Five Most Path-Breaking Bollywood Films Of 2016

5- Pink 

Dir- Aniruddha Roy Chaudhury

On the face of it, there is little new or radical about Aniruddha Roy Chaudhary's 'Pink'- a legal drama that sees a rusty yet still articulate courtroom warrior stand up in defence of three women wronged because of an accidental crime of self defence against men who won't take 'no' for an answer. It is a template that seems to be done to dusted in both Hollywood and Bollywood cinema and yet the difference lies in how Chaudhary twirls it around in the heat of screenwriter Ritesh Shah's verbal fireworks and together the director and writer- armed with a legendary leading man- set out to slay the guilty culprit of urban misogyny itself.

It is also refreshing to see how the somewhat obvious plot setup— of three girls (played superbly by Tapsee Pannu, Kirti Kulhari and Andrea Triang) put through the shredder by society's accusing fingers- is treated with utter lack of overstatement. Chaudhary keeps things taut and believable- his film might be set in Delhi and the film's grim visuals reek of a realistic yet understated Sidney Lumet-like grit but this is a travesty that can happen anywhere, irrespective of any city in India. In fact, it is happening now, every second around us and it is the immediacy of the dastardly proceedings that makes 'Pink' so real and relatable. 

Reality, however harsh, takes a backseat once we have Amitabh Bachchan's wild-eyed, bellowing and bipolar lawyer storm into the stage, as he takes on all our shallow hypocrisies and misconceptions one by one with whistle-worthy effect. What starts as a debate on right and wrong ends up becoming an impassioned cry for change. 

4- Fan

Dir- Maneesh Sharma

At a time when we were all ready to write off Shah Rukh Khan as a fading sensation, the mammoth-sized star struck back and how. Maneesh Sharma’s ‘Fan’ might be most remembered for reminding us that there is still a dynamic, spontaneous and boundary-smashing actor inside the aging legend; the fact that he gets to play both the makeshift lookalike and his very own celebrity image that the former imitates with star-struck obsession is itself evidence of this. But there is more to come. ‘Fan’ lets him play both the admirer and the admired and in the process of setting up an enthralling battle of wits between the two, ends up being also a pitch-black satire on what it means to be a celebrity and what it means to slobber over one.

So, before all you cynics can write it off as contrived, pulpy or even unrealistic (the final 10 minutes may feel a bit trying after such taut, terrific storytelling all around), think again and you will realize that ‘Fan’ is firstly a bloody-edged jab at the nature of our fan-worship itself. Are we right in believing that we can do anything, no matter how right or wrong, in the unblinking worship of our screen gods? And to what limits are we all willing to go in our obsession?

Such matters are however beyond the scope of Gaurav Chandna, a hapless fanboy who has made an existence of living out his fantasies and who, when slighted by his idol Aryan Khanna, sets out on a path of chilling cinematic revenge not unlike one that our very own Khan’s anti-heroes of the 90s could have taken. There too, Sharma and writers Habib Faisal and Sharat Katariya deconstruct the image of the all-too-powerful star- here he is an egotistical and insecure man who finds his flimsy world collapsing. And it is only after ‘Fan’ has stunned your mind that it works best as an action-thriller that would have made Hitchcock proud. 

3- Udta Punjab

Dir- Abhishek Chaubey

Nearly everyone walked into ‘Udta Punjab’ thinking that it will be a hilarious, off-the-wall comedy in which the problem of drug addiction of the eponymous state would be merely a backdrop. So, nobody was ready when Abhishek Chaubey, armed with one spectacular cast of both big and small performers, brought the backdrop into the centre stage and plunged it right on our eyes when we were least expecting it. You could call ‘Udta Punjab’ a cautionary crusade with coked-up humour lacing its intensity. I would call it the year’s most moral film- a film which tells us of a state that is in a deluge more sickening than a fatal overdose. 

But if cinema could be a roaring campaign of protest, then other filmmakers should learn a thing or two from how Chaubey made sure that we were on the edge of our seats, grabbed by our collars and both tickled and terrified with perverse glee as a beautifully sculpted screenplay (with great support by Sudip Sharma) connects a handful of good, bad, helpless and befuddled characters in a tale that has them confronting harsh truths, gruelling realities and even possible hope and redemption.

‘Udta Punjab’ piles on the unglamorous drama, the unsavoury grit and the unconventionally biting comedy to devastating effect as its characters are fleshed to throbbing life by a cast of extraordinary performances. Shahid Kapoor’s powder-guzzling pop star Tommy Singh and Diljit Dosanjh’s do-gooder underdog cop Sartaj are both terrific but not quite as Alia Bhatt’s ferociously emotional unnamed lass, who falls and rises from the morbid depths of depravity to find a hint of mustard-hued hope. All the while, Amit Trivedi plays a fabulous score that sizzles with both the heady thrill of cocaine and the horrific anguish of an addiction.

2- Dangal

Dir- Nitesh Tiwari

Just when you thought you could find medallists destined for gold literally on trees, Nitesh Tiwari's masterful and mesmerising sports drama told us all, with the fierce determination of a stern father, that true legends are born out of domestic discipline and nourishment and not just blind luck and chance. The film sees a determined albeit domineering father who sizes up his daughters, compels them to give up their desires and teaches them how to set the wrestling pits and mats on fire. Sure, it takes hard decisions to make it to glory but Mahavir Singh Phogat also does it because he believes.

