The Best Of Bollywood In 2013

    
So, it is that time again. When I go back through memories of surrender to the magical delights of the silver screen, when I pick out the best films of the year, the best that Bollywood had to offer, despite all its hangovers of 100 crore clubs and item numbers and so on.
And yet, I am pretty disappointed. In 2012, we got more than a handful of genuinely stunning films by top directors at the peak of their game- this time, it all went downhill right from the beginning. Instead, it was the most unexpected names that made us sit up with attention- directors who shelled out mostly conventional fare that came out effectively good and well-done.
Still, this is a hardly a year to celebrate, despite the fact that it had nearly half a dozen blockbusters competing for attention. This time, it was even more difficult to pick out 10 proper names. I chose 9 and out of these, there may be barely 4 or 5 films which really rocked the house. The rest get credit simply for being well-intentioned efforts which did click, in fits and starts.
So, there are 9 films here but before we start, let's have a look at some of the year's worst films
1- Ghanchakkar- On the face of it, the story of Rajkumar Gupta's beguiling caper has an interesting premise- a master safecracker (Emraan Hashmi) gains amnesia and befuddles his wife and partners-in-crime. But the way how the deliberate, ridiculously over-the-top and farcical movie unfolds is terrible disastrous. From stretched-out, forcible jokes to mostly hammy acting (Vidya Balan, ugh), this film starts with a fairly hilarious robbery but then drops dead and becomes a dull mess of a film, with a climax that makes you laugh for its sheer stupidity.
2- Chennai Express- You know how, how bad Rohit Shetty's juvenile film is when you see a night-shot ripped off from Walt Disney's introduction credits (yeah, right, check it out!). This is scrappy filmmaking, neither here nor there- with the worst kind of racial stereotypes passing off as merely bad jokes, useless dance numbers and a plot which might work better in a Cartoon Network series. And all this might have been forgivable- had only Shahrukh Khan not made cringe-worthy facial expressions, had only Deepika Padukone not taken her comic role seriously and had only Shetty not indulged in much pointless car-crashing and those ridiculous action scenes which he models himself. Don't underestimate the stupidity of this one.
3- Besharam- The very fact that the otherwise dynamic and talented Ranbir Kapoor chose to do a film this asinine is worth shuddering at. Given the year's other monstrosities however, Abhinav Kashyap's no-brainer does pack in some decent laughs and there is a priceless moment when Kapoor's streetwise goon, recklessly OTT throughout, recovers his subtle acting strengths but the very fact that full-blown entertainment could be so regressive and outdated makes this otherwise harmless entertainer an unashamed disaster. Rishi Kapoor playing a Haryanvi cop for the second time this year is the only saving grace.


The 10th Place is one in which we will look at some films that tried quite valiantly enough but ended up falling short of the required mark...
'Matru Ki Bijlee Ka Mandola' was fairly intriguing in its twisted plot of pink buffaloes, rural Communism and land grabbing but eventually succumbed to silliness than satire; 'Aashiqui 2' gave us a fair amount of old-school candyfloss romance between its leads and featured a melodious soundtrack but failed to push the envelope and ended on an outrageously embarassing note; 'Go Goa Gone' gave us extraordinarily invective-laden one liners without any hiccups, Saif Ali Khan in a killer cameo and three male leads who were far more real than most of the heroes in films but eventually became yet another zombie movie.

And now come the winners

9- Dhoom 3-

Let me quote John Lennon in brackets. 

Forget its lapses of logic and reason ('it's easy if you try'). Forget also the dysfunctional Jai and Ali pairing and the slightly slack pace in the second half ('I wonder if you can'). 
Sit back and enjoy superstar Aamir Khan take center stage as an illusionist-cum-thief-cum-action hero as he buzzes through the streets of Chicago in the intense first half and then emerges into a vengeful thief and even more. 

Sit back and enjoy, with a healthy dose of indulgence,as director Vijay Krishna Acharya go gloriously nuts with hi-tech bike daredevilry, gunning engines, police sirens, high-flying acrobats and gorgeous song sequences. And finally whistle at Katrina Kaif turn a daring acrobat act into a simmering striptease. 

Unabashedly, gloriously, lip-smackingly escapist yet endowed with a heart.

8- Bombay Talkies-

It is first and foremost a really innovative idea to come up with four nifty segments helmed by four leading Gen Y directors to celebrate the Maximum City, or more precisely, the gaudy yet glamorous sheen of its film industry- from acting aspirations to star-struck infatuation, and from addictive item numbers to the Madan Mohan tunes of yore. 

A well-intentioned and unique, if flawed, effort, 'Bombay Talkies' emerges as a fine mosaic of the mainstream and mind-challenging- four individual strands of talent coming together to stitch a vivid tribute to cinema.

