequences and Megha’s dual-language outbursts (Malayalam to Hindi) have made it a meme goldmine and a cult hit.