And rousing belief is what Phogat's spirited daughters inspire in us all, played in different ages by a series of exceptionally talented girls (especially the delightful Zaira Wasim and Suhani Bhatnagar) who would now be well-known enough to all. Instead, let's talk about Aamir Khan's phenomenally solid Phogat himself- a man whose ruthless methods make him hardly heroic but also whose cast-iron integrity and winsome sincerity make his pain-staking quest for glory truly thrilling. Meanwhile, Tiwari skewers our flawed beliefs of both gender and convention. 'Dangal' scores in the dramatic yet utterly credible stakes that it brings to the tale. People still need to be convinced that women, too, can slug it off with worthy opponents. Modernists need to be convinced that sport stars can be created out of traditional training too.

And we, as spectators, need to realise that this is the quintessential sports film for Bollywood since 'Chak De! India'. Tiwari's film has both brains and brawn in both its enthralling narrative and its muscular wrestling sequences and this is something that is just too rare and indeed special enough to be celebrated. 

1- Raman Raghav 2.0

Dir- Anurag Kashyap

Anurag Kashyap's brilliant, breathless and bloody tale is more than just a serial killer thriller featuring one of Bollywood cinema's most incredible actors at the top of his game. Rather, 'Raman Raghav 2.0', that merely takes its name from the infamous actual murderer of the 1960s, tears out the rawest nerve of urban society- the facade of civilisation rotten from the core with animalistic brutality. Violence and depravity, as Kashyap's film suggests, is an element of our lives and it is the utterly morbid depths of the same that can make a cop the mirror image of a recklessly unhinged criminal on the loose.

And it is in the giddily enthralling yet sobering celebration of this nihilistic homoerotic union between two sides of the coin of anarchy that 'Raman Raghav 2.0' hits the peak of a bristling, brutal potboiler. Nawazuddin Siddiqui plays, with bloody-eyed menace, the psychotic Ramanna, who ambles around and sheds blood to escape from a dark world collapsing around him. And Vicky Kaushal plays, with equally hard-hitting flair, as the damaged Raghavan,a seemingly smart-aleck cop who has demons that drive him on his suicidal path. The two are destined to meet and become the face of evil that stalks the streets at night.

But before that, Kashyap, aided by co-writer Vasan Bala and cinematographer Jay Oza, reveals real balls of steel in ratcheting up the unbearable tension of a devastating death (watch that prolonged and heart-wrenching scene between Ramanna and his beleaguered sister played superbly by Amruta Subhash) and the shocking impact of the two men's amoral exploits. And in the backdrop is suburban Bombay- a character bursting with sinful sleaze, slime and sordid truths- that becomes the fiery stage for the blood-splattered fest that the Devil would have enjoyed gladly. 

Oscars Special: La La Land- A Lovely, Lovely Feast Of Love

In many ways, I felt that La La Land, the eponymous studio city of Damien Chazelle's smashing new film, is like our very own Bombay.

And that is not only because this is a city that produces million-dollar cinematic dreams or has residents drunk on its star-studded pomp and show but this is also a city in which it could be Christmas and still the sun could be shining brightly as ever.

And indeed, as this swooning and swinging new-age musical begins and ends, with a title announcing it as Winter, we see sun-kissed fun and frolic all around- with the girls still wearing their gay summer dresses with splashes of colours that could have belonged to the spunky cocktails served at the gala parties that they attend. The sun shines as brightly as ever and everyone dances and celebrates as gaily as ever. Yet, as the season changes to spring and then to summer, we see all the pretty things cavort in poolside parties and even the tinsel town turns leafy and languid with love.  

It is this rapturous attention to detail that makes so much of 'La La Land' truly eye-popping as a spectacle scored to incredible, irresistibly melodious music. It is not just a swinging, stunning musical for ages; it is also a lavishly crafted feast of cinema that feels like the stuff of dreams. I mean it literally.

Hollywood is after all a fabled land of our most fervent fantasies and yet it has, as demonstrated by David Lynch's unforgettable 'Mulholland Drive', the cruel power to shatter all of them with the blow of harsh reality. Reality, in Chazelle's world, however, takes a reluctant backseat and this is how we kickstart things on a truly grand scale- with a spell-binding prelude that has all these starry-eyed and naive dreamers alighting like screen gods from their fancy sedans stranded in inexorable traffic and shaking their legs and crooning their hearts out, before eventually returning to the humdrum reality of the situation. It is a moment that is to be seen to be believed.

Among these dreamers, we have our film's lovably vulnerable leads- barista-cum-wannabe actress Mia rehearsing her audition lines mid-traffic and jazz pianist Sebastian, who is impatient to steer his elegant convertible through the crowd. The sparks are all too evident between the two right in this first moment of happenstance and as the two stumble into each other from time, what we have in hands is the setup of a purely giddy romance in the making. 

There is nothing overtly spectacular about both of them: she loves acting, he loves classic jazz and yet it is wonderfully refreshing to see how Chazelle plays with these fundamental aspirations with a laid-back refrain and instead captures the gushingly effervescent charm between the two. Their first waltz together bursts with pluck- he starts humming while she keeps on hunting, with her vivid eyes, for her car and a couple of minutes later, we see them matching each other step for step, tapping their feet with all the urge to get talking and to get the inevitable things started. There is a special sense of magic in the way how Sebastian kicks off some dust as if to egg her to join him or how Mia rejoins Sebastian's own singing with spunky defiance. 

