Love Sonia to Slumdog Millionaire: 5 Movies that explore the dark side of India

Starring Manoj Bajpayee, Richa Chadha, Mrunal Thakur, Rajkummar Rao and Freida Pinto among other stellar actors, this is the shocking story of a young Indian village girl whose life is tumultuously and irrevocably changed when she gets entrapped in the global sex trade while trying to save the one person she is closest to, her sister.

The Ishaan Khatter and Malavika Mohanan-starrer is a realistic portrayal of the slum life in India. In the Majid Majidi directorial, a teenage brother-and-sister duo falls prey to the conflict involving the law and the biggies of the drug mafia. Ishaan’s character Aamir depicted spunky street children who survive because of their wit in the toxic environment where kids are the collateral damage.

The flick helmed by Danny Boyle was about an uneducated orphan from Mumbai slums, who experiences the biggest day of his life on a reality show when he is accused of cheating. It portrays how someone learns about the things they know about life and love.

Mira Nair presented the story of an abandoned child thrust into the alleys of Mumbai. The street kid struggles to survive — living among pimps, hustlers, drug addicts, sex workers and forsaken children.

Shyam Benegal’s directorial involves a small-town brothel. The grave subject about daily struggles of sex workers was shown in a humorous light. The film disrobes the maladies rampant in society.