Hey, I am back. :) Its been a while but that is because I have been writing my most challenging blog post so far. No its not on any subject of great importance, national, social, religious, political or personal. Its something related to my hobby. All this while I have been comprising a list of my top 25 movies from last decade, that is 2001 to 2010. Believe me its been a tough ask but after much deliberation I have managed to do so and here are my top 25.
1) Rang De Basanti (2006)
Director: Rakeysh OmPrakash Mehra
Aamir Khan, Sidhdharth, Kunal Kapoor, Atul Kulkarni, Sharman Joshi
Probably not the greatest of Indian movies in terms of plot and storytelling but this movie left me with emotions that no other Indian movie has ever done. Is that not what we go to movies for? To be stirred and moved by them.
2) Dil Chahta Hai (2001)
Director: Farhaan Akhtar
Aamir Khan, Saif Ali Khan, Akshay Khanna, Preity Zinta
A movie which could rightly claim to be a movie for the youth. Maybe distinctly for the urban youth but what the hell, I am an urban youth. Or was a youth, when this movie came :/ Anyways back then you knew a Sameer, an Aakash and a Sid in your life and today, even after a decade you still know a Sameer, an Aakash and a Sid in your life. Such realistic characterization. Whatever those three guys did and went through, you always felt like doing and you always knew could happen to you. Nothing was unreal, neither their friendship nor their relations.
3) Swades (2004)
Director : Ashutosh Gowarikar
Sharukh Khan
Without an iota of doubt, best SRK movie ever. I wonder if this guy can do this, why does he have to do KJ and YC crap. I believe this is the only movie (that I have seen) that showed patriotism in a true measure reflecting on both bad and good that India has. Superlative performance by SRK. The first and only time I have been moved by his crying was in this movie when he sheds a tear in the train after buying water from a boy.
4) Udaan (2010)
Director: Vikramaditya Motwane
Rajat Barmecha, Ronit Roy
Maybe its fresh in my memory that is why it is so high on my list but I have no complains. Ronit Roy, no matter what stupid award juries say, your performance was best last year and one of the best of the decade.
5) Dev.D (2009)
Director: Anurag Kashyap
Abhay Deol, Kalki Koechlin, Mahi Gill
If it was not my emotional attachments with the above 4 movies, this movie would have been my number one. Never seen and never expected to see this kind of movie making by an Indian. Story of a guy torn apart by his love and his ego who gets lost in the underbelly of Delhi with liquor and drugs. In the times when Bollywood movies and actors make smoking and drinking look cool, this movie makes it look like hell. Modern Devdas to the core. SLB and SRK can have their box office collection and awards but deep inside they know this movie kicked their movie’s ass big time.
6) Kaminey (2009)
Director : Vishal Bhardwaj
Fhahid Kapoor, Sh sh sh shahid Kapoo poo poor
Thank you. Thank you Vishal Bhardwaj for believing that Indian audience is intelligent enough to figure out the plot. Thank you for not putting in out of context scenes and dialogues just to give a background picture to the audience. Thank you for making world know that Indian movies are not “leave your brain at home” movies and thank you for DHAN TE NAN. One advice, let the movie confuse you. In the end, it will solve itself on its own. Kudos to Vishal and Amole Gupte for the plot and script.
7) A Wednesday (2008)
Director: Neeraj pandey
Naseeruddin Shah, Anupam Kher, Jimmy Shergill
Brave film to say the least. With this kind of ending, director knew he was opening a huge topic for debate but he still went ahead with it and well done to him for that. Excellent cast and expectedly amazing performances. Naseer’s portrayal of common man will be etched in the memories of common Indian men forever. Even if we let go the plot, which in itself is revolutionary, the pace at which movie moves is breath taking. Kudos to writer for writing such a screenplay and to director for giving so much attention to details.
8) Maqbool (2003)
Director: Vishal Bhardwaj
Pankaj Kapoor, Irrfan Khan, Tabu, Naseeruddin Shah, Om Puri
Even if I had not seen this movie, I would have put it in my list just going by the cast. However I did see the movie and man was it not a movie. In a decade full of directors giving us colorful designer love stories, an offbeat director gave us an adaption of the work of probably the greatest exponent of love, betrayal and guilt. Shakespeare. And what an adaptation it was. A Victorian classic Macbeth, in the heart of our aamchi Mumbai. Who would have thought it? Who would have dared it? But if you think this was Bhardwaj’s only successful attempt, you are mistaken.
