2011 was a great year for cinema. Except Indian cinema. No, I'm not one of those people who look down upon the movies made in our country. I love them for what they are but I'm also aware that they aren't the best out there. Albeit, 2009, 2007 and most notably, 2001 were great for Indian cinema. I could easily make Top 10 lists for those. But this year, it was difficult. For example, while the films in the runners-up list below were appreciated by me for various reasons but when I was making the top 10, I stopped and wondered.. will I ever watch these films again? Are they really the "best" our cinema offered. The answer was definitely not the affirmative. So here goes:
RUNNERS-UP:
The best comedy of the year. I still feel ashamed putting this one on my list or even admit to liking it. But has there ever been a movie where the woman-hate has been so.. so much fun? Come on, laugh a little.
Dhobhi Ghat tried to be the movie that tops this list. It tried to be a film that not only gets appreciated at festivals but also works commercially. It tried to show that you can make a film of high-calibre in India. Sadly, it doesn't. It is not as profound as it wishes to be. The stories could have been more interesting. Albeit, it is a perfectly good film. It gets the tone right, it gets the casting right (apart from Aamir Khan). This one is one of the best Mumbai films.
NO ONE KILLED JESSICA
The first film to be released in 2011 is still one of the best. It also features a bravura performance by Vidya Balan. The performance that will get overshadowed by the one in The Dirty Picture. This film works because of it's no nonsense, straightfoward storytelling. It doesn't sensationalize and become a film made by India TV execs. It sticks to narrating the story and that is it. Even Rani Mukherjee couldn't spoil this film.
It is sad that every children's film made in India can't be Goonies (1985), although Makdee (2002) does come close. Mr. India (1987) is the best ever. But post-Taare Zameen Par (2007), they all usher in some "issue" or the other. There were three great films of this kind this year - Chillar Party, I Am Kalam and Stanley Ka Dabba. I enjoyed all of them but Stanley Ka Dabba is the only one where the "issue" of the film hits you in the gut. Thank god, it only comes in the final moments. The rest of the film is pure delight and largely the reason why I put it here.
What a wonderful surprise this film was. As a Mumbai film, it scores and how. It does not show the movie world of Mumbai, or the typical gangster world. (Definitely not the artsy fartsy world of Dhobhi Ghat). It carves a new Mumbai, one that exists within this film and in some little ways, even in the actual city.
Click here for full review.
The most unfairly maligned, misunderstood film of the year. Most of it is its own doing (or undoing). This is also the only film on this list that has a good story to tell. Another powerhouse performance by Amitabh Bachchan which I would also call the best performance by an actor this year.
Click here for full review.
Out of all of the films in this list, this is the film which I will go back to the most. A film whose pace was perfect. The soundtrack was a perfect blend of Indian and the country it was set in. (That happens very rarely, trust me). After Don 2 being what it is, Farhan Akhtar must stick to acting for a while. He was better than Hrithik and Abhay here and that's saying something.
Click here for full review.
I'm still amazed how the film is being judged for its plot. Especially the last act. Coincidentally, I saw A Story is Born (1954) one day before I saw The Dirty Picture. I'm glad I did. Why would you analyze a film for its plot when its clearly ONLY about character? And what a fascinating character-study this is! A wonderfully constructed screenplay realized dazzlingly on the screen by Milan Luthria. Never before have obsession and fame been so wonderfully captured on mainstream Indian screen.
Needless to say, Vidya Balan gives the best lead actress performance of the year in this film.
I'm laughing even while I start writing anything about this one. If there is any "change" that came about in the industry this year, it was what this film did. This is the absolute best film of the year. No competish.
Click here for full review.
The Top 5 stands thus:
1. DELHI BELLY
2. THE DIRTY PICTURE
3. ZINDAGI NA MILEGI DOBARA
4. AARAKSHAN
5. SHOR IN THE CITY
Now I arrive at the two worst films of the year. Many tried to change cinema this year. Two films that did the opposite were:
BODYGUARD
SHAITAN
Bodyguard shows everything that is wrong with commercial cinema. Shaitan shows everything that is wrong with the arthouse (hate that word) cinema.
