It is that frosty,
sun-kissed time of the year when I smile widely and think of the finest films
of Bollywood- and that is something worth celebrating.
So, cheer at the fact that I
got ten solid films this year- ten films, not all perfect, not all liked by the
fickle audiences of our country but ten films that really showed that Bollywood
is still capable of churning out some of the best, indulgent pleasure for the senses
inside a darkened theater.
Actually, it is nine films and I was originally not
intentioned to pick in the last film but hell, why be so stingy? It was a great
year for movies nevertheless and I should be generous as well- in admiring that
film for its sincerity itself.
That said, let’s cast a look
at three colossal disappointments- three films helmed by solid directors, yet
all inherently messed up and problematic and which made for a more painful
experience than watching, say, ‘MSG’ or its sequel.
The Big Letdowns-
1 1- Dil Dhadakne Do- Zoya Akhtar tried a Karan Johar template
with this expensive family saga, a saga which unfortunately takes itself so
darn seriously that it stretches for nearly three hours, without throwing even
half a fresh insight into the themes it explores. Crammed with well-clad,
filthy-rich yet always insidious characters you never really care for (except
for maybe Ranveer Singh’s beleaguered son in the midst of the chaos), hampered
with a plodding, talky narrative devoid of wit and emotion, ‘Dil Dhadakne Do’
never makes the heart throb; it only lets its down by the sheer waste of
potential of its ideas and its stellar actors playing disgustingly selfish
folks finding redemption.
2- Shaandaar- From a
director, who gave us not only the finest comic yarn but also one of the finest
films last year, came this damp squib- a grand waste of the real potential to
be an unabashed, entertaining marriage romp. Silliness was never really the
problem but Vikas Bahl laid it too thickly on the threadbare plot of his film
and the result was an overcooked, always ridiculous film that is driven only by
fine actors like Sushma Seth and Pankaj Kapur cast as grating caricatures and
lots of nonsense all around. Even the lead pair of Shahid Kapur and Alia Bhatt
and Amit Trivedi’s boisterous score could not help to get the film out from its
cartoonish, childlike mold.
3- Shamitabh- It would have worked great as an
advertisement, really. R.Balki’s films have great acting, unique themes told in
even more unique ways and lots of frippery style in display but all of these
elements are stretched like tasteless chewing gum in this film- about a mute
actor helped by an anonymous, disgruntled voice actor on his callous way to
success-to the effect that the unique concept itself seems forced. The
ham-fisted direction ensures that we soon tire of even the most smartly
scripted moments- entire stretches of dialogues feel exhausting- and the fine
acting by Amitabh Bachchan and the talented Dhanush is all watered down by
sheer narrative excess.
And now we kick off the top
ten films-
10- Bajrangi Bhaijaan
Dir- Kabir Khan
Kabir Khan’s well-intentioned
and sincere fairytale- spanning India and Pakistan- and centering on a little
girl and her unlikely protector- suffers from a case of over-simplification. A
film with an intriguing premise like this needed a more deft directorial hand-
the kind of storytelling that would infuse it with real stakes and even some
solid emotional punch. What ‘Bajrangi Bhaijaan’ offers is merely comic
interludes, predictable (if well-shot) adventure and unashamed tear-jerking.
Yet, it is an
applause-worthy feat to take the larger-than-life essence of Salman Khan and
button it down to a likeable goof who is anything but heroic on the exterior
and to prove to us all that the wildly loved bad-boy celebrity can actually act.
More to the point, it is
equally a feat on Khan’s part to rest a film as overbearing as this on the
shoulders of a little girl. Harshaali Malhotra, playing the bubbly and
oh-so-beautiful Shahida aka Munni, is the film’s heart and soul- its crowning
achievement and for her- as well as for Nawazzuddin Siddiqui’s infectiously
plucky reporter and Khan’s confident handling of fairytale clichés-this
ungainly, uneven yet somehow charming film deserves mention.
9- Detective Byomkesh Bakshy
Dir-Dibakar Banerjee
Detectives on our silver
screen are tricky characters, rarely done right. Either they are deified as too
smart to be real or rendered as bumbling caricatures with odd mannerisms and
habits. So, it is bloody refreshing to see the seasoned Dibakar Banerjee take a
well-loved sleuth of Indian lore, strip him of all his reservations and cast
him instead as an all-too-relatable youngster- a fiendishly smart, slightly
sociopathic young man, wet behind the ears yet driven by eyes that see more than
they can comprehend.
Banerjee, one of our most
distinctive cinematic stylists, takes that premise and powers his solid mystery
film- a film which breathes seductive air into the Hindi noir genre- a film
crammed with mesmerizing shadows, with danger just lurking around in them. This
is also a thrilling character study of its naïve yet nifty protagonist, played
with devilish wit by Sushant Singh Rajput. Plucky, armed with a sense of
mischief yet genuinely befuddled, here is a Byomkesh that we also root for.