9) Omkara (2006)
Director: Vishal Bhardwaj
Ajay Devgan, Viveik Oberoi, Saif Ali Khan, Kareena Kapoor
May be Bhardwaj thought taking a royal Victorian classic to the underworld of Mumbai was not a challenge big enough. So he thought of taking another Victorian classic (Othello) to the heartland of rural UP. Yet another adaptation of a master piece of love, betrayal and guilt, but this time derived from the caste driven politics of Uttar Pradesh. And who better than Bhardwaj could have executed it. But the most striking part of it was Saif Ali Khan as Langda Tyagi. And he rightly set the tone for the movie with his opening dialogue “Bewkoof aur Ch****ye me dhage bhar ka farak hota hai”. Rest was history.
10) Rocket Singh Salesman of the year (2009)
Director: Shimit Amin
Ranbeer Kapoor, Manish Chaubey
Did we not love the cute sardaar? A below average student who starts his career in the worst possible way. Abused by his highly successful and cunning boss (amazing performance by Manish Chaubey) and ridiculed by his colleagues, he decides to take them on in his own way. Forms up a team with employees who are treated similarly and successfully competes with the stalwart of the industry. Don’t we all want to do that? And Shimit portrayed it without making anything look unreal or larger than life. Neither the aims nor the measures and achievements of Rocket Singh and co. were unrealistic. Inspiring and entertaining, rare combination in Bollywood.
11) Lakshya (2004)
Director: Farhaan Akhtar
Hrithik Roshan, Preity Zinta
For an actor as talented as Hrithik, I am disappointed that only one of his movies could make up into my list. A superlative performance by him. His transition from a reckless, aimless guy to a determined and dedicated soldier was inspiring to say the least. While first half Hrithik was what all of us have been at some point in our lives, the second half Hrithik was what all of us want to be at some point in our lives. And this is what makes this movie so special to me.
12) Iqbal (2005)
Director: Nagesh Kukunoor
Shreyas Talpade, Shweta Prasad, Naseeruddin Shah
Best sport movie India ever produced and mainly because this was not your regular sports movie with clichéd plot of underdog overcoming giants of sport. This movie exposed the underbelly of sport world which no movie ever tried to. Other notable attempts were centered on a bunch of looked down upon people overcoming the mightiest. Here even though the main protagonist was looked down upon but in no way an underdog and unlike in other movies, the thing stopping him from becoming best was not an opposing team, but the system and his own helpless father. For me Shreyas’ performance in this movie was better than Amitabh’s in Black which was released the same year but then that’s just me.
13) Taare Zameen Par (2007)
Director: Aamir Khan
Aamir Khan, Darsheel Safary
For a change all the ladies cried for something other than a dying husband (who would later come back) on tv or a dying SRK. And this time they cried for a dyslexic boy whose genius was almost lost in the typical Indian upbringing which more often than not kills the Da Vinci, Picasso and Beethoven inside every child. And then there was “Kya itna bura hu main? Meri maa”. Come on. Don’t accuse ladies of being too sentimental. This line would have made Khali cry.
14) Khosla ka Ghosla (2006)
Director: Dibakar Banerjee
Anupam Kher, Boman Irani
So finally a director noticed that there exists a middle class in India which does not wear designer clothes, which does not live abroad and whose problems are not always about loving a girl whose father does not approve you or whom your father does not approve. Finally an Indian family was shown whose problems, whose helplessness looked like ours. And all this, without any loud and over the top emotional drama. A simple movie, which makes you think while making you smile and laugh.
15) Jab we Met (2007)
Director: Imtiaz Ali
Kareena Kapoor, Shahid Kapoor
One movie which would make every boy and girl wish that they get stranded in some railway station with some stranger. Kareena was adorable, Shahid was sweet and the movie had all the fun and confusion to keep you engrossed and make you forget the time. Best part of the movie “Aur ye sale launde, mujhe ganne k khet dikhane le ja rahe hai. Kyu dekhu main ganne k khet. Hai kya un ganno k khet me. Mujhe ni dekhne ganne k khet” :D
16) Socha Na Tha (2005)
Direcotor: Imtiaz Ali
Abhay Deol, Ayesha Takia
Never before in Hindi Cinema I came across a guy as confused as Viren and I loved it. The movie was so well written and directed that being a third person you could sympathize with both Viren and his family. You could understand Viren’s dilemma as well as his family’s frustration and thus everything they did looked sensible to you while watching them doing it. However at the same time you kept praying that you never get into the mess Viren got himself into.
