Best Hindi Films of the Decade. #UDAAN

The decade has come to an end and I believe it was a great decade for Hindi cinema. The 2010s have so many silver linings that this list could’ve been very very long. It was tough sufficing it to ten and I shall write about one film of the decade at a time. There is no order to this as I love each of these films way too much.

UDAAN.

I remember watching the trailer of this film attached to the print of 3 idiots and being super intrigued. The film came many months after that and I remembered thinking that this is the film I need to catch. I was all of thirteen years old and a promo about the percentage of teenagers who have sex came up with high statistics. It was a promo for Udaan, which, my mom watched with me and told me that I couldn’t watch the film. I argued about the U/A certification but that didn’t matter much to her. I had to wait to catch the film on a DVD after a couple of months. The film moved me to an amount that no film had till that date. I restarted the film right away and saw it again. I kept revisiting it every month in the middle of my ninth and tenth grade unable to comprehend a lot of the emotions this film invoked. I had grown up mainly on hindi films which majorly boast of an aspirational value. For the first time, I didn’t want to be the hero but the hero had shades of me. This film made me watch more films that came after and before and made me realise the power of cinema.

Thanks to Film Companion, I got to read the script of Udaan. I was surprised by the beginning itself where Rohan’s mother teaches him how to cycle. This never made the film and sounded beautiful while also symbolising the title with Rohan taking his first flight with the support of his mother, the same way that Arjun takes towards the end. On being asked about the scene and it’s absence, the director, Vikramaditya Motwane said ”I did it to give Rohan a happy memory of her that he could hold on to, and the fact that his life wasn’t always like this. The fact that she was the one who taught him to ride a bike for the first time and ‘send’ him on his journey, and not the father as one would normally expect. That was the intention in the script but I thought it became overstated when we did the cut. The scene was telling us that the mother mattered, and that everything about Rohan has something to do with this moment, and it became too heavy. So I took it out.”, which makes sense as the mother wasn’t brought into the picture for most things emotionally pivotal, till the pre climax when he is looking at her pictures.

To download the script of Udaan click here and follow the instructions

The film was the coming of age movie which a generation growing up with the maximum changes needed. This genre hasn’t been very popular in India while in the west, is not just appreciated but also widely watched. The changes weren’t just in the teenagers of our times but also in the parenting. Teachers raising their hands was normal as children and we were suddenly told that it is a criminal offence. It wasn’t much of a cultural shock as much as it was the change in power dynamics in age. It was the first time that an elder with a certain amount of authority had rules whilst spending time with somebody younger. Udaan also didn’t have the father apologise for being wrong and becoming right which has happened quite a few times in the genre. The father fucked stuff up for himself and people around him way before the timeline of this film started and didn’t even really want redemption. Still, in a country like India, I always thought that a child raising his hand at the parent must have been a difficult thing to show, but I was surprised knowing according to Motwane, it wasn’t. ”Not difficult at all. It felt like the natural thing to do. Rohan wants to be treated as an equal. And that’s the moment where he tells Bhairav that he is an equal. I do believe that we give too much respect and deference to our elders in India, unnecessarily so. Every debate ends with ‘because I’m older than you’. But the scene isn’t a metaphor for lashing out at elders in general. At least I don’t think it is.”

Parenting is a complex task where somebody enters your life and voluntarily/involuntarily becomes the most important thing for you. Many parents aren’t ready for such a responsibility and maybe Bhairav didn’t want one too but I believe he had a struggle with his masculinity and the need to display it. Many Indian men feel a constant need to be right in terms of the society and convince themselves that what they believe is the only right that can exist. I saw Bhairav to be a self-righteous frustrated man and if the climax wasn’t the same, would see Rohan becoming the same. Rohan has pride of being elder in his earlier conversation with Arjun and seems to be becoming Bhairav and not knowing it himself. On being asked if this was a conscious choice, Motwane said ”In one scene, which got taken out of the film, it was. Rohan tells Arjun that if he snitches to Bhairav he’ll beat the crap out of him, and Arjun responds with ‘you’re just like sir’. But that was the only scene where it was conscious.” What about the recurring character of the self righteous male in his cinema then? ”Unless I’m wrong and can’t see it, I think the only truly self-righteous men in my films so far are Bhairav and Bhavesh Joshi. Maybe a little in Rohan and a little in Varun in the second half of Lootera, but those are with some amount of justification. And Bhairav and Bhavesh are self-righteous for different reasons. Bhairav wants things done his way because that’s the only way he knows. Bhavesh wants to change the world and wants everyone to change the world with him. Neither of them can understand why the others don’t get it. But they’re both fascinating characters for me. They’re both tragic, and that makes them more human than the other. I feel as bad for Bhairav at the end of Udaan as I feel happy for Rohan and Arjun. Because you know he’s only human.” says Motwane.
Personally for me, I saw Sartaj Singh also to be extremely self righteous in the first season of Sacred Games, and gradually realising his mistakes and guilt tripping while thinking that’s the only way to set things right in the second season.

Artwork by Bharath Mohan

The film had some anger and frustration but had more tenderness and love than visible in the first viewing. Arjun and Rohan’s bond grows with each time we see them spend time together. It’s like the walk in the end had started the first time they met and had exited Bhairav’s gates and reached outside by the end. My favourite scenes between them have to be at the hospital. Be it the heartbreaking scene where he asks Rohan to leave as he has to change and Rohan sees his scars or the endearing scenes where Rohan is reading out his poetry to Arjun. For me, Chandu ki cycle was him telling Arjun that stories don’t end in a helpless situation. Jimmy’s love for Rohan was also so tender and we understated that he doesn’t need to say anything more than ‘You can do whatever you like, even be a watchman if you’d like to’ for us to understand his love. His attempt at making Bhairav hear and appreciate Rohan’s poetry shows how different two brothers are and also has my favourite poetry of this film ‘Sochta hu’. When asked about how Jimmy didn’t end up being like Bhairav, Motwane said ”Compared to Bhairav, Jimmy got lucky. He took a corporate job at Tata Steel, worked for years, saved up, and is now semi-retired. There’s a scene in the script that alludes to this, where he shows Rohan his vintage car. Bhairav, on the other hand, took over the father’s factory and struggled to make it work. That’s one of the reasons he resents Jimmy a little. Feels that he worked his ass off while Jimmy waltzed through life.”

Artwork by Amit Sharma.

A few scenes which took me longer to completely understand are the most precious for me now. How Rohan outrunning his father is him outrunning a pre-decided life which he didn’t want. When his father burns his books, he intended to burn the very dreams that Rohan had. How Superman mattered as an aspiration from outside to see the positive. How the old man really wanted Rohan to complete the story, not just because of how good the stories were but also because he had little time. Apu screams at Rohan not just because he thinks Rohan could’ve stood up but because he took that as a personal loss as his lingerie shop also remains unopened. I was reminded of the smoking scene when I watched Taika Watiti’s Boy and Alma Har’el’s Honey Boy, as the much younger boys in both these films, rebel against their not-so-perfect fathers after they have smoked in front of the father. In India, it is many a times a disrespect to smoke in front of the parent even if the parent knows. Did the curtains drop? Was it now a shameless relationship after he smoked in front his father? Was it about the loss of respect? “The smoking scene is about power. Bhairav thinks that he can shame Rohan in the scene by making him smoke in front of him. But now that Rohan’s ‘flaws’ are out in the open, it empowers him to consider himself an equal. That’s why there’s no eye contact from Rohan through most of the scene, until the point he needs to look at his father. It’s a scene from my life – my father realised that me and my friends were smoking on the sly, and he invited us to have a cigarette with him after dinner. Even though there were 5 of us smoking, he only had eyes on me and it was the scariest thing. But after that, the fear completely went away.” says Motwane.

At one point, Apu after the fight at the bar is spinning yarns in the car and nobody is believing him but he can’t stop as the conversations are muted by a song. This describes Udaan. A film where we can see the truth around us in somebody else’s story and allow it to weave the truth into fantasy. For me, the film is magic. It is a plethora of emotions which I feel differently each time I watch it. For Motwane, it is ”First love. The first time is always special.”

