Ten Best Hindi Movies

I have always been a movie buff, though I have a regret: I have missed

out on many yesteryear classics, especially those Guru Dutt/Bimal Roy

works. And those which I watched from that era, were something I didn’t

like much. So pardon me for not including some of the greatest works of

Indian cinema, but the list which I will compile now is strictly a

personal choice, and I hope readers will appreciate my choice of films.

So here goes my list of Ten best Hindi movies Bollywood has ever produced:

ANAND: It would have been better if our Karan Johar had

taken some tips from the great Hrishida about what family viewing is

all about. To be frank, I was never a great admirer of superstar Rajesh

Khanna, but this is one performance which bowled me over; and according

to me this is Amitabh’s one of his finest portrayals ever, before he

fell into the angry young man image. This film is one which I can watch

any number of times, and can still make me smile, laugh and cry

throughout the journey. Hats off to Hrishida, for making such a gem.

GOLMAAL: Pardon me for including another Hrshikesh Mukherji

film, but I must tell he ranks among my favourite directors, and

Golmaal is the reason why: a complete joyride from start to finish. A

killer script, solid chemistry between Amol and Utpal Dutt, hilariously

funny situations, and great music make it a classic comedy. Can watch

it anytime, any hour of the day.

JAANE BHI DO YAARON: Easily the best comedy Bollywood has

produced. An extraordinary funny film and a zabardast satire, JBDY’s

Mahabharat climax is the funniest scene I have ever watched in any film

of any country. This one also had some terrific comic performances from

Naseeruddin Shah, Ravi Baswani, Om Puri and Satish Kaushik. Despite

being such a comic classic, it never goes overboard in its climax, and

shows the true irony of life: Keep hoping, Hum honge kaamyaan, ek din. Brilliant!

MR INDIA: Aahhh, what a film! I must have watched it over 50

times as a kid and still never got bored of it. This was a perfect

kiddo film, and had a very novel concept considering Indian films had

never as such experimented with special effects before. Thoroughly

entertaining, it was fantasy fun at its best.

LAMHE: This was Yash Chopra at its best. Creating heart tugging

romantic moments and making you believe in the power of love,

generation gaps not being a barrier was something which only Yash

Chopra could have achieved, which had ample scope of turning into a

disaster (I dont mean boxofficewise). Lamhe ranks amongst Bollywood’s

most romantic films till date.

DILWALE DULHANIYA LE JAYENGE: Here comes Shahrukh Khan. A

loverboy with a difference. And then there’s Kajol. Perhaps the first

unconventional beauty in a typical commercial film. Result: The

greatest love story in Bollywood ever: each and every scene was a

treat, and Raj - Simran remained etched into the memories of every

teenager, every person in love at that point of time.

DIL SE: This one is easily the best Mani Ratnam I have ever

seen. Sheer poetry onscreen, this one had some really passionate,

intense romantic moments carried out by power packed performances by

its lead pair. The music by AR Rehman was an all time classic, and

Santosh Sivan’s cinematography was a treat to watch.

LAGAAN: A film which redefined all rules of entertainemnt. A

film which turned theatres into stadiums when it got released. A film

which had a perfect screenplay, a perfect storyline and perfect in

almost all technical departments. This was a turning point in

Bollywood, and dared filmmakers to break rules and experiment with

different concepts. Watching Lagaan in theatre is one of the special

moments I can never ever forget.

BLACK: Bhansali translated his vision into poetic brilliance on

screen. This one had me searching for hankerchiefs every now and then.

People still complain of its pretentiousness, but Bollywood reached to

al all time high with Black. Amitabh Bachcan, Rani Mukherjee were at

their best here, not to forget the small wonder, Ayesha Kapoor.

LAGE RAHO MUNNABHAI: Rajkumar Hirani with his solid script and

decade, this was the best Gandhi film ever. A film which makes you

laugh, cry, smile, clap and teaches all moral lessons related to

corruption, bribery, humanness, public manners, taking care of the

older generation all at once. Who said Gandhigiri/Gandhism was a thing

of the past?

Notable mentions - Guide, Sholay, Chupke Chupke, Saaransh,

Munnabhai MBBS, Iqbal, Rang de Basanti and Omkara.