In 2013,Bollywood had its share of blockbusters and we audience had an entertaining year. The box office was lead by Dhoom 3, followed by Krrish 3 and Chennai Express as the highest earners and in retrospect, the top 3 movies of 2013. But movie is an art form. Success and failure in the movie industry is definitely defined by the earnings, but a movie which won the heart of the audience and critics alike through it's cinematic brilliance is sure to carve out it's own niche irrespective of it's box office collections. We, the Indian audience have matured over the years and are pretty appreciative of movies which are "different" than the same formulaic commercial stuff laden with superstars and item numbers. Its not that we don't like the Masala movies, it's good time-pass, but we cannot always hail them for their originality, depth in story telling, brilliant acting! Maybe our increasing exposure to Hollywood movies have slowly changed out taste and expectations, and I believe that is for good. There is no shortage of creativity, and there is no shortage of talented people in this industry and the following list would certainly prove that. None of the movies in this list have broken box office records, but these are the ten best Bollywood movies of 2013 according to me. Please feel free to share your views.
10. Lootera
This is not just a movie but akin to a beautiful painting drawn on a canvas. Vikramaditya Motwane delivers a brilliant movie with impressive story-telling which is ably backed by Mahendra J. Shetty cinematography and critically acclaimed music by Amit Trivedi. Partly based on O. Henry's short story " The Last Leaf ", Lootera is an overwhelming movie well carried through by Ranveer Singh and Sonakshi Sinha.
9. Bandook
Bandook is a hard hitting movie with it's view of rural politics in India, the power struggles and the ambitions of men.The best part of this movie is it's realism. The characters in the movie feel real, the dialogs are brilliant, the cinematography is great. The music by Nikhil Kamath is pretty impressive. The song "Mrug Trishna Marusthal ki", which is the last song sung by the legend Jagjeet Singh, is a classic. Yes, this movie has violence and profanity which may not be every one's cup of tea, but so was Gangs Of Wasseypur!
8. Raanjhanaa
Shot in the backdrop of our picturesque Benaras and filled with melodious music of A.R Rehman, Raanjhanaa is more than just a romantic drama. The astounding cinematography by N. Subramanian and Vishal Sinha, by means of by bold usage of color, leads the viewers through the scintillating visual journey of Raanjhanaa. Nice story, nice dialogues and a beautiful script is well supported by the cast of the movie. Dhanush carries the movie with great talent, Abhay Deol is smooth as usual, and Sonam Kappor dared to experiment with this movie, and comes out triumphant.
7. Lakeer Ka Fakeer
Set in the backdrop of the Mumbai Underworld, Lakeer ka Fakeer is a moview about three friends whose biggest crime in life is that they were born in Mumbai's "dark" area. Fakeer (Ajaz Khan) dreams of becoming a taxi driver in Dubai, Chotu Mobile (Javed Hyder) wants to set up his own mobile shop and Sulaiman (Vicky Ahuja) hopes to become a politician. This movie is not about mafia but about individuals who dream for a better tomorrow.The acting of Javed Hyder and Vicky Ahuja is simply brilliant! This movie is based on real life incidents and Fakeer's character is loosely based on Irfan Chindi, a resident of Nagpada - Mumbai, who reportedly became a police informer. and was stabbed to death on April 3, 2009. This movie is a must watch!
6. Special 26
I wish to have more of this from Akshay Kumar. We all love good suspense thrillers and this is definitely one of them. Clever script, nice story and great twists, that's what Special 26 is. Manoj Bajpayi and Anupam Kher steals the show with some brilliant acting. This movie is inspired by a real-life heist that took place at jewellery showroom in Mumbai on 19 March 1987.
5. Madras Cafe
"I didn't want to make glitzy thriller like Ek Tha Tiger or Agent Vinod, which seem inspired by the James Bond template. I want to show that intelligence officers are ordinary people who live amongst us. It is only that they have to solve issues where national security is at stake,"
- Soojith Sircar.
And he did just that and gave us a tense and explosive political espionage thriller in Madras Cafe. Well researched and very realist, this movies deals with the sensitive subjects of the Sri Lankan civil war and Rajiv Gandhi assassination plot. This is a movie that will keep you engaged till the end.
And yes, the cinematography is excellent!
4. Kai Po Che
Based on Chetan Bhagat's "The Three Mistakes of My Life", this is a movie about three friends, about friendship - love and passion as well as the dark side of politics. If you have read the book or not - watch this movie. Director Abhishek Kapoor has delivered an irresistible movie, a must watch for all.
3. Shahid
Produced by Anurag Kashyap, Directed by Hansal Mehta, Shahid is a biographical film based on the life of lawyer and human rights activist Shahid Azmi, who was assassinated in 2010 in Mumbai. This movie is gripping, it feels real and is delivered in a simple manner that would overwhelm you. What makes this biopic a classic is the story, screenplay, direction and powerful acting of the cast lead by RajKumar Rao who is simply brilliant in this movie. Every character in this movie feels so real. Prabhleen Sandhu, K.K Menon and Tigmanshu Dhulia all play their part effortlessly. This is a brilliant movie that everyone should watch.
2. Bhag Milkha Bhag
This movie is a Biopic of one of the legends of Indian Sports, Milkha Singh.
Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra has delivered in his signature style and led us into a visual journey of the hardships and the eventual triumphs of the legend. The non-linear narrative keeps the audience engrossed , Binod Pradhan's cinematography is praiseworthy and the music by Shakar-Ehsan-Loy is good. And without any doubt, Farhan Akhtar steals the show!
1. The LunchBox
My thanks to Ritesh Batra for giving us this masterpiece!