Akarsh Hooda.

10 years of Love aaj kal.

Imtiaz Ali has constant themes in his films be it travel, a feminine perspective or casual versus immersive love or all, but the one that stands with this film is how the intensity of love is different when the couple meets after a separation. 10 years later, Love Aaj Kal hasn’t aged a bit and is one of the more mature romantic films which deals with love changing over time and also being the same at its core, generation after generation (Which was also spoken about in Ali’s Tamasha later with the entire ‘Vahi kahani phir ek baar’); two contradictory and supplementary thoughts.

Co-incidence isn’t emphasised on, although the film starts with Jai and Meera standing next to each other in an elevator. Maybe because the bigger and more prominent aspect in Ali’s films is destiny, which makes co-incidences take place to let the larger story fall into place. I was a lot younger when I saw the film first. Barely entering my teens, I was introduced to terms like pile-on and break-up party for the first time. They kiss within the first two minutes of the film and breakup within the first ten minutes; showing an entire relationship start to end in hardly any time. There are many conversations that the couple has, like that of people looking at them with the hilarious ‘Kaun dekha, kaun dekha?’, they diss the concept of marriage at a wedding and are in search for something casual in an already casual world. He brings all women to a bridge from the beginning and his Golden Gate ambitions feel real and passionate and not just something he isn’t working on. She is interested in frescos and moving back to India for site restoration. Very stark dreams both and something they seemed interested in before and after.

The beginning credits are accompanied with the beautiful ‘Dooriyan’ which talks about emotional and physical distances has the characters including Veer, traveling through different modes of transport. What I didn’t understand though is Meera’s shots of the climax while she moves in a new house, being shown in the beginning. Is it to show where she has reached? Or is it to show the differences that have arrived. The lyrics of the song cover the theme of the film with lyrics like ‘Aa raha paas ya door mai ja raha, mai hu kaha pe?’ which foreshadows a dialogue which Meera tells Vikram a lot later. The film is about two people who want to do multiple things at the same time and about their success and failure while dealing with their careers, relationships and feelings.

Coming to the separation and getting back and then realising true love in Ali’s films, Socha Na Tha had rejection as it’s beginning, Jab We Met had Geet in love with another man, Sejal and Heer’s marriage was fixed with another while Ved and Tara met to separate. Separation hasn’t been far for any of these characters but the real intensity of love is displayed and reciprocated when they separate and then meet. In Love Aaj Kal specifically, their separation bits are much longer in terms of duration compared to when they’re together. They meet and separate right away. Then they stay away from each other right until mid point when Jai turns up in Delhi. Even then, the awkwardness has been granted a couple of scenes but them being together is wrapped up in a song and then right away comes another separation scene.

The love aaj kal doesn’t necessarily need physical contact for the sake of communication. Communication or the lack of it is what keeps the love story between Jai and Meera going. Post breakup, their conversations are at the most comfortable stage where they realise they can tell each other anything and become confidants but soon enough when they start having other romantic interests, the communication is what leads to a certain level of pretence. The comfort is so high that Jai gets excited as his next girlfriend Joe says she wants to go to India and spends most of the time with Meera there. Maybe that’s the reason that Meera, when proposed for marriage decides to stop all forms of communication with Jai. Later, there is an awkward conversation between them at her wedding which makes them realise more than they know. The realisation hits Meera first and she decides to take steps towards it just when Jai decides to tell her that his dream of the Golden Gate is coming true. That phone call leads to more distance and no communication between them till the very end. For these two characters, communication is a very different thing. While Jai keeps murmuring whatever he can (almos like Saif Ali Khan finally gets to complete his ‘Haa mai, magar vo, suno to…’ dialogue in front of Meera, which he couldn’t in front of Priya) , not needing to make sense; Meera on the other hand, chooses silence or is mostly thinking of what to do. She also ends up choosing more physical ways to interact like initiating hugs and walking off.

There are also some very interesting points on how hard we’re trying to be modern while dissing emotions on the way. ‘Hum modern log hai’, ‘Baaki couples ki tarah ro dho ke alag nahi hote’, ‘ Kitni saari information hai duniya me’ are all ways to pretend to prioritise a newer world. Veer also says ‘Humare zamane me’ with so much pride as if to look down at the current world and pandrah baar hone wala pyaar. The two worlds only meet in the stories and not in the thoughts of Jai and Veer. The interference in Jai’s personal life by Veer felt very paternal to me as someone who lost his love would want another one to win his and in turn find his happiness in it; which made Veer having married Harleen complement the ‘Vahi kahaani phir ek baar’ logic but also made him look a bit creepy to interfere in somebody’s life even though he can just go home and chill with his Meera (Harleen). What I completely understood though is Jai wanting to spend time with Veer as maybe he wants to know Veer’s story to know what the future of his own story will be. He has a certain image in front of his friends which he feels obliged to maintain but can let go in front of Veer so maybe he uses Veer as a mirror for sharing emotions. He also starts to relate the two stories more and more, as the film progresses and their situations become similar. Harleen though, is an underwritten character (and still stands up for herself when being stalked), maybe because she is being spoken about by Veer who might remember more of what he did and what he went through, compared to what Harleen was like, which I don’t really think he knew till they got married. Whereas Meera’s life is shown even when she isn’t with Jai. Harleen being played by another actor and not Deepika might be because maybe it would seem like Veer wants to relive his romance and so he wouldn’t ever become the paternal figure.

Traveling though is a very important factor in this film. The characters move away from each other because of distance and because the world isn’t really a global village already. The love for Dilli as a word, is as heartfelt as ‘Ratlam ki galiya’ and ‘Punjab ke khet’. In this film, no character just reaches a geographical place. He goes to that place in the mode of transport which is almost always shown. Lots of trains, bicycles, buses and cars occupy screen time and make the geography of the film very important. Even locations like a disco are well used as Jai and Meera meet there for the first time. Jai sings and dances with Joe there at the same time as Meera goes out with Vikram to a disco. This is maybe because they are using similar tropes to move on and also because when two people spend a lot of time with each other, they start becoming like the other. They both ask the other to hold a call so that they can behave how they should and not how they feel. They also find it important to move on right away and want immediate solutions for all their problems. He even tries to replicate a moment with Joe, as she obviously is oblivious to his hints.

Casting Rishi Kapoor as Veer is brilliant as the country has seen him love and can believe him falling in love that hard. It just gets weird when he looks into nowhere-land and starts his story; too much physical reminiscence. Rahul Khanna did a similar hot boss + second option role in Wake up sid the same year although here the materialisation is extreme and the realisation by the woman comes after the marriage. Saif Ali Khan does similar things in both the characters which honestly works big time as drawing parallels becomes easier. Deepika though, stood out for me as Meera. She lives the role and especially in her wedding scene with no dialogues made me understand everything she felt. The way she checks herself out in the mirror and the way she cries while sounding happy on a phone call made me know her completely.

Coming to the two generations, one question I’ve always had is that would Jai feel this strongly for Meera if not for the love sermons by Veer? Is he getting influenced by the great love story? Was this destiny? Maybe we’ve wanted to feel the latter as similar situations start popping up. Both the women are getting married as the lover has to watch. Both the women drink Black Coffee without any sugar in memory of their loved ones. Both the men travel thousands of kilometres to meet the lover. Both the men speak bullshit at important moments like about the traffic or about steel factories.

Ali’s collaborations with A.R Rahman and Anil Mehta are much appreciated, but what are ignored are his collaborations with Pritam and Natraja Subramanian. The music suits the mood and from Dooriyan, the song about distance or Ajj Din Chadheya, the Punjabi love ballad and the music is beautiful with heartfelt lyrics by Irshad Kamil. Punjabi folklore in Aahun Aahun and  Thoda Thoda Pyaar, and the iconic nagin tune in Twist, the music is inspired (no pun intended) and authentic. The most interesting songs though are the situational ones. Chor Bazaari is about comparing each other’s company with shoplifting and is so much fun but also explains the situation and thought-process of a no pressure relationship extremely well. Main Kya Hoon is about the success and lives changing which has a standout video because of Subramanian’s cinematography which is not stable for a single second. The camera keeps tracking in towards Jai to make us know first his joy and then depression, intimately. Thankfully, his body language and expressions also change as he comes to his lowest and not just his beard. The same shot is taken multiple times in different moods to display his foray into depression. It is also interesting to see how Jai wears a shirt only at every important and meaningful  point in his life, be it the break up, reunion, or the other more formal moments.

