That time of the year when you sit back and reflect on the films that made a mark during the year, the films that touched hearts and performances that left a lasting impression. While 2016 can’t be termed as a watershed year in terms of the quality of films that we had this year, it for sure was a year when our leading ladies continued their march towards playing strong women centric characters. They ruled the roost. 2016 can be termed as a year of liberation for Hindi cinema as the films explored myriad themes starting from drug addiction to mental illness to female sexuality to homosexuality. The response to films like Aligarh, Phobia, Dear Zindegi , Udta Punjab and Neerja are a sign of maturing audience . And boy, that’s a fascinating and promising sign. The year that started with Airlift and ended with a bang with Dangal had couple of rom-coms, sports drama and Biopics as well. And somewhere else, Nagraj Manjule gave us two endearing characters Archi & Parshya and a gem of a film “Sairat”.
Alright then, my favorite Hindi films
of 2016 that made me happy, made me uncomfortable, made my eyes moist and gave
me hope
1.Dangal: The story of Phogat
sisters and their father is sure to inspire many in days to come. The film will
always be remembered for its ensemble cast, brilliant uniform acting and an
inspiring story. More on Dangal here
2.Kapoor
& Sons:
Some terrific life lessons, some phenomenal acting, some meaningful music and
beautiful storytelling makes Kapoor and Sons an endearing film that tells you
even a so called “Dysfunctional Family” somewhere deep within nurtures a desire
to be framed in one single frame. Behind the subterfuge lies an overwhelming
desire to be loved, to be noticed. Living on a borrowed life do we have the
luxury of keeping our real feelings under the wrap for far too long? It makes
you laugh, makes you cry and literally makes you understand the nuances and
nuisance of Family. The family can be yours, mine or Kapoor’s!
3. Aligarh: While the
premise of the film is based on Prof. Srinivas Ramachandra Siras’s sexual
orientation, deep down Aligarh doesn’t just talk about homosexuality; it in
fact asks much deeper questions about Individual dignity, about the right to
privacy and equality. It bares open a deep rooted moral myopia that we as a
society suffer from, it talks about love that needs to be felt and understood,
it exposes the loneliness of advancing age. Watch out for that scene where sitting
on a chair, in one corner of the room, Prof Siras is slowly sipping his drink
and humming “Aapki Nazron ne Samjha”. His eyes are shut, he is completely hypnotized
by Lata Mangeshkar’s mellifluous voice, his hands move automatically in tune
with the music.
More on Aligarh here
4. Pink: It is just not a film;
it is a tight slap on our feudal mindset, a Kick on our hypocritical male
entitlement approach. A powerful script, crisp screen play, appropriate casting,
seamless performance and scathing background score makes it a must watch film
of 2016.
5. Neerja: Courage has nothing to do with age, call of
duty is beyond religion or heightened nationalism, she was just 22 yrs 363 days
old , What mattered to her was the safety of her passengers, Neerja Bhanot's
life was an extraordinary tale of courage ,commitment & compassion and Ram
Madhavani made a brilliant attempt of depicting it on screen. Watch out for
Sonam Kapoor’s fabulous performance.
More on Neerja here
6. Udta Punjab: There are many telling scenes
in UdtaPunjab , starting from the opening one. But it is the last one which is
the most poignant. The nameless hockey player from Bihar who had come to the
land of five rivers with a hope to earn her livelihood as a migrant worker and
accidentally gets entangled in a world of drug and inhuman torture finds her
redemption and rechristens herself as Mary Jane ! All through that excruciating
journey she had never abandoned hope or her zest for a life beyond. In spite of
the allegation of plagiarism Udta Punjab is a very fine film that takes on the
issue of drug menace in a land that has been romanticized for its mustard fields.
Alia ,Shahid and Daljit Dosanjh are terrific and that song “ Ek kuddi” still
elicits nostalgia.
More on Udta Punjab
7. Ae Dil Hai
Muskil:
Finally we had a bollywood mainstream cinema that explores the complexity of
love and the heartache that follows unrequited love. It shows feelings that are
bare, unapologetic and real and passion which is uninhibited. Ranbir and
Anushka are in fine form and the music is top notch. And if you have ever been
in ‘State of love’ go discover the Ayan, Alizeh, Saba and Tahir in you.
8.Budhia Singh Born
to Run: This
heat wrenching film on India’s youngest Marathon runner delves deep to explore
the multiple emotional strands while exposing the babudom that has engulfed Indian
bureaucracy in general and sports administration in particular. Saumendra Padhi’s
direction is astute and Manoj Bajpayee yet again gives a stellar performance as
coach Biranchi.
9.Dhanak: Nagesh Kukunoor’s Dhanak is a film that takes
you back to world of Santiago in” The Alchemist” , it almost cajoles you to believe
in miracles. It makes you part of Pari
& chotu’s journey. The fairytale like treatment and effortless acting of
the child artists make Dhanak a delightful watch.
10. Dear Zindegi: Dear Zindegi explores the
Journey of Kaira . Alia is awesome and Shahrukh as Dr. Khan charms his way
through Kaira’s psyche and Audience’s heart .Gauri Shinde’s narration is interesting.
More
on Dear Zindegi Here
Few
more films that could not make it to my top 10 list but definitely deserve a watch are Parched,Kaahani2,Nil Batey Sannata,Airlift
,M S Dhoni –the Untold story ,Phobia , FAN and Sarbjit.
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