The two make such a naturally charming couple- watch him gush about the painstaking importance of jazz and her wondering if elevator music could also qualify as jazz since it is so soothing- that we already start wondering: is it right that they should break up? Yet, 'La La Land' never forgets that it is the pursuit of some dreams (and the inevitable reality in the periphery) that can always break other fantasies in the process. 

Does it sound all too serious? Chazelle's film is far from serious and is flushed, instead, with an enthralling sense of optimism that never feels out of hand. Even the more heartbreaking moments are bits that he plays confidently like a gifted musician, with an ear for poignant melody and an eye for the odd but most welcome nuance or detail. Sebastian tinkering on his piano and singing 'City Of Stars' along with Mia underscores a crushingly tender moment when both are forging their own paths that would lead, tragically, to them going apart. Later on, a dinner that turns disastrous ends with an overcooked meal and creative disillusionment is expressed with a touch of hilarity as an ageing and wizened photographer asks Sebastian to pose while playing a tune. 

Visually and thematically, this is a frequently beautiful film. Chazelle's last film 'Whiplash' was a sizzling drama of a rookie's pursuit of greatness punctuated with blood, sweat, toil and tears and his love for the cinematic format is all too evident in its slinky, sleekly edited frames. But this is something else already. 'La La Land' revels in literal explosions of colour- from the Technicolor-tinted bedrooms and striped sofas to the candy-coloured jackets and gowns of the men and women to even the stain of spilled coffee on Mia's shirt. The musical numbers, in particular that prelude, are choreographed with a seamless balance of grace and full-blown splendour- when Linus Sandgren's cameras sneak up close to Mia in midst of a celebration, it also pulls out of her magnificently, the rejoicing crowds around her frozen for a moment before it all starts again. The cinematography is vibrant, energetic and frequently poetic and profound in the fashion of those classic Hollywood musicals. And  It is simply marvellous to see one of the dancing crowds- a tie-wearing office worker hesitate in a moment of inspiration before letting a bunch of musicians let it rip- and it is equally heart-rending to see Mia break into a song mid-audition, a rousing celebration of the rebel inside us all. Wow.

And we could not have asked for a better cast for this. Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone are endearingly spectacular as Sebastian and Mia and while they are far from being great crooners, the natural sincerity in their young voices is remarkable. Gosling is proving to be great in playing deadpan humour with affable ease while Stone uses her marvellous eyes to great effect, especially when gazing at her partner with amazed wonder, skepticism and, at times, a little of both. The two also get their moment in the sun- in a magical scene that defies logic and ground rules and has them swaying under, as Bowie would have said, 'the serious moonlight'.

And yet, it is at the end when Chazelle presents his final grand trick- a stunning, drop-dead gorgeous epilogue of literal wish-fulfilment that is to be seen to be believed in all its gorgeous and throbbing emotion. But by now, we all know why 'La La Land' is so special- it is a film about dreams that believes in them and tells us all to dream, even in the face of reality. Watch it, in stunning CinemaScope no less, and tell me if your bird can sing. 

My Rating - 5 Stars Out Of 5. 

Filmfare Awards 2017- Predictions

Best Playback Singer (Female):

Kanika Kapoor – Da da dasse (Udta Punjab)
Jonita Gandhi – Break up song (Ae Dil Hai Mushkil)
Neeti Mohan – Sau aasman (Baar Baar Dekho)
Neha Bhasin – Jag ghoomeya (Sultan)
Palak Mucchal – Kaun Tujhe (MS Dhoni: The Untold Story)
Qurat-ul-Ain Balouch – Kari kari (Pink)

Who Will Win: This line-up does not really comprise extraordinary songs- except for maybe ‘Da Da Dasse’- the nearly unsung champion in an already extraordinary soundtrack- and it is the generic nature of most of the nominees that gives them equal chance to grab it. 

That said, I can see Kanika Kapoor for the same song holding an edge here along with Neha Bhasin for the female version of ‘Jag Ghoomeya’ as well as Palak Muchchal for ‘Kaun Tujhe’. The award can go to either of them but do not still discount other contenders in the list.

Who Should Win: Kanika Kapoor, for her whip-cracking delivery laced with the kind of rugged oomph that they just don’t have in Punjabi songs these days. 

Best Playback Singer (Male):

Amit Mishra – Bulleya (Ae Dil Hai Mushkil)
Arijit Singh – Ae dil hai mushkil (Ae Dil Hai Mushkil)
Arijit Singh – Channa mereya (Ae Dil Hai Mushkil)
Atif Aslam – Tere sang yara (Rustom)
Rahat Fateh Ali Khan – Jag ghoomeya (Sultan)

Who Will Win: This is a bigger fight with two singers pitted against each other, each nominated for chartbusters. Will it be newbie Amit Mishra for slamming the true rocker vocals the insanely famous ‘Bulleya’ which has conquered all the music charts? Or will Arijit Singh make it for either of the two equally popular songs from the same album? Let the jury decide that.

Who Should Win: While Mishra did prove himself as a solid upcoming talent, Singh is still more deserving, simply for conveying the poignant heartbreak of both the songs in the most elegant way possible. 