Love Aaj Kal is more than the average rom-com and delves into certain complexities of modern day relationships. I don’t know how exactly I feel of a sequel, because I don’t see it much like one, but the fact that this film was made the way it was, with all the commercial tropes and the story which is saying the same old thing in a way that nobody other than the maker can, is commendable. Ali’s is a unique voice which speaks a lot while conveying something else altogether. Whoever watches all his films as one aren’t wrong though, but maybe that is the point of all his films. Ikko hai kahaani bas badle zamaana.

 

 

Kya Bolreli Public?

On Valentine’s Day early morning I went to the theatre, extremely excited to catch the latest Zoya Akhtar directorial. Not a romantic flick but there was enough crowd on a Thursday morning. There were a whole bunch of people and not just young couples canoodling in corners, but older people and groups of friends who had come to see the film on the basis of it’s stellar cast, trailer and music. There was no hooting for Ranveer Singh or Alia Bhatt’s entry because it wasn’t treated that way but everyone had to say ‘Mar Jayega Tu’ out loud before Alia said it. Everyone had to thump and hum and the people more familiar with the music, were almost beatboxing. Everyone was prepared for a lot but I’m sure nobody expected the lava of words to melt so many shackles and to cross such boundaries.

Murad is played by the actor spoken for his energy on and off screen and here, even when he is rapping, he is energetic at the level that Murad would be and never becomes Ranveer Singh. His swagger is never to impress but it just exists. He asks someone else to use his words and make a track. He knows about his talent but remains unsure about the value of his existence. Somebody has to ask him his name for him to finally speak. He thinks about poverty but doesn’t think he can do anything to change it. Thoughts are hereditary because they are passed on to the next generation in different versions: gifts, warnings or advices. But what is one to inherit and what one to not? If you are growing up with someone telling you how to behave, how to break out of it after realising that the thought process all throughout wasn’t right? Is that even possible, with the socio-economic barriers and the mental turmoil around? What is happiness? Do dreams have a limit? Why is passion such an often used word and it’s hindi equivalent junoon not? Uncomfortable questions and a film that handles all of these questions without needing to answer them but does more than enough by mentioning how these questions exist. A lot is needed for the achievement of rising and overthrowing these preconceived notions and the process isn’t easy. How to separate Ranveer as a human and as an actor, when he says that he is apolitical and then portrays a character like he understands all his problems and the anti-establishment thoughts it has, was another concern for me but that didn’t arise during the film. The way he looks at people richer than him and also thinks that they have seen more in the world than he has, is a viewpoint and belief that is instilled. He rises above what is instilled, taking a step a day, sometimes dabbling with other professions alongside, till his time comes. It isn’t only Murad’s journey. He has more people around him who contribute to every move of his. This is also a film about them.

MC Sher’s entry is so energetic and crazy that like Murad, we all sit up and take notice of who this guy is. Not just the character, but the actor also deserves a lot of attention. I first saw Siddhant Chaturvedi in the web-show Inside Edge and his character was of a forbearing and submissive cricketer and here, he roars out loud. It is so rare to see an over-the-top character being played out realistically and this guy owns every second of it. At one scene set at his house, he is Shrikant and while leaving the house, he is blending into MC Sher. This comes naturally to him, like most of us. We are different people in different situations. Moin is also one such character, who is so grey, it is tough to decide whether to slap him or hug him, so Murad does both at different points. He is a drug peddler who is the bad company everyone is warned about. He is also the one to stand in front of you when somebody is charging at you. He has a weird moral universe where he believes that his truth is the universal truth. His friend not disclosing his act of infidelity to his love is a problem but getting children to sell drugs isn’t. His is a beautifully written character who has the answer to everything and still doesn’t raise questions unless necessary. He is the hero trapped in hapless circumstances. His is the Bachchan character of Deewar that Zoya’s father had co-written, this is where a person like that would be now, under these circumstances.

His family members also form their own set of arcs. Vijay Raaz portraying his father is wrong but never evil. He also thinks of his family’s well being although he doesn’t think violence is an issue. At some point, he told his wife that his son would have a desk job and he isn’t only born to mess up. He is the oppressor and the oppressed. His complexities are understood well with the tears in his eyes at the end. A real tangible change is the only thing that warrants an intangible change in thoughts. Even his grandmother who questioned his upbringing by her own son, learns from somebody two generations younger, without a dramatic monologue. His uncle Ateeq, played by Vijay Maurya, is also a person who is self righteous and understands the difference between right and wrong when he isn’t on the wrong. He is a result of a system and represents the system. His character in my head will always end with him changing the channel when Murad comes on TV, only to not digest how his prediction and thoughts weren’t supported with a testimony. His fauji, his mother Razia, isn’t just long suffering but has her own thoughts and a voice. Her insecurities have resulted her to feel inconsequential. She had a tiffin business and she can and wants to get back at it and be the provider. Sure, she is a product of her circumstances, but she doesn’t want to be, and this is what is important.

The other women around him are also not just to push him forward but they have a life of their own and their solo stories would be just as interesting and exciting as his. Sky, played by Kalki Koechlin, is what this Gully Boy believes he can only look at from afar and shouldn’t ever try to attain. She is unapologetic and spunky and doesn’t hold herself back from doing what she wants to and asking what she doesn’t know. She is what he isn’t and is the personification of envy. My favourite scene of the film is when minutes before he moves into his new house which can be covered in a shot, he is surprised that there is another floor to Kalki’s flat and then he counts the amount of steps he can take in her washroom realising how it is bigger than his house. He then neatly folds the hand towels, almost as if he can spoil them by using them. He doesn’t even want the Sky, but he sure likes to look at it. What he wants is his Gully and his Safeena. Safeena is the angsty girl who has the confidence to get what she wants and is not ever apologetic, unless it is a means to an end. She supports Murad when he is a driver and she is on her way to become a surgeon. In the end, when Murad is at the edge of living his passion, she is living hers by applying lipstick and makeup, as she has stepped out late at night That is her time that has come. Victories depend on what one aspires, and aspirations are always big for eyes that can’t touch them easily.

The music is always on the same track as the film. Meri Gully Mein is the local track that was and is loved. Filled with Mumbai slangs, this song invites the bantai and bachis to the party. Doori is a song about a barrier which is difficult to put into words because it isn’t just about money, but a lot more things that are not very easy to melt. Azadi is a cry for help and a slogan for revolution at the same time. These songs are not just authentic but also very organic. They don’t have just an effect but also an aftereffect, much like the film. They aren’t just a part of a revolution, but have a separate revolution present in their own existence. The music is screenplay and the lyrics are a part of dialogue.

Zoya is such a visual filmmaker and there are very few of those making Hindi films currently. The beginning credits or the Sapno me bhare naina scenes in Luck by chance, The underwater portions in Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara or the beautiful short film she made in Lust Stories, all show her command over visual storytelling and how she can let imagery take control of screen and is comfortable with interpretations and doesn’t need conclusions. The camerawork by Jay Oza is fantastic because it doesn’t try hard and allows the shots and actors to be. He doesn’t hunt for the need to show what all he can do and decides to stay local and creates a lived in feel with the camerawork not expoliting the situations or characters but actually complements them. Nitin Baid’s editing is super. Loud songs cut to silences and that is so much like the life we are seeing.

Murad is in a car when there are lights outside from all directions. He looks outside with desire and says for the first time: ‘Apna Time Aayega’. This poetry is later sung by people who are those lights. This for me is the film.

-Akarsh Hooda.

Best male performances of 2018.