17) 3 Idiots (2009)
Director: Rajkumar Hirani
Aamir Khan, Madhavan, Sharman Joshi, Boman Irani, Kareena Kapoor
Rajkumar Hirani seems to have mastered the art of mixing a public message into fun filled entertainment. After a dig on medical system and a message on gandhigiri, he chose to expose the flaws in India's education system and that too in his own style. Inspired from Chetan Bhagat’s 5 point someone, if this movie has done anything, then improved upon the original story. So in that regard Bhagat should be thankful to Hirani and Abhijit Joshi. The suspense added to an otherwise straight forward comical college drama takes the movie to a different level. 3 hours you would never realize passing by.
18) Lagey raho Munnabhai (2006)
19) Munnabhai MBBS (2003)
Director: Rajkumar Hirani
Sanjay Dutt, Boman Irani, Arshad Waarsi
With these two movies Rajkumar Hirani along with Vishal Bhardwaj becomes the second director with three movies on my list. If someone puts a gun on my head and asks to pick up only one director of all, I would probably go with Rajkumar Hirani and I am sure you all would agree with my decision. This fellow gives everything in a movie that an audience asks for. A social message and a truck load of entertainment. All this without overdoing anything. Munnabhai became a cult in Indian cinema and for once people did not mind their children speaking the tapori language.
20) Hazaron Khwahishein Aisi (2003)
Director: Sudhir Mishra
Kay Kay Menon, Chitrangadha Singh, Shiney Ahuja
If you are a Kay Kay Menon fan and you think Shaurya was his best performance, you are mistaken. A free thinking rebellious socialist, a rich nonchalant, non idealistic guy and a gorgeous irresistible woman in between them. All this in the times of emergency. Do you need to know anything more?
21) Page 3 (2005)
Director: Madhur Bhandarkar
Konkana Sen, Atul Kulkarni, Boman Irani
I don’t think I could have made a list of movies without having a Madhur Bhandarkar special in it. He came across as a very bold director with his debut movie Chandni Bar but Page3 gave him a distinction of being a director of reality cinema. Well after watching Page 3 you cannot argue much on that. Himself being a part of that section of society, making a movie that exposes it, was a brave attempt by him and kudos to him for that. For a change general public got to see beyond the glamorous life of page 3 socialites and they loved it. It made them believe in the law of averages. It made them believe that their lives are as good or bad as of the ones appearing on entertainment channels and city tabloids.
22) Lagaan (2001)
Director: Ahsutosh Gowarikar
Aamir Khan, Paul Blackthrone
One word. EPIC. Probably the best ever Indian period movie and there is nothing periodic about it but for the era in which the story unfolds. Who could have thought there could be 4 hour long movie with 1 and a half hour of a cricket match? But there was and people loved every minute of those 4 hours and every ball of that cricket match. Lagan became symbolic with every sporting triumph of India and even today you jump a little when kachra takes his hattrick or when bhuvan dispatches the last ball over long off for a six. Like I said, EPIC.
23) Gadar Ek Prem Katha (2001)
Director: Anil Sharma
Sunny Deol, Amrish Puri, Ameesha Patel
“Barsaat se bachne ki haisiyat nahi aur golibari ki bat kar rahe hai aap log”. How can I not put this on my list? Most sensible Pakistan bashing movie ever made and I loved it.
24) Gulaal (2009)
Director: Anurag Kashyap
Kay Kay Menon, Raj Singh Chaudhary, Ayesha Mohan
Second movie by Anurag Kashyap on my list and like he himself said, this is an angry movie. Few people might find it disturbing thinking where Indian youth is headed but then Anurag never makes movies for those few. Similar to Anurag’s other movies (Black Friday, Paanch, Dev.D) the vital essence of this movie are love, betrayal, politics, deception, greed, hypocrisy and of course, the ultimate fight to gain power. Kay Kay Menon is at his wicked best and supporting him brilliantly are Raj Singh Chaudhary, Deepak Dobriyal, Ayesha Mohan, Jesse Randhawa and Abhimanyu Singh. Not for everyone, but those who like this kind of cinema will love it.
25) Johnny Gaddar (2007)
Director: Sriram Raghavan
Neil Nitin Mukesh, Rimi Sen, Dharmendra
May be I am saying a bit too much but I believe Alfred Hitchcock would have been proud of this movie. A masterpiece of a thriller where there is no suspense but still you are not aware of what is going to happen. The main protagonist sets out to do nothing wrong but the way things turn out, they make him do one bad thing after other. Every time he does something evil, you feel for him and think that he would do something to fix it but all he ends up doing is messing it up by doing something worse. And in spite of this you sympathize with him because you know he never intended to do it. I guess I have said enough. It is a must watch nerve wracking thriller