Best Lyrics:

Amitabh Bhattacharya – Channa mereya (Ae Dil Hai Mushkil)
Gulzar – Aave re hitchki (Mirzya)
Gulzar – Mirzya (Mirzya)
Irshad Kamil – Jag ghoomeya (Sultan)
Kausar Munir – Love you zindagi (Dear Zindagi)
Late Shiv Kumar Batalvi – Ikk kudi (Udta Punjab)

Who Will Win: The contest is getting trickier by each category. The legendary Gulzar dominates the list with two absolutely smashing numbers that illustrates his ever-improving versatility and linguistic power- from the emotionally naked longing of ‘Aave Re Hitchki’ to the galloping thrill of love against all odds in ‘Mirzya’. But he has found an equally worthy contender this time in Amitabh Bhattacharya, whose spectacularly devastating ‘Channa Mereya’ became such a rage that impromptu nonsense lyricists tweaked its heart-breaking  lines- of separation and unrequited love- in favour of ditties for demonetisation. 

Who Should Win: Bhattacharya has been eyeing that black lady for all these years now and it is high time since they handed it over to him for what must be one of his finest lyrics. That said, it feels a bit unfair to snatch it away from the hands of the bespectacled behemoth in the crowd. 

Best Music Album:

Amaal Mallik, Badshah, Arko, Tanishk Bagchi, Benny Dayal and Nucleya– Kapoor & Sons
Amit Trivedi – Udta Punjab
Meet Bros, Amaal Mallik, Ankit Tiwari & Manj Musik – Baaghi
Pritam – Ae Dil Hai Mushkil
Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy – Mirzya
Vishal-Shekhar – Sultan

Who Will Win: If this jury follows the example of all those awards (!) ceremonies in the last few months, then consider this fight to be done and dusted. Pritam is taking it home for his widely acclaimed and loved ‘Ae Dil Hai Mushkil’ and we should let him take it, if only before his haters start finding out that some of it could also be plagiarized.

Who Should Win: Am I the only one who thinks that ‘Dangal’ was a more solid Pritam creation than ‘Ae Dil Hai Mushkil’? Sure, ‘Bulleya’ and ‘Channa Mereya’ are guaranteed classics but what about some fun-filled but filler material like ‘The Breakup Song’ and ‘Cutiepie’? And in any case, while the beautiful ‘Mirzya’ will be too deep and sophisticated for the juries, when are they going to give Amit Trivedi an award? ‘Udta Punjab’- with its daring blend of scathing lyrics and Punjabi pop, bhangra and rap- deserves this easily. 

Best Actor In A Supporting Role (Female):

Kareena Kapoor Khan – Udta Punjab
Kirti Kulhari – Pink
Ratna Pathak Shah – Kapoor And Sons
Richa Chadda – Sarbjit
Shabana Azmi – Neerja

Who Will Win: All it took was one powerhouse and totally unexpected scene from the climax of ‘Neerja’ to leave all the mothers among the audience with giant lumps in their throats. Given the overall weak competition (though Kirti Kulhari still holds some edge, especially for her emotional outburst in the courtroom), this is Shabana Azmi’s award to lose.

Who Should Win: Kulhari was the best performer among the trio of ladies in ‘Pink’; her character, flawed around the edges yet determined to play it straight, lent the ensuing courtroom debate with its real throbbing heart of pain. But Azmi is of a different league altogether and even without the tear-jerking element, this was the performance of an affable, loving mother suitably devastated by tragedy. She deserves it wholly.

Best Actor In A Supporting Role (Male):

Diljit Dosanjh – Udta Punjab
Fawad Khan – Kapoor And Sons
Jim Sarbh – Neerja
Rajat Kapoor – Kapoor & Sons
Rajkummar Rao – Aligarh
Rishi Kapoor – Kapoor And Sons

Who Will Win: Wow, what a line-up! Jim Sarbh made the face of carnage all too real by playing the boisterously evil terrorist in ‘Neerja’, Fawad Khan played a dashing son with a hidden secret up his sleeve with underplayed charm, Rishi Kapoor and Rajat Kapoor played fathers, wizened and flawed respectively and Rajkummar Rao is spectacular in every film that he is in. And yet, even with all these contenders, the obvious choice would be Diljit Dosanjh as the naturally charismatic underdog cop Sartaj who turned into one of the most endearing male heroes of the year.

Who Should Win: As said, each of the actors is great but Dosanjh made us all realize the glaring lack of effortlessly charismatic cinematic Sardar avatars in our films. Sloppy, vulnerable yet armed with a winsome smile and eyes that gleam with sincerity, he is one of the brightest things about 2016.

Best Actor In A Leading Role (Female):

Aishwarya Rai Bachchan – Sarbjit
Alia Bhatt – Dear Zindagi
Alia Bhatt – Udta Punjab
Anushka Sharma – Ae Dil Hai Mushkil
Sonam Kapoor – Neerja
Vidya Balan – Kahaani 2

Who Will Win: Are we all looking at a possibility of one of the youngest winners of this category? Bollywood’s lovechild Alia Bhatt is here pitted against ace actresses of all ages and doing different roles but the thing is that she may stand above them all with a glittering black lady in her young wrists. Even if they had not nominated her for her the indelibly spectacular anonymous role in ‘Udta Punjab’, she would have been certain for this prize for playing girly angst with true relish in ‘Dear Zindagi’. Still, Sonam Kapoor’s spirited portrayal of Neerja Bhanot is a slight worry to upset those chances. 