Men have had to do heavylifting not just by kicking the villain to another town but also by wearing a pad, not being able to satisfy the wife in bed, being consumed by a connection with an ill colleague and being vertically challenged. Sensitive unconventional characters played by A list stars in their films. The performances getting better is more complex and subjective but the roles got a lot better. The hero and the anti-hero found a new companion in the hindi film scenario, a flawed hero is a novelty to this culture and is being embraced deservingly, encouraging more complex and interesting parts in the future. For now, the best ten of what I got to witness this year in hindi cinema:

10. Diljit Dosanjh – Soorma.

A man who has built his entire persona around the likability factor that he possesses in his personal life, gets to play a good boy, yet again. He very simply and effortlessly brings honesty and charm to a righteous character who is wronged, yet again. When he sings for his woman, he makes the entire audience swoon, yet again (For an easy reference, just watch a video of Diljit and Alia singing Ikk Kudi and the way he looks at her while singing). He delivers an effective performance in his comfort zone and charms the screen, yet again.

9. Manoj Bajpayee – Gali Guleiyan.

Acting is the toughest with nobody else to share a scene with. It isn’t a game of breathlessness and energy but of slow deep breaths and poise in this complex film. An empathetic character suffering from loneliness can show his world even when he is alone in his room, mostly thinking or eavesdropping on his neighbours gluing his ears to the wall. Everything in this film depends on his performance and he lets the film stand tall on his broad shoulders.

8. Avinash Tiwary – Laila Majnu.

Sajid Ali, like his brother, gives his protagonist enough space to transform and go deep into a psyche which only the script understands. Madness in love cannot be displayed with a simple performance and this performance goes from impulsive to deep to outright crazy with Tiwary taking you to his destructible world of love and loss. Whatever happens in and around the song ‘Hafiz hafiz’ is surreal and Tiwary missing enough beats to be flawed and messed up, makes the performance more real and truthful than perfect, which is a beautiful takeaway.

7. Manoj Pahwa – Mulk.

A victim of circumstances and a person with an identity crisis in a world where his belonging has become a question mark isn’t particularly easy. A man known for his comic stints in film and on tv, is in fine form as a man constantly blaming himself for his son’s deeds and his family’s current state. He is particularly strong in a scene with his elder brother where he is pleading to be saved, his weakness could only be displayed by an actor with might. This was my favourite surprise of the year.

6. Sohum Shah – Tumbbad.

Also the producer of the film, Shah grows along with you. Another actor plays Vinayak’s childhood and maybe because of his involvement with the making of the film, him taking over as the character grows older feels like a natural progression. The pauses between his words get longer as he grows older as if more maturity has come to him and the wildness is fading away. Every scene where he is with hasthar, his body language is sturdy and agile, at the verge of being athletic, making him look like he knows this world. Special mention to his trust in the project which remained unperturbed.

5. Vicky Kaushal – Sanju.

A less complex character than most in this list but a very effective one. It is extremely difficult to be liked and watching the film made me want a best friend like Kamli. Whether it is the snakes in the hole joke or the drunk outburst in front of Sunil Dutt, he is constantly honest and pure. It shows extreme security to do a role which requires to be the good boy standing at the side of the lead and to humanise his existence in the first place. A Gujarati caricature, people might complain, but one that manages to evoke general emotion and achieve more than the potential.

4. Ayushmann Khurrana – Andhadhun.

The famous piano scene from Andhadhun was most memorable because of Khurrana’s fear and passiveness in the living room and more so, in the washroom. Fear is mostly displayed with eyes and he did that wearing black glasses and without missing a beat. Even in the film’s derivative portions, Khurrana remains consistently excellent. There is a scene in which he has to be blind, not blind and blind again, in the same shot. He is as suspenseful as the script and that is a big deal.

3. Vicky Kaushal – Manmarziyaan.

Is love always selfless? A selfish portrayal of love can be extremely tricky and can come across as selfish or evil, but that is avoided with Vicky Kaushal portraying this, looking differently than he ever was and wearing rock band t shirts, he is effortlessly charming. His love, lust, realisation, repentance and anger are displayed much before a dialogue comes to support his emotion. The eloping scene has him go from confident to uncomfortable and embarrassed and that is how mouldable he is throughout the film. A whimsical and understated performance for a character that is not just wild but almost capricious.

2. Ranbir Kapoor – Sanju.

Physical transformation and visual marvel over the similarities is a different thing, but this would be just as high even if it was a fictional character and this kind of a performance was given. The walk, facial expressions and swagger of Sanjay Dutt embodied further extend my cause. Playing a victim of circumstances, Ranbir gets what the script wants to say very well and even if the job of the film is to whitewash, it is done artistically and gleefully by Kapoor. His laughter is childlike and tears are heartfelt, don’t know how authentic this is but it is so darn sincere that I laughed, cheered and weeped with him.

1. Vineet Kumar Singh – Mukkabaaz.

Now if I leave his physical transformation, struggle to land the role, boxing technique and background aside and look at the performance keeping all positive bias aside, I’d still call this the best Male performance of the year by a margin. Underconfidence has a body language and so does love, I witnessed both before the beginning credits of this film, by the same actor. His body, voice and mannerisms seemed worn out and not just created for the screen. Playing an ordinary character going through an extraordinary phase has limited tricks in a bag, if the character’s grip isn’t left and here, no tricks are needed as honesty precedes any other equipment in acting. A love for self, the lover, an establishment, a coach and the country is all omnipresent not just in Shravan but it blurs the line and seems as if it is Singh’s love for self, the part, the script, his director and the job that can achieve this level of excellence.

This list could’ve been so much longer and that is indeed a good feeling. More power to them for sure but just like 2018, more sensitivity, love and empathy to them in the coming years. May the films, parts and performances only get better.

Best female performances of 2018.

Women this year had characters of all sorts. Some were fiery and some were cranky and some were plain impulsive, but more than anything else, they were like the woman I know and they were very very human. Stories didn’t just fit them in well but moved forward with them. Actresses were ready to comply and gave in their best and showed once again why they deserve to be protagonists and more importantly, important in film.

10. Anushka Sharma – Pari.

An extremely difficult character to play and to live every layer of it unfolding them one by one in such a sensitive and active manner is rare. Sharma’s talent is beyond question but so is her inconsistency. Although when she delivers, she makes sure to not leave any stone unturned. A film more or less revolving around her, has her in full form playing Rukhsana with just the right amount of vulnerability and under-confidence that the role required.

9. Divya Dutta – Blackmail.

An under-appreciated artist digs into a meaty but short lived role and has so much fun with it, that you laugh even when she isn’t doing anything. A dominating wife who still has love inside her can be a caricature but Dutta makes it her own. My favourite scene of hers had a refrigerator, a dead body and a phone with a ringtone saying ‘Mai Happy Happy Hu’. Weird, wacky and outright crazy.

8. Radhika Apte – Lust Stories.

A confused human who is like most of us, always wanting more, needed somebody as thoughtful as Apte. Everytime she says random or sometimes poignant things to the camera, the listener in us awakens and stands right up. She demands attention in the most straightforward way. A rather long scene involving a forceful recording had me in splits all throughout. That’s what the segment is : Long but salvaged by a strong lead at all points.

7. Taapsee Pannu – Mulk.

Saying a monologue like you mean it in a court scene seems like the most obvious and simple thing to do. Alas, more often than not people overdo it and forget that normal humans have 70% water in their body and not 150%. Seeing her explain her point is tiring but at no point tiresome. A very self assured performance has her swallow her words, rush into sentences and drink water like there were no retakes possible, or more like this was actually happening.

6. Alia Bhatt – Raazi.

Two scenes defined the entire film for me and both depended on Bhatt’s performance. One involved a scene where Sehmat is thinking about the aftermath of her very first murder and is in tears. The other had her holding a gun to her lover. Both of these diametrically opposite scenes had her respond in a very naive and emotional manner. Sounds repetitive but even with that fear, it exists because people are like that. Not very subtle but is that always necessary?

5. Renuka Shahane – 3 Storeys.

Talking about the performance is extremely difficult without mentioning how her story ends but let me give it a shot. Shahane is the bhabhiji of the nation since 1994 and playing a Catholic woman who just wants to sell her flat to a decent man seemed too ordinary a character for her but the subtext of love having the potential to be vicious to the society is strong and who better to portray it than a person known for her loving image? When the going gets tough, Shahane only gets better.

