This is supposed to be a review of the ten best movies of 2005 but due to a combination of various unavoidable factors including plain laziness and that fact that I didn’t see too many movies this year , I’ve limited my review to 9 films .
Personally I think that 2005 was a bad year for bollywood.. not too many good movies came out this year...mostly we had Hollywood rip-offs, skin flicks and some moives that were plain boring .It also marked the begining of a new trend..the ’’’’Item Boy’’..thanks to Emraan Hashmi and Abishek bacchan .
Before I get crucified by the avid movie-goers or the overly-enthusiastic-anti-pseudo-intellectual police id like to apologise in advance for the absence of movies like Iqbal ( which I haven’t watched) or Paheli(which was plain boring )
So without further ado , I present , in no particular order my top 9 movies of 2005
...( Trumpets and applause please! )
Parineeta
Think of this as a toned down Devdas . A distinct absence of melodrama and overly colourful , tear-inducing sets and costumes set this apart form Sanjay Leela Bansali’s ’’Classic’’(:-P). Great acting by the entire cast, and the attention to details of Calcutta in the 60s makes this a great movie to watch.
Hazaron Khwahishen Aisi
Another movie that’s set in the lat 60s and early 70s . About three friends for whom success means different things . K.K plays an idealistic student leader who decides to become a naxalite , Geeta( played by Chitrangada Singh ) is his love interest and Vikram ( Shiny Ahuja) who provides under the table services for high-flyers in Delhi .
Excellent acting by the entire cast , especially the way that the characters ambitions(the Khwahishen of the title in case you were wondering ) and personalities change as the film progresses ; not a single song-and-dance sequence and a completely believable plot make this one a winner .
The only drawbacks are a disjointed narration , and that around 60% of the dialogues are in English.
Ek Khiladi Ek Haseena
Ok, ok, this was a copy of the movie Confidence (Edward Burns, Dustin Hoffman, Andy Garcia) , but it is a whole lot of fun to watch . A number of twists in the plot keep he viewer glued to the edged of their seats ( well almost ) . There are a number of in-jokes throughout the movie and I’m sure the actors must have had a lot of fun making this movie . The dialogue delivery is extremely casual and laid back ( almost has a ocean’s 12 kind of feel )...loved the way Fardeen Khan reacts as his friend is describing the various ways that Gulshan Grover has poisoned his foes and the advice that follows .
Not to be missed is the bombastic and over-the-top lines delivered by Feroze Khan in his inimitable style ...these are worth the price of the ticket themselves :-p ( ’’bondh bondh se samundar...’’)
The Best part?? This movie doesn’t take itself too seriously and that’s where it stands out from other bollywood caper movies .
Page 3 ( of course)
How can any top-ten movie list be complete without this movie ?great plot , great acting and excellent direction...What more could you ask for ?
Bunty aur babli
The feel-good movie of the year ! Makes no pretensions about being a family-entertainer/parallel cinema/hard-hitting/any-other-overly-used-adjective movie...this is an out and out time pass cum masala movie .From the innane refrences to indian cinema to the outrageous costumes and sub-plots this is bollywood kitsch at its very best ( or worst depending on your point of view ) You can leave our brains at home when you watch this movie because it is total bollywood isthyle entertainment and nothing else !
It has great music , some great comic moments and doesn’t try to be something that it isn’t !
My Wife’s Murder
Great acting by Anil Kapoor, a tight script and some tense moments make this a great movie . Slightly stretched out in the end , but still good .
Black
Devdas in black , white and blue , minus the songs .. this sums up the movie . Although it has a number of overly dramatic scenes and failed attempts at subtle imagery ( the ’’light-bulb turns on’’ amitabh scene is as subtle as being hit on the head by a chair ) I include it in my list because the director decided to tackle such an unusual topic (he’s not the first one though... Gulzar made a much better movie on the life of a deaf-mute couple-Koshish-with Saneev Kumar and Jaya Bachan ) and manages to pull it off without entirely ruining he movie.
No Entry
Fits in the same category as Andaaz Apna Apna and Masti... dont think too much while watching this movie .. just sit back relax and enjoy the shenanigans of Anil , Fardeen and Salman .
Zeher
Far from being another Emraan Hashmi smooch-fest , this is a tight , well made suspense movie...even though its a scene-by-scene copy of a Denzel Washington movie( Out of Time )
Other honourable mentions:
Salaam Namaste
Sarkar
Waqt
Dus