Who Should Win: It was admirable enough to see this hitherto shiny starlet go through the grill and disappear into the muddy, naturalistic essence of her unnamed damsel in distress in ‘Udta Punjab’ and to see her bring a surge of emotional pathos and unexpected hope into the film’s dire proceedings. As if that was not enough, she reinvented herself again and ended up playing a girl who had every reason to whine about her life and relationships. Take a bow, Alia. 

Best Actor In A Leading Role (Male):

Aamir Khan – Dangal
Amitabh Bachchan – Pink
Ranbir Kapoor – Ae Dil Hai Mushkil
Salman Khan – Sultan
Shah Rukh Khan – Fan
Shahid Kapoor – Udta Punjab
Sushant Singh Rajput – MS Dhoni: The Untold Story

Who Will Win: Let’s not kid ourselves- Salman Khan is not going to win this category, ever. That leaves the room open to the two other Khans in the list. And to be frank, both Aamir and Shah Rukh did prove their best acting mettle in their respective roles. Aamir played the tough yet determined Mahavir Singh Phogat with both thrilling emotional fury and an authentically piled-up thick waist while Shah Rukh played both the tortured admired and the terrifying admirer with gamely relish to deliver a doubly effective powerhouse performance. Bravo.

That does not mean, however, that others don’t stand a chance. Ranbir Kapoor and Shahid Kapoor might have played somewhat similar roles before as well but their performances did win them raves. And even more than them, Sushant Singh Rajput, who got to play a real-life cricketing star in all his guts and glory, holds some chance himself (though I suspect that they might give away the Critic’s Choice Award to him as consolation). Above all, the evergreen and ever-dynamic Amitabh Bachchan towers over the rest of the younger crowd, with his performance as the bellowing and bipolar aging courtroom warrior being clearly the highlight of ‘Pink’. 

Who Should Win: A very tricky thing to decide. All three- Amitabh, Aamir and Shah Rukh- gave stellar performances and are equally deserving of the trophy. I am not writing off Sushant and Ranbir’s respective skills but they are both side-lined this time by the showier contenders around them. 

That said, while Aamir might hold a fresher edge, thanks to the recent release and acclaim of ‘Dangal’, it would not be far-fetched to say that the real attraction of the film would be the girls and not Aamir himself. Sure, his meticulous method is indeed being lauded but the entire film was not dependent on that one performance to drive it as a one-man show. So, his chances might be a bit slim, though if he does win it will be totally deserving. 

That leaves the contest possibly to the two acting giants- Amitabh Bachchan and Shah Rukh Khan. Bachchan’s role was the catalyst in ‘Pink’- the performance that propels the film truly to new levels and this makes him really worth that honour. It is the performance of a true legend- committed, powerful and heroic.

And yet, I think that it is Shah Rukh Khan who should be feted for taking on a role that challenges his own boundaries of acting. It is not every day that a superstar with a mammoth ego decides to play in a film that would have him playing his ardent fan as well as his real inner demons out for the audience to judge. And lest we forget, ‘Fan’ was a purely one-man show- a thriller of obsession driven by two spectacular performances at the helm delivered by an actor who bared his solid histrionic bones for us to see. 

Best Director:

Abhishek Chaubey - Udta Punjab
Ali Abbas Zafar – Sultan
Karan Johar – Ae Dil Hai Mushkil
Nitesh Tiwari – Dangal
Ram Madhvani – Neerja
Shakun Batra – Kapoor & Sons

Who Will Win: The Best Director line-ups are getting even better and better with each year but it sort of hurts when they give away the award to the one who made the most popularly acclaimed film in the list. Don’t worry- that does not mean that Ali Abbas Zafar will win for ‘Sultan’.

The obvious chances lie with Nitesh Tiwari and Ram Madhvani. Their respective films have not only won big plaudits but they have also appealed to the masses and have worked wonders at the box office. And given how the juries have celebrated the newbie directors from time to time (Vikas Bahl and Sujoy Ghosh being recent examples), they both stand a hefty chance and deservingly so. 

Who Should Win: By the way, with that logic, Abhishek Chaubey could very well win the trophy as well. And why should he not? It takes a certain brash talent to make a film about an extremely serious topic so dramatic, darkly hilarious, enthralling and emotional all at the same time. Sure, you may give away the Best Film award to the most optimistic film in the bunch but Chaubey’s deep, incisive and probingly intelligent style deserves this award for sure. 

Best Film:

Dangal
Kapoor And Sons
Neerja
Pink
Sultan
Udta Punjab

Who Will Win: ‘Pink’ and ‘Neerja’ celebrated womanhood’s victory against terrors of all kind. ‘Dangal’ showed that sports film can be intelligent and entertaining unlike the predictable ‘Sultan’. And ‘Udta Punjab’ showed us all that you can make thrilling films on tricky subjects and get even the most hardened mainstream actors deliver their best. This will be the most difficult question to answer for the juries- for each of these films had something special to boast of.

Who Should Win: I can spend hours deliberating between any of the above mentioned contenders but there will always be ‘Dangal’ which deserves the single most important honour. This is not just because of Tiwari’s excellent direction, Aamir’s stunning performance or the great writing and storytelling that accompanies them together. But this is because this is a film we should celebrate- an intelligent and complex sports film that redefines the genre in every way- and a resoundingly inspiring film that will make all- including that black lady herself- smile their widest smiles. 