However, the sheer ambition
of the central plot- by Banerjee and Urmi Juvekar- demanded more thrills and
spills than just chills and the film’s lovingly retro-fitted Calcutta and the
intriguing 1940s wartime scenario remain as merely backdrops instead of
compelling characters themselves. Nevertheless, there is enough saucy seduction
and slinky style in this creepy thriller that ambles along like a tram ride
into twilit gullies. And in Neeraj Kabi’s Dr. Guha, a Moriarty to match this
young Holmes.
8- Dum Laga Ke Haisha
Dir- Sharat Katariya
Our romances have celebrated
free will and unshackled romance to the extent that it has become, as if by
rule, deathly dull, in need of effervescence and spark to make it lively.
Credit then debutante Sharat Katariya for not only doffing his hat at the
much-abused concept of arranged marriage in our country but also at one of the
most infuriating social stigmas of our culture as well- that of the plump
bride.
‘Dum Laga Ke Haisha’ might
sound like a really wooly idea on paper but Katariya films it perceptively and
beautifully, rooting it in a decadent milieu- of the scarlet-tinted 90s- and
then depicting with both cheek and convincing honesty an arranged union
blooming into understanding and then love. The good-for-nothing Prem (Ayushmann
Khurrana, in spontaneous, flustered form) is paired against the plump yet
tough-willed Sandhya (Bhumi Pednekar in a terrific debut) and the result is a
series of quirks and cracks, all portrayed with both split-second humor and
sublime emotion.
What is more remarkable is
how Katariya, armed with his nuanced, sprightly narrative, fleshes out the
conservative and enclosed world behind these unconventional lovers- a cozy
world in which times are changing, compact discs replacing audio cassettes and
men being schooled in code of conduct by ‘shakhas’. If the film’s climax is too
wishful for all the credibility around, that is only a minor complaint in a
film bursting with authentic, sizzling small-town flavor. That and Kumar Sanu’s
vocals blaring through the speakers.
7- Piku
Dir- Shoojit Sircar
It is incredible what
Shoojit Sircar can do with what General Jack D. Ripper called ‘precious bodily
fluids’. Not many years ago, he told us the story of a sperm donor and his
throbbing romance with love, laughter and tears. This time, he has done
something more thoughtful, building a fascinating daughter-father relationship
out of the most mundane of things- bowel movements.
For this is a wonderfully
warm film, oozing with sparky charm and making the most of its eyebrow-raising
topic with unabashed glee, peppering Juhi Chaturvedi’s crackerjack dialogue
with snappy mentions of loose motions, constipation and more to naturally
hilarious effect. It is in this comically charged rapport between the
perennially troubled father (played by Amitabh Bachchan with spectacular fire
and hearty mischief) and his spunky, headstrong eponymous daughter (a quietly
beautiful Deepika Padukone) that Sircar scores with spontaneous wit but there
is more.
The film, starting off as a
fine parent-child story, soon turns into a mesmeric road trip and then ends
with a nostalgia journey into a warm past. But while the actors are all
fascinating (Padukone is so darn irresistible while Irrfan Khan is amazing as
their de facto driver and fellow travel companion), the focus often digresses
from one point to another- from the father, to his daughter, to their fond
return to a sublime Calcutta. Nevertheless, ‘Piku’ remains an uplifting,
fun-filled and emotionally powerful experience- a film which has the uncanny
power to move us through motions.
6- Tamasha
Dir- Imtiaz Ali
Why always the same story,
asks the protagonist of Imtiaz Ali’s latest delightful film- a soaring,
stunning ode to the mesmerizing powers of storytelling. ‘Tamasha’ is basically
a film which tells us a tale as old as hills populated by raconteurs- of
self-discovery, of finding your plot in the large, burgeoning maze of stories
in the world and of forging your own path- with refreshing quirk, whimsy and
warmth. This is a film that ingeniously uses small but crucial and perfectly
fleshed details to tell a story that eventually feels epic.
Indeed, it is Ali’s
attention to nuances that make so much of this slightly overlong but always
stirring film truly memorable. And yet, for a film which celebrates the flights
of fancy, both visual and verbal, this is also a film of color and quirk that
is both ingenious and delightful. So, we have folk musicians singing about a
sad girl, a rickshaw driver’s disillusionment mirrored in the central character’s
dilemma and a wonderful multi-layered narrative that blends the routine of life
with the chaos on the stage.