4. Geetanjali Rao – October.

Most of the other performers had a lot to do but her job was a lot more difficult as she just had to be, and boy does she do it well. Her silence and passive melancholy shows to play numb and still emote so much. A role full of emotions can be overwhelming but to suffice it to making it more dutiful than paternal is relatable and plain real. This is the debut we must all cherish.

3. Tabu – Andhadhun.

An acquaintance of brilliance, Tabu unleashes novelty yet again with a very different shade of grey this time. An unapologetic, calm and greedy woman, Simi, is humanised and at some points, I almost thought she is a victim of circumstances and love. Tabu owns Simi’s decisions and is a chameleon till the end, being the Tom to Akash’s Jerry. Like most other times, here also she delivers a tabootiful performance.

2. Bhumi Pednekar – Lust Stories.

Silence is a different language in itself and Sudha from Lust Stories is fluent in it. Acting and being are obviously difficult, but Pednekar becomes Sudha and is Sudha from the very first frame. Insecurities, vulnerability and some amount of heartache is displayed with hardly any words but just existing as the character. Her lack of vanity is a mere 1% of what she brings into this character. More power to strong women but just as much to vulnerable ones.

1. Taapsee Pannu – Manmarziyaan.

THE WALK. Everytime she walks, it’s as if she means business. Pannu’s walk in Manmarziyaan is as significant as that of a hero in a Rohit Shetty film. The way she smiles when she looks at Vicky or when she screams at him or when she replies to Robbie while looking elsewhere, is multifaceted, honest and all sorts of fantastic. A strong woman isn’t just one who has a job but also one who makes the decision to not have a job herself. A strong actress isn’t just one who acts well but also one who stops acting and invests herself into the character. Parallels between her great performance and the character of Rumi can be drawn all day and that is a compliment to both.

Rani Mukherji, Neena Gupta, Surekha Sikri, Zoya Hussain and Sanya Malhotra were honest and amazing too and deserve mention for just the mere fact that they were true to their characters and emoted enough to convey all that their characters felt. Thank god for all these women bringing about a revolution in the form of the characterisations itself. Roles, money and prominence can be demanded till a point that it doesn’t need to be thanks to all these women. Hope to see even better performances in 2019 with no roles that make one cringe.

Worst films of 2018.

All of y’all going crazy saying this was a year of great scripts and Script is Kingg with a double g, chill out. I’ll quote Pyaar ka Punchnama and say  “Behind every good film is a script but behind every bad films is also a script, and we all very well know that the population of bad films is more than good films”. This is the kind of torture I was subjected to in 2018 via hindi films:

10. Loveyatri.

Aayush Sharma and his hair are a pair made in heaven. They are the best couple since Shahrukh-Kajol. There is a fantastic scene in which he lays his eyes on the lead actress for the first time. He gets angelic wings and flies and has a halo above his head. That imagery in my head is unparalleled by anything this year. Ram Kapoor and Ronit Roy are a deadly combo together. From Udaan to Student Of The Year to this, their next film has to be Deshdrohi 2 to keep up the spirits.

9. Bazaar.

A guy lands in Mumbai and makes a four crore deal on his third day. When I moved to Mumbai, I was buying utensils on my third day. Saif Ali Khan’s accent is like Andhadhun, can spark a twist anytime. Radhika Apte and Chitrangada Singh are here to do nothing but be a part of cheap twists. Rohan Mehra in his debut is the lead and has lesser screen presence than his suits. Hence proved, a film with two Honey Singh songs can never be good.

8. FryDay.

Thanks to this film, I’ve started noticing Brijendra Kala. I laughed five times in this film and he was responsible for all of them. Other than that, nothing worked. Govinda cheating on his wife is as old as Shahrukh romancing, and I really don’t know what is ageing worse. Varun Sharma’s dialogue delivery still hurts my ear. I felt like I was watching a butchered version of the 2005 film ’Sandwich’.

7. Bhaiyaji Superhit.

Arshad Warsi, Sanjai Mishra, Brijendra Kala, Sunny Deol and Priety Zinta isn’t a terrible cast to be honest. I’d be excited for a film with this cast ten years back. The worst thing is that the premise at it’s base is pretty interesting but sadly no laughs can be drawn. Shreyas Talpade plays a Bengali named Porno., Ameesha Patel does worse than Aap Mujhe Acche Lagne Lage and Sunny Deol has a twin named Funny Singh. Need I say more?

6. Happy Phir Bhaag Jayegi.

Piyush Mishra and Jimmy Shergill engage in some healthy banter in the beginning. This could’ve been a decent kickstart but sadly, it was the highest point of the film. The film goes to China this time instead of Pakistan, a bigger nation to create a bigger mess of a film. The film didn’t make me happy for sure and I really really hope Happy stays Happy so that I don’t have to see her running again ya phir public bhaag jayegi.

5. Race 3.

Dil nahi, Dell dekho. Ye film nahi, apne ghar ki deewar dekho. Salman Khan doesn’t promise great cinema but the least I expect is entertainment. Watching Barbie Doll standing in sand and Daisy Shah doing some crazy aerobatic stunts isn’t really my idea of entertainment. A Race film became a sequel to Prem Ratan Dhan Payo by the end of it with bhai preaching about family and about how much he loves his bhais and behens. Bhai bye!

4. Baaghi 2.

 

I quite enjoyed Baaghi and didn’t really mind the testosterone driven script, action and star. The opening scene with a human shield had me cringing. Prateik Babbar is so bad that I wish Dino Morea would’ve been around to do these roles. Manoj Bajpayee is simply embarrassing himself. Tiger is looking his best, dancing his best, fighting his best and acting isn’t really his forte so let’s not focus on that. Either Randeep Hooda knows the art to be fun in a bad movie or he was only thinking of how with a Tiger, this is his Life Of Pi moment.

3. Veere Di Wedding.

I really wanted to watch this film because of the electrifying soundtrack. I wasn’t expecting a ZNMD or DCH but at least a Pyaar Ka Punchnama? That’s not much to expect. 120 minutes go into finding out who is whose relative and then the end credits start rolling. Maybe I’m a bit slow but maybe family trees need establishments in cinema? A film so ridiculous and trying so hard to make a point. Don’t ask me what point. I hope there was some point. Not to me watching the film but in making it. Pointless thoughts these!

2. Thugs Of Hindostan.

Haiyya Haiyya Surraiyaa! This headache of a film which is based in one village is called Thugs Of Hindostan. ONE VILLAGE? HINDOSTAN WITH AN O? WHY DUDE? Could’ve named it after the village. Chalo theek hai, we’re all friends here, maaf kiya. What about Thugs? Who are thugs in this film? Aamir Khan maybe. MAYBE? You didn’t work on the film, at least should’ve worked on the title. The background music has been worked on WAY TOO MUCH. The sound still haunts me. Mugs Of Hindostan getting filled with water, milk and beer would be more interesting to watch.

1. Aiyaary.

I remember the duration of this film very well. It was 165 minutes of utter chaos in my brain. Why am I watching this? Did this filmmaker make ‘A Wednesday’? Am I going to regret this? The end of this film wasn’t anything around the plot for the rest of the film. The entire film had Manoj Bajpayee and Siddharth Malhotra looking outside windows in different getups and the end had Naseerudin Shah and a backstory about a dog? Adil Hussain is my favourite; he’s great in good films and we can forget him in bad ones. Manoj Bajpayee, take a hint.

 

Two out of these films have been superhits and one has a sequel announced since before it’s release. I love the budget we are having to spend on locations and stunt masters and portable gyms on sets but let’s remove a bit from that and pay the writer so that they can churn out a nice cute film about a relationship between many dogs who are exploring the country called Pugs Of Hindostan.

 

 

The worst performances of 2018.

