Here's a quick rundown on this years favorites:
Director: Zoya Akhtar
Never before has a movie displayed the inner workings and the struggles of the people of the Hindi film world with such finesse, sensitivity and humor. Luck by Chance to me is the movie of the year. I am so thankful that Zoya got to this before Madhur Bhandarkar who would have positively made a pedestrian and a juvenile movie out of this subject. LBC is littered with many moments of true beauty and lyricism. It treats all its characters with real dimensions and shades of real people - each of them has his/her own axe to grind and the ensemble star-cast gives justice to even the smallest of the characters. Well played Zoya. This one, my friends will certainly age well.
Director: Vishal Bhardwaj
Twin brothers: check. One good the other not so: check. Mistaken identities: check. Bad guys and badder guys on the trail of the hero and heroine: check. Drugs and violence: check. Do not be fooled, this is not as you think an 80s masala flick, it is a bloody and a raucous dark comedy which runs faster than you can think. Vishal has created a pulp masterpiece (never mind the naysayers, in my books it is). Ohh, and did I mention it has one of the best climaxes of Hindi cinema.
Director: R Balki
A father who plays son to his real life son and the project involves the self-absorbed Bachchans. I had passed my judgment on the movie even before I saw it. Boy, was I proven wrong!! Crisp dialogs, straight from the heart performances and the right dose of emotions made this the feel good movie of the year. The central story delivers the goods so much so that I am willing to let go of the minor irritants (Paresh Rawal and the shtick about media's social responsibility). This is the only movie, yes, the only movie where Amitabh is not being Amitabh.
Wake Up Sid
Director: Ayan Mukherjee
Boy meets girl, girl likes boy, boy doesn't know what he wants, boy leaves girl, boy realizes he loves the girl and all is well - pretty pedestrian stuff. Ayan Mukherjee's debut film takes this plot , avoids most of the cliches of the rom-com genre and creates new ones but how adorably. The lead pair is so wrong on paper - Ranbeer Kapoor and Konkona Sen Sharma - yikes! Yet, on the screen they light up an entire neighborhood. Also watch out for the supporting actors, finally Hindi cinema is making more of them than just woodwork and frame fillers. Special mention to Supriya Pathak - we need more of her and her delightful sister Ratna Pathak who also by the way gave a memorable Maa in Jaane tu ya jaane na last year.
Delhi-6
Director: Rakeysh Om Prakash Mehra
Yes, sue me, but this movie worked for me, if not in its entirety, in more places than it didn't. Agreed Mehra tried to cram as many issues about urban India as possible in a slightly confused screenplay, but the sincerity of his intentions were evident in every single frame. What further elevates the movie is its wonderful cast - Om Puri, Waheeda Rehman, Supriya Pathak, Pawan Malhotra, Divya Dutta (someone give this lady a decent role - she is a rockstar), Sonam Kapoor, Abhishek Bachchan, Prem Chopra, Rishi Kapoor (is it me or this man is a revelation in his older avatar), Deepak Dobriyal, Atul Kulkarni - all glorious. There was much joy in watching all of them perform. Mehra displayed tremendous eye for detail in numerous scenes in the movie and I am willing to forgive him for a hot-mess of a climax. This one will also age well. Talk to me after 15 years.
3 Idiots
Director: Raju Hirani
Raju Hirani knows how to infuse social messages into a completely formulaic yet enjoyable screenplay, he proved it with the Munnabhai franchise and with "3 idiots" he does it again. So what if there are some scenes which stay longer than their welcome, some of the character caricatures and names are juvenile (Examples: Viru Sahastrabuddhe : since when did a 50 something Konkanastha Brahmin had an official first name "Viru" but only to come up with the nickname VIRUS), sure the casting of 40 somethings as college kids proves that the director does not quite trust the material with the younger generation of actors, yet you leave the theater exhilarated and satisfied - why, I am still trying to figure it out. Although this one will not stand the test of time, but as a raucous entertainer it works. All is well!
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Other notable mention goes to Anurag Kashyap's Dev D and Raj Kumar Santoshi's Ajab Prem ki Ghajab Kahani. Also, I have not seen Kashyap's Gulaal and Shimit Amin's Rocket Singh, but I am sure Rocket Singh would have made the list had I seen it.
2010 seems to be another promising year, notably: Ishqiya (Vishal produces and his assitant Abhishek Chaubey directs) and Rann (RGV directs and seems like he is back to his senses).
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4 comments:
Nice List this.
I am surprised Dev D din't make it to your list.(I haven't watched it yet, but its lying in my post from netflix)
I agree 'Luck By Chance' was the best. Zoya, the Akhtar, is super cool.
I am waiting to watch 3 idiots. I am sure Hirani has something new up his sleeves. Hope he does not overkill his own style and keeps re-inventing.
I have seen a few from rest of your list, including Wake up Sid and Kaminey.
Good movies those.
Hey buddy, any thoughts on the Movie Vs. The book controversy stirred up by Chetan Bhagat with 3idiots? Would love to hear your thoughts.
Have not really followed the controversy about the producers and Chetan Bhagat. From what I read, if the contract laid out the T's and C's and Chetan agreed to it, he is now being greedy and wants a pie of the profits the movie is making. Also, the movie just borrows some plot and characters from the book. The movie in itself stands quite independent from the book (which in my opinion was an amateur attempt...could be a good blog but as a published piece of work is juvenile at the best).
@Kautilya - Dev D was a good attempt, really refreshing but did not quite make it to the best of the year. On another note, Paro of Dev D is one of the best female characters in Hindi cinema and has been portrayed with tremendous zeal by Mahie Gill.
About 3 idiots, watch it as a masala entertainer and it works. Watch it as the "best movie of all times with a great social message" and it will fail. The media and the junta is touting this one as one such and let me tell you it is not. It's a formula movie which delivers the goods, and after many years this will not be remembered as anything more than that (remember Maine Pyar Kiya, Ram Lakhan, Tezaab - all entertainers and fun in their own right, but don't stand the test of time: nothing wrong with that).
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