Simply put, this is the tale
of Ved (Ranbir Kapoor, single-handedly commanding the frames) trying to break
free from convention and live as a bohemian storyteller who lives out his
fantasies but ‘Tamasha’ makes sure that we side with him all throughout in a
gorgeous, poignant yet always uplifting journey leaping from sun-kissed
Corsican romance (with an equally sunny Deepika Padukone) to impassioned
self-discovery. And it is largely in Ali’s mastery of both nuance and exotic
flavor that this journey is worth taking, if only to marvel at all its sights
and sounds.
5- Titli
Dir- Kanu Behl
The year’s most unglamorous
film is also one of its most shocking and powerful- a personal, incisive and
brutal indictment of the disgusting chinks in the facades of parenting and
marriage. Kanu Behl’s searing directorial debut is a gut-wrenching tale of sordid
life in the Gurgaon slums, which might have only its misleadingly clever title as
the brightest thing in it. This film showcases a world without hope- a world
where marriages are fixed as convenient deals and lived out as nightmarish
visions of a life on the edge.
At the heart of its
unforgivingly dry and depraved world, there is the story of despair- of the
scrawny Titli (played by an excellent Shashank Arora) scavenging for some cash
that can help him escape his car-jacking family and live in a brighter part of
the town. Behl fantastically and deviously shifts his focus perceptively from
this hellbent youngster to a crew of amazingly damaged characters around him-
his brothers, the raging Vikram (Ranvir Shorey), the seething Bawla (Amit Sial)
and the young, doe-eyed wife (Shivani Raghuvanshi, superb) who is tugged into
the chaos of this cruel world.
The detailing of this urban
cesspit is often marvelous-aided by Siddharth Diwan’s barely furnished visuals;
even more hard-hitting is the bitterly sardonic nature of parenting, family
rearing and relationships in a morally bleak world. ‘Titli’ refuses admirably
to stick to convention, telling us a tale of blood and brotherhood that shocks
as much as stuns us with brilliance and power. This is essential viewing, no
matter how hard it is to stomach it all.
4- NH-10
Dir- Navdeep Singh
Slasher films can be
powerful experiences. They might be essentially a celebration of gratuitous
gore and sleazy violence but they can also hammer us hard with scares- with
gloriously gory subtext about the nature of the world. It is rare to see that
in a Hindi film that sticks to the slasher template but sets out to do its own
thing. Navdeep Singh’s NH-10’ might be essentially one long, terrifying chase
down the highway to hell but it makes sure, with bone-chilling immediacy, that
the hellish destination is a world that feels all familiar.
A married couple go for a
road trip to enjoy some time together. But hardly have they hit the road when
the terror begins- a couple is brutally murdered in the name of honor in cold
blood and now the bloody hands that did it want no witnesses. What follows is a
dark and dangerous trail through the hinterland where the sun sets a tad too
early and plunges this land into decadence. Singh, armed with a foreboding
visual sense of peril and dread, captures this blood-splattered chase with
relentless intensity, with no relief for either the couple or the viewer.
But what follows is even
more unsettling- a film which uses its existential thriller tropes to indict
with honesty the prevailing sexism and misogyny in both the well-heeled urban
enclaves and the rugged hinterland of the world beyond the last toll booth.
More importantly, this is also a film that sees Anushka Sharma in the top of
her form- stripped of all her glamor and spunk, here is a woman gradually
turning from the hunted to the vengeful hunter in the film’s epic,
Peckinpah-like upsurge of violence- a fittingly ruthless end to the evil in
these badlands. Singh has made a film of both brains and brawns- a grown-up
horror story that is way too real to be called a slasher.
3- Bombay Velvet
Dir- Anurag Kashyap
Yes, I know. This is the
most controversial choice on this list. You can go on gabbing about how it is
so predictable, about how Kashyap could not match the ‘Wasseypur’ double-bill
with his jazzy love-letter to Bombay of the 60s, about how the plot is both
convoluted and yet too simple and so on and so forth. And still, even with all
its faults, there is nothing, quite simply nothing like ‘Bombay Velvet’ this
year. A film of such grand scope, of such staggering narrative breadth, a film
which wears its skyscraper-sized ambition on its sleeves, a film also with
perhaps the hands-down finest soundtrack that Bollywood has even produced.
It is sheer impossible to
resist the very feel of this classy caper-cum-historical soap opera. Kashyap
blends his Hollywood influences with his own flair for groove and swagger,
fashioning his fascinatingly alive 1960s Bombay with a besotted eye, capturing
all its Technicolor, gold-tinted, scandalous and sultry glory in
larger-than-life fashion, as in a Salman Rushdie paperback. The film’s deep and
rambling narrative terrifically captures the gist of redevelopment politics,
illegal deals, capitalist versus communist journalism and saucy scandal and it
all crackles to life in the story of two young lovers- cage-fighter turned
crook Johnny Balraj (Ranbir Kapoor) and jazz artist Rosie (Anushka Sharma), both
manipulated as pawns in a larger scramble for the city.