This has to be a tough list to come up with. Either I have to be mean or harsh or honest; mostly all. I haven’t seen a few hindi films so apologies to haters of Namaste England, Genius and Vodka Diaries, I haven’t been subjected to them YET. Although, I’ve watched enough to have had honorary mentions in this but nah, they missed it by an inch. Let’s get to it:

10. Sonam Kapoor : Veere Di Wedding.

If her diva act in Aisha wasn’t bad enough, this had to come our way. It was almost like watching a YouTube imitation of a Delhi chic. Her under-developed character obviously doesn’t help her in showing her sporadically existent acting chops, but the minimum that could’ve been done was to be herself, which also she weirdly overdoes. Man, I hope I don’t have any such Veere to fall back on in my life. Lawyer Lawyer Misfawyer!

9. Aamir Khan : Thugs Of Hindostan.

I’d never thought I could dislike an Aamir Khan performance to this extent. He does the same things that his fellow pirate Johnny Depp did in Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes Of Grinderwald; he just yaps and yaps and rides his face at 100 expressions/hour. This was so dangerously fast that there had to be an accident. Dhokha isn’t his swabhaav so we hope we don’t nod when he says such a dialogue again.

8. Saqeeb Salim : Race 3.

The number of times he says bro isn’t even funny. Daisy Shah and him had a competition of who could say bro more number of times and Saqeeb won, even in his Maruti. He said ‘I’m sick of this Sikku’ at one point and it was one of the less unintentionally hilarious dialogues in this fascinating film. I couldn’t put Daisy in this because that’s none of my business. Although, I’m sick of this Saqu.

7. Sonakshi Sinha : Happy Phir Bhaag Jayegi.

Sonakshi on this worst performances list is like Meryl Streep’s Oscar nomination; will mark you present even without a film. She screams? She howls? She is giving a performance like she gave in Rowdy Rathore? All of this is often said and it is extremely rude and extremely true. Moving on from the obvious, she is also romancing three men who are all around her age and not played by actors in their 50s. That’s a refreshing change. Happiness bhaag gayi.

6. Anushka Sharma : Sui Dhaaga – Made In India.

A terrific actress is wasted in a one-tone role of a woman who has to cry. Many people complained with how the trailer had her crying all throughout and the film lived up to the hype of the meme-material expressions. She has always chosen meaty roles even with male actors who are superstars and in that practice, I hope she doesn’t just settle for length and also chooses quality.

5. Dharmendra : Yamla Pagla Deewana Phir Se.

A yesteryear talent who keeps coming every couple of years and embarrasses himself again and again. He is undoubtedly the most objectionable thing in the third series of the franchise that maybe shouldn’t have become a franchise. He plays a lawyer (Not retired) who stays in a house without giving the appropriate rent. The house works very well as a metaphor for this film.

4. John Abraham : Satyameva Jayate.

Aamir Khan had done a reality show of the same name and given more expressions in the advertisements of that than John does in this film. His expressions while Nora Fatehi is seducing him in the Dilbar song and when he is burning someone to ashes in the next scenes, are the exact same. John seems like he is in a Casino playing Poker. I fold.

3. Varun Sharma : FryDay.

 

I thought the audio of this film had some problem as his dialogues weren’t very understandable. All confusion was put to rest slowly as everyone else’s dialogues were audible in the same scene and his weren’t. Some roles are meant to remove your frustration and scream it all out and here he surely does the latter but frustrates us. Like Uday Chopra is only Ali, Varun Sharma should only be Choocha.

2. Manoj Bajpayee : Baaghi 2.

A great actor who overshadows actors like Tiger Shroff and Prateik Babbar to show them what real bad acting is about. His eyes become so big when he is angry, it feels like someone like blowing them from inside. He was always only one step away from being the villain in Mela. I saw an interview in which he said that he has to do all this to balance it with quality cinema, I felt sorry for him and us.

1.  Manoj Bajpayee: Satyameva Jayate.

Manoj Bajpayee in a cop’s role had almost become scary till I thankfully saw Bhonsle (releasing 2019). There is a scene in this comedy of errors in which he is at the police station and the camera is rotating 360 degrees and he isn’t even provoked and starts screaming because he wanted to? He gets angry as easily as Navjot Singh Sidhu laughs. Who knew Bajpayee has two personalities? Tip: Call the other personality just Bajpa.

 

This list makes me feel brave to have survived all of this and sad to have witnessed all of this. The worst thing is the amount of talent in this list. Let’s hope they all churn out better stuff next year and these lists become void.

-Akarsh Hooda.

My favourite twenty songs of the year.

 

Earlier, I was planning to write about the best albums of the year, but that wasn’t a great idea. Other than a couple of albums, most of them weren’t great in entirety. Most great songs came from mediocre albums and that is weird. Many songs that came this year were perfect according to the situations in their respective films ( Sayaani-Padman, Insaaf-Bhavesh Joshi Superhero) but they just didn’t stay with me. The following songs shall find a place in my playlist for a while:

20. Rangdaari – Daasdev.

 

The song I was crazy about since the trailer dropped is both poetic and hardcore. The Punjabi chorus is by a Pakistani artist Munir Niazi who wrote beautifully about love, power and mortality. Arko fuses it with soft rock and even gives in to hard rock by the end. An emotional roller-coaster with the right amount of crazy.

19. Bohot Dukha Mann – Mukkabaaz.

 

A song about love, darkness and pain is haunting to say the least. It can make one feel the anguish of another and has deeply affecting lyrics. Rachita Arora sings it like a lullaby to somebody who isn’t able to sleep even after a pill. Hussain Haidry knows how to speak about pain, which is visible from his first line “Saanjh ka ghor andhera mohe raat ki yaad dilaye”.

18. Mere Naam Tu – Zero.

 

Do all Ajay-Atul songs sound alike? This sounds so much like O Saiyan from Agneepath and the Dhadak title track that I almost judged the song. How long can one dislike a hardcore romantic ballad though? Irshad Kamil has penned an outlandish chorus with a plea for love which even goes on to asking “Kya ye itna bada kaam hai?”. Only if Ajay-Atul stem out something more original and still make me like their music just as much.

17. F For Fyaar Manmarziyaan.

 

The most audacious and wacky song of the year has to be this one. A song that is talking about the differences between love and lust and still steering away from vulgarity. Last time I remember something this ballsy and poetic was ‘Bhaag DK Bose’. The wackiest lyrics possible by Shellee and Mast Ali enjoying singing it, this is what different actually means.

16. Kadam – Karwaan.

 

Prateek Kuhad is the furthest end of the term sellout. An independent artist singing for hindi films but his flavour dominates his music and not the other way around. An existential song which is the most perfect road journey track had to find it’s place here. He continues talking about colours, time and roads; carving his path into my heart and playlist.

15. Chaav Laaga – Sui Dhaaga : Made In India.

 

Varun Grover goes from just cutesy and pure to grim and sadistic. The romance of the superior ‘Moh Moh Ke Dhaage’ is intact but takes a very different turn here. “Preet ki chaadar, chhoti maili. Humne usme pair pasaare” is what companionship is all about. Anu Malik creates a hummable chorus and Papon and Ronkini Gupta put in all they got. Calling an addiction a wound isn’t exactly romantic but much like this song, is alluring.

14. Pehli Baar – Dhadak.

 

When Zingaat came out, I went on about how the Yad lagla song is what I want to hear as that was the soul of Sairat. This is the most a song remake would have ever satisfied me. The lyrics by Amitabh Bhattacharya are starkly different from the original and still maintain the innocence of the original. Describing the job of eyes as to look at the lover and speaking about the salary and a lottery in that context has to be fascinating.

13. Badla – Blackmail.

 

Amit Trivedi-Divine-Amitabh Bhattacharya sounds like the most lethal combination ever. “Kutti cheez hai duniya phir tu kyun banta hai Santa Claus?” have to be the best words I’ve heard while writing this on Christmas eve. A track about cheating, distress, love and revenge; its almost like the lyrics weren’t typed by fingers but a hammer. Divine is just what we need and if this wasn’t just about film songs, his Kaam 25 would find a much higher spot on this list.

12. Bol Ke Lab Azad Hai – Manto.

 

A poetry by Faiz, arrangements by Sneha Khanwalkar and s statement about Freedom of Speech. Nothing could go wrong with this and nothing does. A movement in itself, this track is a lot of emotions in one. Life seems shorter for the amount of words to speak and this is so wonderfully articulated here. Speak about such songs because you can.