The Ten Greatest Villains Of All Time

10- Rosa Klebb (From Russia With Love)

Actor- Lotte Lenya 

Forget the rough and tough Red Grant or the occasional glimpses of Ernst Stavro Blofeld and face the facts; Lotte Lenya’s sadistic, tough-as-nails Rosa Klebb owns the whole of the greatest James Bond film of all time. For the Western audiences, who were bound to be served a whole stew of hard-boiled Soviet villains and mega minds, she was also the earliest and deadliest image of the supposed evil behind the Iron Curtain and for good reason. Initially, she is merely a tough figure of authority- not too impressed with Grant’s musculature and doing her job like a prudent schoolteacher. But just when you thought that SPECTRE has failed on all fronts to stop James Bond, she shows up, disguised as a cleaning lady with a pair of literally deadly shoes to grab her moment of glory. She might be perhaps the most utterly dedicated killer for hire that the organisation has. 

9- Jack Torrance (The Shining)

Actor- Jack Nicholson

Good old Nicholson has played every category of villain with élan- from psychopathic superhero nemesis to decadent Boston gangster- but nothing quite beats his portrayal of the scariest, most disturbing bad guy of them all- an everyday husband and father gone disastrously out of control. Demons of failure and alcoholism are already long lurking inside Torrance, when he ships his family and himself to the Overlook Hotel as a winter caretaker. But it takes the inexorable weather, the relentless desolation and the hotel’s own hidden secrets, to unleash the foaming, angry devil inside him. Once that comes out in the open, the stage is set for obvious mayhem (‘Here’s Johnny!’). But the master that he is, Nicholson makes sure to dole out the spills and chills early on itself- just watch him lose his temper over a typewriter or embrace his son with a murderous gleam in his famous eyes.

8- Gollum (The Lord Of The Rings)

Actor- Andy Serkis 

You would wonder- how would Peter Jackson’s mammoth Tolkien adaptations be that popular without Gollum? A marvel of new age motion-capture performance and faultless CGI animation, Gollum is also, in every sense, a classic villain who breathes throbbing menace and devilish wit into every scene that features him. Talking about his tragic, flawed origins is robbing the fun of seeing him at his devious best. Here is an utterly pitiless soul, a creature who has surrendered willingly to the evil, crippling charms of his ‘precious’. And here is also a sly, unforgivably back-stabbing traitor who will do anything to make sure that he gets the same for his own. Initially, one might just think of him as a loon but in Jackson’s increasingly exciting second and third films, Gollum evolves in the film’s truly terrifying villain, aided by Serkis’ magnificently creepy motion-capture performance. Take that, Saruman.

7- HAL 9000 (2001: A Space Odyssey)

Actor- Douglas Rain

HAL 9000 might be the most evil robot in film history- the perfectly psychopathic killing machine whose cold indifference about human lives has been imitated endlessly (from Arnold Schwarzenegger’s Terminator to James Spader’s Ultron) but, frankly, never bettered. What differentiates this talking, super-intelligent computer is the deceptively calm veneer of reassuring loyalty beneath which he conceals all-too-human concerns for his own safety. Douglas Rain’s magnificently chilling voice brings troubled emotions to Stanley Kubrick’s terrifyingly beautiful machine. The way he takes down the crew is both quietly devastating and explicitly shocking. And then, when he is finally sputtering in despair his last mechanical breath, we can all feel the familiar insecurity inside that mess of wires. That is what makes him so terrible as a villain- HAL 9000, for all his robotic decisions, is all too human. 

6- Rita/Camilla Rhodes (Mulholland Drive)

Actor- Laura Harring

No one- repeat, no one- ever makes femme fatales as deliciously seductive and dangerously addictive as David Lynch. From the Lady In The Radiator of ‘Eraserhead’ to Dorothy of ‘Blue Velvet’ to Renee/Alice in ‘Lost Highway’, women are his greatest wild cards, thrown into the beautiful chaos of dreams and nightmares and sculpted as beautiful, troubled and troubling characters who take control of the weird world around them. Harring’s nameless damsel-in-distress kicks off ‘Mulholland Drive’- she borrows a name from a Rita Hayworth poster and sets in motion a whole chain of events that would unleash the tortured crux of the film. Yes, it is Rita, gorgeous Rita who steals sweet Betty’s (Naomi Watts) idealistic heart. And it is her again, this time as the sensuously manipulative Camilla Rhodes who shatters all her dreams with one poisoned smile. Watts might be delivering the performance of her career but ‘Mulholland Drive’ could have been a lot less painful without such heartbreak around. 

5- Colonel Hans Landa (Inglourious Basterds)

Actor- Christoph Waltz

One can imagine the cheers when it was announced that ‘Spectre’ would have the Austrian crowd-favourite playing Ernst Stavro Blofeld. And one can also imagine the sighs of disappointment when the talented actor’s promising character got so little to do. In any case, it will be very hard to beat Waltz’ penultimate cinematic villain- the calabash-smoking, cunning and silver-tongued Hans Landa. If you thought your average movie Nazi villains to be stiff and serious, Landa’s unforgettable, perversely thrilling performance punctures that bubble of thought perfectly. Sly, witty, prone to pontificate on matters with a grin of bemused wonder, Landa is however quick, cruel and ruthless when it comes to his startling decisions- from massacring a family of fugitive Jews to even betraying his own homeland in a split-second gambit. And then, there are his words- chunks of extraordinary Tarantino dialogue spoken with a deceptive ease of air which scalds as much as stuns your senses. 