A boy who models himself on Katrina Kaif, an unusual love triangle, a Simple Simon who nurses acting aspirations and a hilarious story of fanboy obsession involving a jar of murabba, each little film is lively and distinguished, even as two of them don't quite hit the mark. Eventually, it is the unconventional nuggets- coming from Dibakar Banerjee and Anurag Kashyap- that score the most and paint everlasting portraits of film fanaticism in our land- alternately hilarious and heartfelt.

7- Aurangzeb-

Atul Sabharwal's classy yet unshowy debut is a confident and self-assured throwback to the supercharged Salim-Javed and Yash Chopra yarns of the 70s, one which works better than those films with the terribly long 'Once Upon A Time' titles. 

The plot- centering on a swap of twins to bring down a supposedly illegitimate real estate empire in the sprawl of Gurgaon- is predictable yet fairly tight; Sabharwal perfectly balances emotional drama with firecracker tension and menace in a loopy script that is perfectly accentuated with intense images of the pervasive real estate development contrasted by those of the barren land that lies outside- a perfect metaphor for corruption of good and loss of honesty.

After a slightly awkward buildup, the film gains terrific momentum in the latter parts as Sabharwal ties up multiple story strands into a satisfyingly exciting scramble for power among a lineup of intriguing characters. Most of the power-packed punch comes from the stellar actors and while Arjun Kapoor struggles with a dual role and poor dialogue delivery- not to mention the bland newcomer Sasheh Agha- the rest- Prithviraj, Amrita Singh and an exceptionally vicious Rishi Kapoor steal the show.

6- Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani-

Ayan Mukerji's unashamedly escapist yet subtly poignant film is the year's most sprightly and heartwarming romantic comedies, one which is unafraid to let sparkling chemistry develop between its characters while letting us revel in the glory of unabashed entertainment- from a fun-filled hike in Manali to the wedding fiestas in Udaipur's sweeping lake palaces and from Ranbir Kapoor waltzing with a camera on the streets of Paris to Madhuri Dixit shaking a leg in a gorgeous ghagra. 

At the fun-filled core of a dead-simple plot of romance and bromance, is Kapoor's dynamic, raffish hero Bunny, a suitably bushy-tailed youngster with split-second comic timing yet with a heart, lending Mukerji's film with both hilarity and humanity.

The stellar first half packed with clever one-liners and quirky characters gives way to a slightly sermonizing second half in which Bunny, facing a definite romance to his old buddy Naina (Deepika Padukone), tries to figure out his priorities- freedom or romance and relationships? Nevertheless, Mukerji breezily wraps up everything with a flair for feel-good visuals, sparkling character rapport and more. Pritam's chartbusting songs are worth tapping to while Kalki Koechlin and Aditya Roy Kapur bring in terrific supporting turns.

5- Madras Cafe-

Shoojit Sircar's flawed yet honest and impeccably executed thriller tells a gripping tale of one of history's most gruesome chapters- the spree of Lankan terrorism that claimed many lives, including one of Congress behemoth Rajiv Gandhi. Names and titles have been changed but the story that Sircar and his team set out to tell is true nevertheless- the buildup of the heinous conspiracy and the desperate attempts of the Indian secret intelligence to uncover the truth. 

By expertly blending conventional heroics with documentary-style realism (ala Paul Greengrass), Sircar pulls off an action movie endowed with welcome insight and intelligence.

John Abraham throws in what can be called his most heartfelt, restrained and convincing performance ever whilst being amply supported by a solid cast- Prakash Belawadi nails it as the oily, suspicious Jaffna spook. While the film does falter a bit from openly revealing harsh truths and sticks a bit too much to espionage rather than politics, it is none the worse for it, builds up twists and turns extremely deftly and culminates in a terse, heartbreaking climax that impressively leaves enough room for more debate.

4- Kai Po Che!-

Most directors stick to formula when it comes to our youth films. Others try to break the barriers. And then there is Abhishek Kapoor, the director who made the glittering 'Rock On!' who superbly blends both styles into his second venture- a confident, soul-stirring adaptation of Chetan Bhagat's novel and perfectly lifts the mundane source material into a finely detailed movie about friendship and politics.

The bond between Ishaan (Sushant Singh Rajput), Govind (a superb Raj Kumar Yadav) and Omi (Amit Sadh) is captured in Kapoor's sepia-toned and vibrant visuals and is perfectly set against the simmering backdrop of cricket and communal politics in turn-of-the-century Gujarat. 

While slightly long and meandering, the film nevertheless succeeds in keeping both feel-good camaraderie and religious tensions on an even keel- the light, optimistic tone gives way to a second-half which darkens quite intensely and through it all, Kapoor handles his craft- from nuanced direction to pitch-perfect performances- with immaculate ease to nail a poignant and heartwarming film.