11. Hafiz Hafiz – Laila Majnu.

 

A sequel and a more definite and romanticised version of ‘Tu Koi Aur Hai’ from ‘Tamasha’ is not just about being stupid in love but is literally about going insane when in love. The lack of difference between love and the lover is difficult to be explained in a song but this captures an entire story in itself. Mohit Chauhan screaming words like Tohmat and Ghanghor isn’t an ideal idea of romance but this is unlike anything I’ve heard before.

10. Hallaa – Manmarziyaan.

 

The most amount of destruction I felt while listening to music this year was when I heard Jyoti Nooran and Romy singing Hallaa like a lightning had struck. Amit Trivedi is expected to deliver something unique but this is the most affecting song along with having the potential to be played on a loop during a work out. Sounds weird? This track is weird and captivating.

9. Nindaraan Diyaan – Blackmail.

 

A song beginning with lyrics like “Dil ka khilona tujhko diya hai, bhool se bhi kabhi nahi todna” is supposed to be a cute romantic number, no? It stays that way for the most part, speaking about marriage, companionship but the fantasy bubble loses it’s shit more than halfway into it and takes a stark turn for the bloody best. This song is worth blasting on the loudest speakers by the end of it and reminds me of the apeshit crazy rock version of  ‘Emossanal Attyachaar’, also by Amit Trivedi.

8. Namo Namo – Kedarnath.

 

This bhajan about the greatness and power of Lord Shankar is enchanting. With lyrics by Amitabh Bhattacharya shifting between pure hindi and undecipherable sanskrit, the power is enthralling to one who wouldn’t even understand a word. This list has started to sound like a fan mail to Amit Trivedi but he made me play this track while doing literally anything. He literally made a bhajan super cool.

7. Jaise Teri Marzi – Manmarziyaan.

 

The title track of undoubtedly the best album of the year had to be something this special. You can’t unsee how crazy and involved in love Shellee’s lyrics are. This is the least passive romantic track possible in a generation of the most casual form of love witnessed (In an album which had a song advertising lust over love). Two lovers telling each other they would do anything the other wants along with allowing them to make mistakes and mess up is deep and extremely tasteful.

6. Aa Jao Naa – Veere Di Wedding.

 

The Philauri album last year introduced me to the crazy talent that is Shashwat Sachdev. He gives a song about yearning but also leaves you yearning for more such music. Raj Shekhar personifies feelings and makes you realise how enchanting reveries are. “Aa chal sote sitaro ko haule se sehlake roshan kare aasmaan” is the most fantastical proposal music has had this year.

5. Mushkil hai apna mel priye – Mukkabaaz.

 

Most of my favourite tracks this year had romance as their base, just like this one. Although, this is very different compared to the others with political and religious subtexts surround this symphony. A lower class boy dedicating a song to an upper class girl using metaphors of food, electrical appliances, vehicles and even toothpastes is amusing and still, romantic at it’s core. The last qawwali/rap does this but amplified ten fold. Every line is a political statement and my favourite line has to be “Tum satta ki maharani ho, mai vipaksh ki lachaari hu”. It’s tough to make such songs because music isn’t just a game, my beloved.

4. O Meri Laila (Radio Version) – Laila Majnu.

 

A very dreamy feel starts this song and Joi Barua’s voice compliments it way too well. His composition is soulful and his voice does maximum justice to it. The fantasy element entails the lyrics by Irshad Kamil too, speaking about being alone in the city forgetting all problems and of course comparing finding the woman to finding a coin in an old kurta. It’s all translated in the most dignified manner which can make many people go weak in their knees.

3. Tera Yaar Hoon Main – Sonu Ke Titu Ki Sweety.

 

The friendship anthem of the year or rather the song that every friend will be seen dedicating to another in the rare times that friendly love is displayed. What is most unique about this song is how childish and innocent lyrics about toys, fooling around and abusing are sung and composed with such honesty and convinction by Arijit Singh and Rochak Kohli, respectively. The potential ‘Yeh Dosti’ of this generation and most deservingly so. Exclusion and distance are themes which run through this song and Kumaar’s lyrics make sure it doesn’t get too exclusive to the story on screen and is easy to relate.

2. Aaj Se Teri – Padman.

 

Love songs are generally for those young in love and not for people who are married? The most sensitive and cute love song in ages is about a newly married couple which relies on a very recital style. I heard this song and knew a female lyricst has penned this and Kausar Munir’s delicate and thoughtful words are a rarity these days. A man ready to do anything for his woman and in return just asking her to make him a malpua or exaggerating to change seasons in exchange for a smile is what is so simple and yet so so grand. Men or songs like these aren’t made often.

1. Daryaa – Manmarziyaan.

 

Ammy Virk’s ‘Qismat’ made me notice him and this one is a far superior song in a similar composition. This transcendent song can make one experience something much above normal. Listening to this track on full volume is an out-of-body experience. Shellee is a master in love and writes the most simple lyrics of the album for a very likeable track which couldn’t go wrong. Shahid Mallya and Ammy Virk suit each other so well, it’s like a beautiful duet. This song questions love, screams out love and puts it at the highest position. Not leaving my playlist ever.

 

This was the best year for music in very long and I hope such music is offered each year. I listened to almost all the songs that came out this year including a song called ‘Pant mein gun’ and another called ‘Kauva party’ to come up with this but if I didn’t hear something in a song that you did, let me know.

-Akarsh Hooda.

Best Posters of 2018

What should posters ideally give away? The basic plot? The feel? Just colour?
Posters were simply started for promotions and are still used for that; with a poster coming out daily before the release of the films and storming social media. It is beautiful when an image makes a statement individually and also withholds the integrity of the 150 minutes it is advertising. Here are my top 10 posters of the year that is coming to an end:

10. Stree.

Some posters warrant a second look come what may. This is one of them. It says ‘Based on a ridiculously true phenomenon’ and you crack up. The setting is eerie and the lighting is dark. Everyone is wearing the darkest shade of the colour they are wearing which is shining because of the torch light by the three characters peeping from the right. Mard ko dard hoga is in capitals and written in red just as a warning. The title is in hindi because the word is written in hindi all throughout the film. The female lead has her dupatta taking untoward routes after her hair braid ends hinting on her being a witch of some sort. The background is the classic full moon and a shadow which is cast upon the protagonists. Intriguing and thematic.

9. Dhadak.

Posters are highly affected by the logos of the film. The logo is written in paint and is a relief from the template based title logos around. It has blood in the end, giving the needful away. A small town setting, colourful clothes, a non-distractive background and an aesthetic picture are all ticked in a very good looking poster. After having seen Sairat, it looked like the perfect poster because it is bright but not too bright and it makes up for the joyous expressions with the grim logo. There is also a poster alternative for each one with the title in hindi, which is impressive. With her horizontally aligned hair apart, the poster is beautiful.

8. Gold.

This could as well been a poster of ‘Chak de India!’ and I’d be satisfied. The clothes and hair deciding that the film is a period piece isn’t it’s strongest advantage but then again the logo comes to it’s rescue as the ‘O’ in the title has a 1948 coin. The flag being removed from the blazer warrants a patriotic story. The entire team is thought of as important enough to be present on the poster, but only if they were big enough to be clearly visible to the naked eye without using a damn microscope. The film is releasing on a national holiday when the entire country will be in a patriotic mood so the release date has to be more visible than the supporting cast of course. The poster sets ground for cheering for the nation to get gold. Could have had more clarity in which sport though.

7. Pataakha.

Vishal Bharadwaj’s films always have great posters and here is another example. Both women are sad about each other, are abusing and fighting each other and people have different reactions to this, be it concern, anger or joy. Such is already spoken in the poster. Top it all with gulaal pink and turmeric yellow sprinkled all over with a cracker of a title written in bold with cracks all over. A man is wearing a pallu and another is at the verge of crying while women who are also doing this film are seen hurling abuses, smoking and standing with a gun. It is a gorgeous role reversal. Rooted films with titles in hindi create a spark often and here, it creates a pataakha.