4- Darth Vader (The Star Wars Anthology)

Actor- Dave Prowse and James Earl Jones

Fellow ‘Star Wars’ fans will probably kill me for this; I mean, is it right that cinema’s most enduringly popular villain lands up on the 4^th position in my list? Hear me out. Darth Vader, for all that incredibly formidable persona, that memorable voice and those dazzling lightsaber skills, is not really the greatest villain in the galaxy; hell, that has to be Supreme Chancellor Palpatine, who almost made it to this list. But the sheer influence of Vader is undeniable. That mask- a blend of a Nazi helmet and a rusty breathing muzzle- is still the face of crushing terror and his voice- delivered extraordinarily by the great James Earl Jones- is enough to remind us that he rules the galaxy, more or less. His story, too, has all the hallmarks of a villain capable of humanity and redemption. You can still feel his inspiration in greats like Frank Booth, Hannibal Lecter and Tom Hardy’s Bane.

3- Norman Bates (Psycho)

Actor- Anthony Perkins

A boy’s best friend is his mother, he said. For Norman Bates, however, his best friend might be….well, let’s leave it at that. The very inclusion of Alfred Hitchcock’s most everlasting cinematic creation is like giving away the spoiler of all spoilers. As the manager of the mysterious Bates Motel, which suffers from an inconvenient location, Bates is as affably mediocre as you can expect him to be. Sure, he is awfully nervous and he lives with his aging mother, who won’t even let him breathe. A girl is murdered one night in his motel and it is only then that we see Bates crumble under pressure on all fronts. And all the while, Perkins’ brilliantly measured performance oscillates between high-strung anxieties to slippery efficacy with devastating effect. Do I need to say anything more? Discover for yourself and let me know if you still don’t think poor Norman as a villain. 

2- The Joker (The Dark Knight)

Actor- Heath Ledger

As an interesting observation, it is easy for all to see that Christopher Nolan’s version of The Joker looks not at all like the character as we have seen him in the comics and animated films. And that does not matter. The truth is that Heath Ledger grabbed the character’s basics in his hands and turned him into a freak for our times, a down and dirty criminal kingpin who left an unforgettably indelible impression on us all. The Joker is not just a loon with a gun and a bagful of tricks; he is a terrorist without an affiliation, a trouble-maker without a clear motive. To phrase Alfred, he is a man who wants to watch the world burn. And so he sets out, propelled by Ledger’s extraordinary performance, to wreck chaos and explain his senseless and shocking exploits with a hefty slice of shattering logic. For here is a villain who is more than just the crazy look in his face- here is a villain who knows us more than we do. Clearly, this is a portrayal that is impossible to beat.

1. Bill ‘Butcher’ Cutting (Gangs Of New York)

Actor- Daniel Day-Lewis

What makes a truly unforgettable villain? Does he have to be just plainly evil? Or should he be a tragic one, with a sad backstory? Well, it is rare to find a villain who remains so absolutely irresistible even with all his evil that, in the end, you are rooting for him to live and not die.

And Daniel Day-Lewis might have created the greatest sociopath of all time with ‘There Will Be Blood’ but with Bill Cutting, he creates something else- a fearsome, domineering and showboating villain who gladly chomps up the frames in Martin Scorsese’ fiery period drama. A right-wing patriot at heart, a relentless street fighter and  a political heavyweight who rules the roost, Cutting is an unforgettable creation, one of repulsive brutality and rousing fury and Day-Lewis performs like a demented master, bringing to enthralling life all these facets with extraordinary conviction.

But is there a soul, too, beneath all the pompous, larger-than-life evil? Trust Scorsese and this magically gifted actor (clearly the finest of our generation) to dig up that too. It is when Cutting gushes with paternal warmth and vulnerability- as in that stunning monologue on how he has survived through the years or the way he finally embraces death as a true American- that we get to realise his incontestable status as a villain for ages, played suitably by an actor who always outdoes himself to create true miracles of performances.

The Departed: A Terrific Tale Of Two Moles

Nothing in classic rock begins as menacingly as Gimme Shelter, a scathing portrait of war and violence in a half-crazed America rolled out by a bunch of blazingly talented Englishmen from London.

According to the Rolling Stone magazine, ‘The intro, strummed on an electric-acoustic guitar modelled on a Chuck Berry favourite, conjures an unparalleled aura of dread’. According to Mick Jagger himself, who sung it with a voice dripping with acid and panic, ‘It’s apocalypse’. 

And even as it is a truly devastating piece of music on its own terms, let’s just admit that it could not been even half as apocalyptic, had not America’s greatest living legend of cinema taken it and used the Stones classic to such a terrifying effect that we today remember the first strains of that immortal Keith Richards intro along with the unforgettably grainy opening images of one of the finest crime dramas of all time.

Sure, Martin Scorsese had done it before, making Henry Hill in the great, great ‘Goodfellas’ snort lines of cocaine while we heard that sound in the backdrop. But this was something else. 

Marty takes the cue from the song, presenting as a grim, sordid and crime-ridden Boston teeming with chaos and reigned by a criminal king who, in his own extraordinary words, ‘wants his environment to be his product’. 

We get it- Frank Costello rules these mean streets of violence and darkness.

And it is with this prologue- one that I called as the best use of music in a Scorsese film- that ‘The Departed’ begins- an emotionally fraught, darkly hilarious and shockingly violent roller coaster cinematic ride through the eternal battle between good and evil.  A cops-and-criminals yarn of such fascinating sleight of hand and devastating emotional heft that it could be called as an everlasting tragedy of nearly Shakespearean weight.