3- Shuddh Desi Romance-

It is nearly impossible to root a fomula cooked up by Woody Allen- of confused romance, post-coitus smoking and more- into the heat and dust of the pink lanes of Jaipur but that is what Maneesh Sharma's smooth and breezy direction and Jaideep Sahni's blazing, if episodic, script does with amazing panache. Mildly disguised as a delightfully twisty and loopy love triangle, 'Shuddh Desi Romance' actually turns out to be a bitingly perceptive, hilariously wordy and cheeky satire on romance, marriage and sexual freedom in an India that is slowly rising from slumber.

Finely contrasting warm, sizzling intimacy and spectacularly earthy romance with an endless barrage of incredibly hilarious dialogue, chatup sessions and pervasive confusion of marriage, this is the cheekiest and most ribald romantic comedy in recent times; and while the last 10 minutes can be a bit of a stretch, its biggest triumph lies in how Sharma and Sahni turn every single cliche on its head and come up trumps with a deliciously off-the-wall and comically anarchic take on relationships and romance as well as the generation gap in small-town India. 

The characters are themselves the smack of real- Sushant Singh Rajput's hapless lover-boy is perfectly overshadowed by the women in his life- the bubbly Gayatri (a spontaneous Parineeti Chopra) and the manipulative and mercurial Tara (Vaani Kapoor in a stellar debut) while Rishi Kapoor's wacky wedding planner not only makes everything hilarious but also real.

2- The Lunchbox-

It is amazing how a film centering on a simple detail- like a tiffin box delivered to the wrong address- can turn out to be smashingly stunning in its simplicity and yet universally appealing to all. Writer-director Ritesh Batra lifts the mere lunchbox detail into a multi-dimensional masterpiece- it is a stunning romance between two people who do not know each other; it is a searingly honest and extremely personal portrait of Bombay's relentless energy and unforgiving alienation and above all, it is as real as film-making can really get.

Irrfan Khan gives a world-class and nearly wordless performance as Saajan Fernandes, a mild-mannered, laconic clerk who opens his tiffin box one day to discover an Open Sesame to an unusual bond. It is from the stunningly simple beginnings that Batra sets the tune- flipping wonderfully from the odyssey of the city's famed dabbah-wallas to a distraught housewife (played exceptionally well by Nimrat Kaur) packing up lip-smacking delicacies in her husband's tiffin-box. Between the two emerges a heart-rending and soul-stirring romance that is as much a celebration of the city as it is of love that spans across age, generation and other barriers. 

Moving leisurely at its own languid pace,turning elegiac and intense by deft turns and its most humorous moments provided by the reliable Nawazzudin Siddiqui as Fernandes' slippery protege, Batra's film emerges as an ever-lasting portrait of life, with its ups and downs, without sounding even a bit preachy. And that is quite an achievement for us all.

1- Lootera-

Talk about its sheer courage. To cast two yet-untested and hardcore mainstream starlets into a film that breaks every single rule of filmmaking even as it sticks to a solid conventional romantic angle is brave enough. Yet, it is the brilliance of director Vikramaditya Motwane that makes 'Lootera' one of the finest mainstream films to have rolled out of our over-indulgent Bollywood- a finely crafted, impeccably shot and lyrically intense romance that takes an old, much-loved O. Henry short story and turns it into magnificent, mesmerizing filmmaking at its best.

The story is as predictable as it can get- a clean-cut pinup boy meets a spoilt and effervescent girl with a cloistered life in the languid 50s and as sparks fly off, there is much deception in store as well, but almost everything about 'Lootera' is deceptively simple.

Rather, what makes this a sure masterpiece is how Motwane, with a directorial hand so assured of its craft and premise, weaves the oft-told story into an entirely new yet utterly real world. This is a film that uses its staggeringly precise period detail to unprecedented limits- songs of Dev Anand starrers effectively portray transitions in time while complimenting the shifts in mood and pace while the landscapes and sets reek of texture rather than glamour- lending the film an authentically decaying and rugged feel rather than pomp and show.

Cinematographer Mahendra Shetty creates miracles out of the most minimal things- grainy sunlight, luminous mosquito nets, pale white lace curtains and the powdery snow falling on the streets of Dalhousie. Motwane seamlessly blends elements of intrigue, moral questioning and high-stakes action into the central romance while Amit Trivedi crafts a meticulous score that sometimes lends a voice to the deep silences. And then, there are the performances.

Ranveer Singh as a robber caught between his fugitive life and his love nails a solid, effectively poignant and heroic performance while Sonakshi Sinha, as his lady love, a woman on the throes of both bertrayal and certain death, gives a performance, both enthusiastically clever and heart-breakingly passionate, to mint Motwane's film as a modern classic.