This movie is not a visual journey, this movie is a journey through a beautiful story.
Two strangers and a muted love story delivered effortlessly by brilliant direction from Ritesh Batra and excellent acting from Irrfan Khan, Nawazuddin Siddiqui and Nimrat Kaur. Without a doubt the best movie to have come out India in a long time.
10. Lootera
This is not just a movie but akin to a beautiful painting drawn on a canvas. Vikramaditya Motwane delivers a brilliant movie with impressive story-telling which is ably backed by Mahendra J. Shetty cinematography and critically acclaimed music by Amit Trivedi. Partly based on O. Henry's short story " The Last Leaf ", Lootera is an overwhelming movie well carried through by Ranveer Singh and Sonakshi Sinha.
9. Bandook
Bandook is a hard hitting movie with it's view of rural politics in India, the power struggles and the ambitions of men.The best part of this movie is it's realism. The characters in the movie feel real, the dialogs are brilliant, the cinematography is great. The music by Nikhil Kamath is pretty impressive. The song "Mrug Trishna Marusthal ki", which is the last song sung by the legend Jagjeet Singh, is a classic. Yes, this movie has violence and profanity which may not be every one's cup of tea, but so was Gangs Of Wasseypur!
8. Raanjhanaa
Shot in the backdrop of our picturesque Benaras and filled with melodious music of A.R Rehman, Raanjhanaa is more than just a romantic drama. The astounding cinematography by N. Subramanian and Vishal Sinha, by means of by bold usage of color, leads the viewers through the scintillating visual journey of Raanjhanaa. Nice story, nice dialogues and a beautiful script is well supported by the cast of the movie. Dhanush carries the movie with great talent, Abhay Deol is smooth as usual, and Sonam Kappor dared to experiment with this movie, and comes out triumphant.
7. Lakeer Ka Fakeer
Set in the backdrop of the Mumbai Underworld, Lakeer ka Fakeer is a moview about three friends whose biggest crime in life is that they were born in Mumbai's "dark" area. Fakeer (Ajaz Khan) dreams of becoming a taxi driver in Dubai, Chotu Mobile (Javed Hyder) wants to set up his own mobile shop and Sulaiman (Vicky Ahuja) hopes to become a politician. This movie is not about mafia but about individuals who dream for a better tomorrow.The acting of Javed Hyder and Vicky Ahuja is simply brilliant! This movie is based on real life incidents and Fakeer's character is loosely based on Irfan Chindi, a resident of Nagpada - Mumbai, who reportedly became a police informer. and was stabbed to death on April 3, 2009. This movie is a must watch!
6. Special 26
I wish to have more of this from Akshay Kumar. We all love good suspense thrillers and this is definitely one of them. Clever script, nice story and great twists, that's what Special 26 is. Manoj Bajpayi and Anupam Kher steals the show with some brilliant acting. This movie is inspired by a real-life heist that took place at jewellery showroom in Mumbai on 19 March 1987.
5. Madras Cafe
"I didn't want to make glitzy thriller like Ek Tha Tiger or Agent Vinod, which seem inspired by the James Bond template. I want to show that intelligence officers are ordinary people who live amongst us. It is only that they have to solve issues where national security is at stake,"
- Soojith Sircar.
And he did just that and gave us a tense and explosive political espionage thriller in Madras Cafe. Well researched and very realist, this movies deals with the sensitive subjects of the Sri Lankan civil war and Rajiv Gandhi assassination plot. This is a movie that will keep you engaged till the end.
And yes, the cinematography is excellent!
4. Kai Po Che
Based on Chetan Bhagat's "The Three Mistakes of My Life", this is a movie about three friends, about friendship - love and passion as well as the dark side of politics. If you have read the book or not - watch this movie. Director Abhishek Kapoor has delivered an irresistible movie, a must watch for all.
3. Shahid
Produced by Anurag Kashyap, Directed by Hansal Mehta, Shahid is a biographical film based on the life of lawyer and human rights activist Shahid Azmi, who was assassinated in 2010 in Mumbai. This movie is gripping, it feels real and is delivered in a simple manner that would overwhelm you. What makes this biopic a classic is the story, screenplay, direction and powerful acting of the cast lead by RajKumar Rao who is simply brilliant in this movie. Every character in this movie feels so real. Prabhleen Sandhu, K.K Menon and Tigmanshu Dhulia all play their part effortlessly. This is a brilliant movie that everyone should watch.
2. Bhag Milkha Bhag
This movie is a Biopic of one of the legends of Indian Sports, Milkha Singh.
Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra has delivered in his signature style and led us into a visual journey of the hardships and the eventual triumphs of the legend. The non-linear narrative keeps the audience engrossed , Binod Pradhan's cinematography is praiseworthy and the music by Shakar-Ehsan-Loy is good. And without any doubt, Farhan Akhtar steals the show!
1. The LunchBox
My thanks to Ritesh Batra for giving us this masterpiece!
This movie is not a visual journey, this movie is a journey through a beautiful story.
Two strangers and a muted love story delivered effortlessly by brilliant direction from Ritesh Batra and excellent acting from Irrfan Khan, Nawazuddin Siddiqui and Nimrat Kaur. Without a doubt the best movie to have come out India in a long time.
I havent watched all the 10 movies but I feel madras cafe should come much up the list. Kai po che is no doubt good but i felt special 26 and madras cafe is much better.
ReplyDeleteAlso now that I remember I feel few movies like Bombay Talkies, Chennai express, Satyagraha will come in my list.
ReplyDeleteGood list, now I have some movies that I still need to catch up on. Couple of others which I liked were Fukrey, Satyagraha and Nautanki Sala.
ReplyDelete