6. Kaalakaandi.

A gun in one hand and a glass of alcohol in the other. Sounds so gangster, no? If the gangster has little ponytails on his head with colourful rubber bands, it doesn’t remain mafia but seems like some sacred games are on here. Out of all the characters in front of our man, the yellow nano and a transgender interest me the most. The background is the city at night and the title gets blurry. The poster is trippy, colourful and legit cool. A punjabi wedding, goons, cops and drugs are enough to get me excited.

5. Zero.

A charmer always enhances a great image. Shah Rukh Khan with no vanity, smiling with his mouth open, wearing a kacchha-baniyan with all his desk swagger, in a foreign nation, is enough to make me want to put this poster on the list. There is more of course, the clean text work along with the crescent moon on top of the ‘O’ pleases the eye. The garland of notes around his neck makes one happy at how a vertically challenged person is displayed as a superstar and not the other way round. Should’ve mentioned Himanshu Sharma though.

4. Sanju.

If the job of the poster is to excite then this poster does it’s job best. Every look of this film was getting people excited and revealing them to different looks and different ages, all in one frame is compelling. Baba, Munnabhai, Rocky, Jail and Jail acquittal have all been iconic looks of Sanjay Dutt, the man this is based on. The tagline ‘One man…Many lives’ makes sense to this poster because of how different all the five looks are. The title typography is as if it is the end of a letter. I don’t get the need for the excessive amount of blues but thankfully, it doesn’t distract. How much would it hurt to get Abhijat Joshi’s name on the poster?

3. Mukkabaaz.

With bigger names in the starcast, the lack of the need to include them in the promotional material is a smart and brave thought. Half the frame has a boxing glove ready to punch and on the other is a man on the floor with his gum guard fallen in front of him. His face has blood dripping down but the smile is intact. Just the story of this day in this person’s life would also excite me enough as there is enough conflict in the poster itself. The title typography is loud as it stands out. There is a hindi-english conflict too which is done before but doesn’t make the poster any less of a contender.

2. October.

If this was an individual poster without the context of any film, I’d still want to appreciate it. Centrally placed, outfits matched and the nature playing out as a character. She is holding jasmines in her hand and he is looking at her as if he can’t touch her. The same jasmine takes place of the alphabet ‘o’ which is noticeably always played within most title logos. The setting is a forest and the feel is dreamy. This poster does justice to everything; the film, the love and the season.

1. Bhavesh Joshi Superhero.

The entire poster campaign for this film has been the best this year. Some of the poster shows the mask  being removed and other tells you that the film is about a water problem. The reason this one is my favourite is because red is covering all that bleeds and the superhero is fighting people while somebody is torturing somebody in the background. There is fear coming from the other side and we aren’t properly introduced to anything other than the mask with red lights on the eye patch. The typography is like a comic book’s and the superhero in the end is like a T&C warning at the end of a mobile phone scheme poster. IF YOU MENTION ABHAY KORANE, WILL THIS SELL LESS?

-Akarsh Hooda. (Thank god I can mention myself here)

The 10 most under-watched films of the year.

Underrated is a word I have had trouble understanding. Did it deserve more business, critical appreciation or just your neighbour’s approval? I thought I should make a list of films which haven’t been watched as much as they deserve to be. Films which have a larger audience and are available and waiting to be watched. I know the year isn’t over yet but can the remaining two hindi films of the year be under-watched? Ten is a great number I guess so I’ll limit myself to those many. There is no order but are just according to their release dates

• Mukkabaaz.

A film about a boxer wanting to achieve his dream along with winning over his upper caste ladylove and overthrowing the powerful landlord who also is her uncle. It’s a classic underdog story which tick marks all these commercial elements with honest takes on the socio-political state of Uttar Pradesh. If this combination hasn’t excited you enough, it has a Nucleya song, a Punjabi and a Bihari superstar and Nawazuddin doing an item number.

Available on EROS NOW.

• Love Per Square Foot.

Watching this film is like owning a house in Mumbai. Not many people have done that and whoever has, hasn’t regretted. The supporting cast has power and the leads have spark, it thankfully never fuses out though. Fun all throughout and still has a real serious romance which makes you ship the couple more than real life couples. When Apu from Udaan directs, you should either watch it or do sit ups. Sit ups samajhte hai?

Available on Netflix.

• Pari.

The Indian ghoul stories have never not been intriguing but have been ignored regularly. Supernatural films have been rare in India and if present, they are the Bhatt of all our jokes. This one isn’t necessarily scary but is consistently interesting and creepy. There is a tender love story which drew a few laughs in my screen when I saw it but to me, it looked sensitive and poignant. The biggest bonus point is our first lady is in superb form and makes the absurdity also believable.

Available on Amazon Prime Video.

• Blackmail.

Irrfan Khan in a dark comedy has my attention even on my worst day. An adult comedy doesn’t need tables being lifted by erections but can make you laugh while pulling your hair out. This film is more wicked than anything I’ve seen this year and to keep repeating it is audacious. Film escalates to balls being busted, ransoms becoming deadly and a dead body in a fridge. After all this, it ends with a laughter by us and a Guru Randhawa song by them. I don’t need to convince you further if you just read the concept.

Available on Amazon Prime Video.

• Bhavesh Joshi Superhero.

Gotham needs Batman. What do we need? A juvenile sardar fighting against toxic gases or a vigilante fighting against corruption? We shouldn’t actually need either but looking at the bums on seats we surely deserve the former. A human story about the scenario around us and our blind eye. A chase sequence involving a local train and a Social server/vigilante named Insaaf man are what made me know what I want my superhero to look like. An aware and controlled vigilante is so fresh in the same year as another one that burnt down everything he saw.

Available on Netflix.

• Mulk.

In a country where news channels have more pseudo nationalism than actual news or where patriotism is defined by your approval on a statue, this was unexpected and fresh. Anubhav Sinha somewhere said that the film is a love story between Hindus and Muslims and I can’t agree more. They are in love, there is an external conflict and there is a beautiful happy ending. This isn’t a film which doesn’t take sides but it unapologetically takes all sides one by one and has more of a consistent and effective voice than any prime time journalist.

Available on ZEE5.

• Laila Majnu.

A love story is always a rocky terrain. Everything has been done and every story has been told. After all these complaints against the genre, deciding to have a take on an age old romantic fable and base it in Kashmir without exploiting it’s political scenario is worthy of applause. Not a boy-meets-girl story but a boy-in-love story. The film turns into a different beast in the second half and delivers ugly punches to the protagonist. Here, all that wasn’t communicated in the second half of Rockstar is screamed out loud. The only con of watching it is ignoring the rest of your playlist for the next couple of days and only listening to Laila Majnu songs.

Available on ZEE5.

• Manmarziyaan.

There are different takeaways for everyone who watches this depends on whom they connect the most with. For me, I can’t stop appreciating how a man who isn’t able to commit is also shown to be as much a lover as a man who gives her the space to choose between himself and another. Obsession is also a part of love and so is responsibility. A woman is anything but the product of her consequences. It literally lives up to it’s title as it doesn’t judge one being indecisive or angry or impulsive.

Available on EROS NOW.

• Pataakha.

Two sisters playing India and Pakistan is enough to get me drooling and add Vishal Bharadwaj and nothing can go wrong. After ‘Kaminey’, I always believed that Bharadwaj has the penchant for comedy and well, I was right. There is more that surprises you than makes you laugh. Two delicately wild love stories, one troubled father and a man who makes sure the war doesn’t end; each side track can have a separate gripping film of their own. It is still high on literature and craft keeping its grace as a Pataakha and never becoming a Fataka.

Available on Amazon Prime Video.

• Tumbbad.

Thousands of fables and a million interpretations must exist. Although, the one memorable is the one that empowers with a punch. Most people compare ambition with budget and in that aspect it’s budget should’ve been 2.0 times it’s actual financials. All social messages don’t need to be the same ones that the ruling party will promote but some can also be valid for them to think over. I’m still scared and I hope Rahi Anil Barve doesn’t sleep or Hasthar might come.

Available on Amazon Prime Video.

-Akarsh Hooda.