Sui Generis, a latin phrase meaning in a league of their own. The year 2004 is truly memorable for various reasons. The immense hype surrounding the movie of one of the greatest directors in Bollywood, Mr Yash Chopra’s Veer Zaara. Then there was the mammoth expectations from Ashutosh Gowariker and Farhan Akhtar for their movies Swades and Lakshya.
Some producers thought that running a prostitution campaign on the celluloid would cash them profits. That is probably the only reason why a string of skin flicks were released with the only content filled product being Murder.
Below are my top movies of 2004, their strengths and weaknesses if any.
5) Mujhse Shaadi Karogi - the return of David Dhawan in this entertaining fare. This movie rested on the main chemistry between Salman and Akshay. Priyanka Chopra looked body beautiful and enacter her character with conviction although her role did not demand much. Excellent supporting performances from Amrish Puri, Kader Khan, Satish Shah, Rajpal Yadav and the Indian cricket team were also essential in making this one of the top grossers of 2004.
The music too was ear pleasing, with most of the songs becoming chartbusters. If anything then the story was not much of a novel idea and the screenplay became slightly monotonous after a while. Otherwise a total entertainer with a lot of repeat value. However, personally for me Akshay’s performance over shadowed Salman’s.
4) Yuva - by far not one of the best efforts by Mani Ratnam. Actually his direction was probably the weakest factor in the movie. The story a novel idea about the depiction of the youth and how it is reflected in Lallan, Arjun and Michael. The story is very good, the dialogues are not hard hitting but impactful but the screenplay is a bit of a let down. However, the characterisations have been penned brilliantly with immaculate detail.
The performances of Abishek, Rani and Ajay, in that order, were magnificent. Abishek had the best role and he silenced all of his critics. Rani, with a small but significant role registered a strong impact. Ajay Devgan carried his role with conviction and his intense patriotism was fantastically essayed. The music too was very good and had a distinct feel which gelled with the mood of the movie.
3) Hum Tum - Kunal Kohli took giant strides as a director with this movie. After a horrendous MDK, he directed this entertaining movie. The chemistry between Saif and Rani was simply brilliant and they made an excellent on screen jodi. Their characterisations moved the movie forward because the movie did not really have a story.
Dialogues were marvellous. Kunal Kohli shows glimpses of another talented writer director, Aditya Chopra whose dialogues and screenplay are marvellous (DDLJ, Mohabbatein, Veer Zaara). The music by Jatin Lalit was very good but it was the UNI track by the Rishi Rich Project which set the industry on fire. The screenplay in the 2nd half was slightly slow paced and the climax could have been better penned, but otherwse this was a flawless movie. The host of special appearances added to the interest value of the movie.
2) Khakee - one of the most underrated movies of the year, by one of the most underrated directors. This is one of the finest movies ever made on cops. Hardly any flaws in this movie, which can be picked up on first viewing. A gripping screenplay, a story with unexpected twists, magnificent performances and melodious music. Amitabh Bachan proves why he is what he is. Ajay Devgan further showed his talent, proved his versatality, and proved that he is one of the best actors in the industry.
Akshay Kumar was a revelation. His mixture of comic scenes and intense drama scenes, signified that this is one brilliant actor. From then on Akshay has entered in the elite territory of Bollywood. Tusshar Kapoor was also good in a small role.
The music although it served no purpose, was brilliant. However, Khakee should have strictly been a songless movie. Consisting of many remarkable scenes, Khakee is one of the best movies of 2004.
SEE COMMENTS SECTION FOR MY NO. 1 MOVIE