Saturday, December 26, 2015

2015 gems

Recounting the releases of the year gone by and jotting down the films that would really stay back with me for a long time.

Talvar
Heartening. Shows how the entire murder case was messed up by the police and how conflicting the reports were. Meghana Gulzar does a smart work of giving this a Rashomon treatment by giving different POVs. Irrfan is simply brilliant. This has been a terrific year for him (ok ok I am not counting Jazbaa). Movie has been beautifully written and has been generous towards the parents. But they had to stick with one POV rather than remaining neutral. Wish the truth is known to all and proper justice is done.

Tamasha
Just in my previous post I had written about how inconsistent Imtiaz Ali was and how I wasnt impressed with his scorecard. However I would say Tamasha is the most complex script that he has directed. First of all hats off to the writers for doing a great job and transforming a simple story to cinematic excellence. The whole Kahaani track has been beautifully written and then Imtiaz has done an excellent job presenting the same on the screen. Ranbir and Deepika have grown as an actor and I am sure they are going to cherish this movie for the lifetime. Deepika's breakdown just before the Tum Saath Ho song has to be the scene of the decade.

Baby
Last hr of this film bears striking resemblance to Argo. Nevertheless this movie is beautifully executed. Neeraj Pandey movies have always been special and this one is no less. His track record has been brilliant so far (A Wednesday, Special 26 and now Baby). Akshay suits these roles much better than the Rowdys.

Dum Lagake Haisha
Such a cute film. Perfect casting (Bhumi, Ayushman, Sanjay Mishra, Seema Pahwa, Sheeba Chadha). The entire ensemble has done a great job in the film and the story/setting is spot on. Brings back old memories of the past. Perfect soundtrack (Moh Moh ke dhage is beautifully composed). Ishq Karara brings back Sanu and Anu Malik together and song is a treat to watch. Hope Bhumi is used wisely and doesnt remain a one movie wonder.

Titli
Hardcore and brutal. Shows the life of a low income family living in the heart of the capital. Titli wants to go away from his family and start his own parking garage. He gets forcefully married but her wife loves someone else who in turn is cheating with her. All this adds upto all the commotion in the movie. Ranvir Shorey is brilliant and so is the rest of the cast.

Honorable Mentions
Masaan (pure arthouse brilliance), Dil Dhadakne Do (commercial to the core), Piku (perfect story and casting), NH-10 (disturbing), Badlapur (Sriram rarely disappoints), Tanu Weds Manu Returns (all because of Kangana), Drishyam (nice story)