(Click on the links above to see my reviews of Bodyguard and Shaitan)
RUNNERS-UP:
PYAAR KA PUNCHNAMA
The best comedy of the year. I still feel ashamed putting this one on my list or even admit to liking it. But has there ever been a movie where the woman-hate has been so.. so much fun? Come on, laugh a little.
DHOBHI GHAT
Dhobhi Ghat tried to be the movie that tops this list. It tried to be a film that not only gets appreciated at festivals but also works commercially. It tried to show that you can make a film of high-calibre in India. Sadly, it doesn't. It is not as profound as it wishes to be. The stories could have been more interesting. Albeit, it is a perfectly good film. It gets the tone right, it gets the casting right (apart from Aamir Khan). This one is one of the best Mumbai films.
NO ONE KILLED JESSICAThe first film to be released in 2011 is still one of the best. It also features a bravura performance by Vidya Balan. The performance that will get overshadowed by the one in The Dirty Picture. This film works because of it's no nonsense, straightfoward storytelling. It doesn't sensationalize and become a film made by India TV execs. It sticks to narrating the story and that is it. Even Rani Mukherjee couldn't spoil this film.
STANLEY KA DABBA
It is sad that every children's film made in India can't be Goonies (1985), although Makdee (2002) does come close. Mr. India (1987) is the best ever. But post-Taare Zameen Par (2007), they all usher in some "issue" or the other. There were three great films of this kind this year - Chillar Party, I Am Kalam and Stanley Ka Dabba. I enjoyed all of them but Stanley Ka Dabba is the only one where the "issue" of the film hits you in the gut. Thank god, it only comes in the final moments. The rest of the film is pure delight and largely the reason why I put it here.
TOP 5 FILMS OF 2011
5. SHOR IN THE CITY
What a wonderful surprise this film was. As a Mumbai film, it scores and how. It does not show the movie world of Mumbai, or the typical gangster world. (Definitely not the artsy fartsy world of Dhobhi Ghat). It carves a new Mumbai, one that exists within this film and in some little ways, even in the actual city.
Click here for full review.
4. AARAKSHAN
The most unfairly maligned, misunderstood film of the year. Most of it is its own doing (or undoing). This is also the only film on this list that has a good story to tell. Another powerhouse performance by Amitabh Bachchan which I would also call the best performance by an actor this year.
Click here for full review.
3. ZINDAGI NA MILEGI DOBARA
Out of all of the films in this list, this is the film which I will go back to the most. A film whose pace was perfect. The soundtrack was a perfect blend of Indian and the country it was set in. (That happens very rarely, trust me). After Don 2 being what it is, Farhan Akhtar must stick to acting for a while. He was better than Hrithik and Abhay here and that's saying something.
Click here for full review.
2. THE DIRTY PICTURE
I'm still amazed how the film is being judged for its plot. Especially the last act. Coincidentally, I saw A Story is Born (1954) one day before I saw The Dirty Picture. I'm glad I did. Why would you analyze a film for its plot when its clearly ONLY about character? And what a fascinating character-study this is! A wonderfully constructed screenplay realized dazzlingly on the screen by Milan Luthria. Never before have obsession and fame been so wonderfully captured on mainstream Indian screen.
Needless to say, Vidya Balan gives the best lead actress performance of the year in this film.
1. DELHI BELLY
I'm laughing even while I start writing anything about this one. If there is any "change" that came about in the industry this year, it was what this film did. This is the absolute best film of the year. No competish.
Click here for full review.
The Top 5 stands thus:
1. DELHI BELLY
2. THE DIRTY PICTURE
3. ZINDAGI NA MILEGI DOBARA
4. AARAKSHAN
5. SHOR IN THE CITY
Now I arrive at the two worst films of the year. Many tried to change cinema this year. Two films that did the opposite were:
BODYGUARD
SHAITAN
Bodyguard shows everything that is wrong with commercial cinema. Shaitan shows everything that is wrong with the arthouse (hate that word) cinema.
(Click on the links above to see my reviews of Bodyguard and Shaitan)
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