And above all, it is a film that reminds us that true masters can make truly great remakes. Adapted from the brilliant and acclaimed Chinese cop thriller ‘Infernal Affairs’- and, to some extent, its sequels- ‘The Departed’ is nevertheless a feat of pure, unadulterated American cinema since the maverick filmmaker takes the bare bones of the source material and fleshes them with the sights, smells and sounds of an authentically decadent and morally depraved Boston and ends up creating a film which is more than just its calculatingly intelligent plot.

And what a plot it is. Rooted in one of the most traditional themes of confused identity and conflicted loyalty in a time of war, it casts two men hailing from the same crime-ridden neighbourhood but choosing opposite sides of the law. Billy Costigan, a hot-headed youngster seeking an escape from a legacy of crime, chooses to be a part of the Staties, as the blue-collared State Police is called in Boston-lingo. On the other hand is Colin Sullivan, who, as a quiet boy, was seduced in a world of crime by none other than Costello but is destined for a bigger task that will earn him both respect and his guardian’s favours.

Fate takes them on their different paths- Costigan becomes a reluctant informer to prove his credentials while Sullivan, in a flash of irony, is welcomed warmly as a rising star in the circuits of the State Police. There is no question, however, of his loyalty to his ‘father’. 

That is all you all virgins need to know. 

What you need to know, or rather see for yourself, is the way how Scorsese, aided in no small measure by William Monahan’s extraordinary script, takes this meticulous premise and adds incredible layers of emotion, drama, tension and unexpected bursts of humour to make for a truly compelling film.

Right at the go, the film sneaks up with both Sullivan and Costigan going about their destined paths, following them stealthily and also illustrating a stark and unsettling contrast between their individual experiences. So while Sullivan rises inside the department and even entreats himself to a possible romance with the pretty psychotherapist Madolyn, Costigan struggles to keep both his rookie vulnerability and unstable temper from leading to his discovery. Yet, just when you think that there is only a contrast, Scorsese and Monahan flip the template expertly. They both seem to be doing their job with obsessive perfection- Sullivan desperately sabotages well-planned raids and arrests while Costigan endears himself to the rest of the gang to win their trust. But the best is clearly not enough, especially not when you have a terrifying shadow of evil looming over you.

That shadow is none other than Costello, a man possessed with the idea of holding on to all of Boston even as the times are changing around him. Jack Nicholson plays Costello with the spectacularly smarmy and sleazy panache of his greatest work in the past and delivers a repulsive monster that is impossible to look away from. His archetype Boston kingpin, based loosely on the real-like James ‘Whitey’ Bulger, is a showboating villain of the piece, a grandiose and maliciously funny man who loves his share of sex, powder and bloodshed. He is smart enough to play some tricks up his sleeve but he is clearly playing a losing game.

The entire cast is phenomenal, as a matter of fact, with both Leonardo Di Caprio and Matt Damon playing Costigan and Sullivan with unprecedented skill and flair; Di Caprio endows his high-strung and fiery character with dignity and credible predicament while Damon goes a step further and gives his professional liar the kind of devilish charisma that we saw in ‘The Talented Mr. Ripley'. Vera Farmiga is instantly intriguing as Madolyn, here torn between her heart and her head, and veterans like Alec Baldwin and Martin Sheen get delectable roles as unlikely father figures for both the men in question. Ray Winstone stands out as the staunchly loyal henchman Mr. French and Mark Wahlberg, playing the foul-mouthed, no-nonsense cop Dignam, steals every scene that features him.

And the great director takes all of them together and builds around a throbbing, theatrical drama that is bursting at the seams with fastidious detail. We see cops squabbling over undercover operations, gangsters cracking jokes, Costello indulging in all sorts of ribaldry (from pummelling Costigan’s broken arm to delivering a platitude with an amputated hand to teasing Catholic priests about their vows) to the two moles themselves struggling to keep the show going and also trying to find out about each other. 

It is one hell of a setup and trust Marty to ratchet up the tension in unexpected ways. While the film keeps most of the twists and turns from the original intact, it also riffs on its own and delivers enough genuinely startling and enthralling surprises. A nocturnal chase through Boston’s alleys feels like pure neo-noir while a silent and seething confrontation on a phone call is pure edge-of-the-seat suspense delivered by a master. It all comes with a healthy sauce of pure Scorsese blood and ball-busting wordplay; Both hyper violence and hinted menace are all over the frames, along with Monahan’s punchy, beautifully profane dialogue that references Freud, James Joyce and even John Lennon but never forgets to roll out the explosive F-bombs with all the talk. 

And yet, even with all the breakneck thrills and spills (shot snappily by Michael Ballhaus and edited with relentless pace by Thelma Schoonmaker), it is when Marty lets in the tumultuous emotions that the film becomes really special. Watch Costello bribe a young Sullivan with groceries and a comic book to make him his ward. Watch Sullivan reveal his rough edges on a dinner date with Madolyn. Watch as Costigan bares his tortured heart to the latter in one of his sessions and watch as both the men face off in the film’s gruesome, sprawling climax, setting the stage for a truly heart-breaking finale. It is the utter mastery of sentiments in ‘The Departed’ that make us side up with each character, good or evil, and creates a truly stunning and elegiac cinematic feast that we never imagined of. Just try to hold those guilty tears when Costello’s paramour calls him moments after he has been killed in cold blood.