Sure, the plot loses some of
its steam midway, the characters are all crammed a bit too much for enough
space but what is the point in criticizing a film that sweeps you off your feet
with its sheer grandeur? More than just a caper, Kashyap fantastically tugs you
into the naked ambition of Balraj and how he unwittingly plots his own downfall
in a tale that doffs its hat both to ‘Scarface’ and Bombay potboilers of yore.
The actors are all fantastic, the dialogue crackles with punch and wit, Rajeev
Ravi shoots this retro-metropolis of jazz, swirling smoke, bullets and
nightlights with stunning mastery and Amit Trivedi composes a score that is
haunting, racy, elegiac, thrilling all at the same time. Go revisit it folks.
It is like getting drunk on cinema’s glorious excesses.
2- Badlapur
Dir- Sriram Raghavan
The film begins with facts-
a robbery goes kaput, the said thieves hijack a car and in the heated fury of
the chase, a woman and her son are killed. A young man, the husband and father,
is visibly distraught and then something snaps inside him. He wants revenge-
against the man who destroyed his family. But Sriram Raghavan sets up this
template and then gives it a snarling, sneaky, shocking twist- a film which
compels us to switch our sympathies- a revenge film which makes us think- a
dark, brooding, often violent yet sobering tale of two men pitted on opposite
sides of good and evil and how they end up exchanging their positions, as the
sands of time flow and hearts grow cold as ice with murderous intent.
Raghavan has always been a
master of the slam-bang, whip-cracking caper- his films spiced by sex and
treachery, peppered with clever references to famous caper films and pulpy
potboilers. But while ‘Badlapur’ has its own share of fun- a hilarious nod to ‘The
Great Escape’ and a great Ranjit joke somewhere in the middle- this might be
his finest film yet- a terse, tense tale of two men searching for revenge and
redemption. On one hand, the vengeful Raghav (Varun Dhawan, impressively
restrained and convincing) scavenges for the release that only a bloody revenge
can provide. On the other, the slimy Liak (a spectacular Nawazzuddin Siddiqui) is
trying to find some meaning to his on-the-edge existence.
The film mirrors its two
characters in a fascinatingly multi-thread narrative of amazing complexity,
dramatic violence and clever, insidious wit. Raghavan does not take sides in
the conflict of good and evil- he merely shows that revenge might be the only
hellish world to which they are condemned. And yes, this film, a long brood
through a dark night, makes us hear the rattle of inevitable death.
1- Talvar
Dir- Meghna Gulzar
Why do we love murder
scandals? Not because they are fascinating to unravel and solve with our own
wits but rather because we love to point our fingers, to accuse, to take the
side of victims and direct our anger at the supposed guilty. No other film has
touched a raw nerve as ‘Talvar’ did- unravelling a murder mystery, almost based
on real fact, with the details slightly changed and also exposing our national
distaste- our sick obsession with condemning people for private lives and
secrets- our unhealthy desire to gloat over other’s failings.
That is of course only the
great subtext. What is more meticulous is how Meghna Gulzar got so much of the
investigative procedural right. Most films make a grand mess of the same-
nailing cops as cartoonish and brutal or unrealistically heroic and then
assigning a hero to solve it all. To a little extent, ‘Talvar’ does that- it
begins with the murder of a young girl in her cozy home, with her befuddled
parents in the crosshairs of suspicion and then a diligent cop shows up to
clean up the mess.
Yet it all feels real,
totally credible and even as it has a hero in Irrfan Khan’s grungy, divorced,
determined state investigator, there is no happy ending, no clear conclusion to
Vishal Bhardwaj’s labyrinthine plot, a film which offers startling, stunning
explanations and alternative theories but the doubt lingers like a swirl of
mystery over the case.
The remarkable thing is how
meticulously the narrative sticks to detail- from the taut and tense
investigations, to slow-burn narcotic tests that reveal new truths to the
emotionally wrenching interrogations, as well as the slip-ups, flaws and
loopholes in the inquest. But what really sets ‘Talvar’ apart from other
thrillers is how it blends unexpected bursts of deadpan humor, emotional
turmoil and finely etched nuance- from a food stall owner to a choice of the
local TV channel to an investigator with a traditional mindset- that really
makes it an important watch for all of us.
Go watch it all. It takes
you by storm by depicting the facts of a case with honesty. It stays as real
and credible as it can but is also fearless to show the chinks in our law
enforcement system and then it talks volumes about our society’s diseased
perception of broken families and more. This is not just brilliant- it is
essential.
No comments:
Post a Comment